Blog Archives

Relevant to judo or not, this is where Court Lane Judo will broadcast their ponderings.

Judo for the Mind

Posted on August 18, 2014
The Pyjama Game, by Mark Law

The Pyjama Game, by Mark Law

As the summer break continues, you might like to consider expanding your study of Judo into areas other than the purely physical.

One of the best books ever written on the subject is Mark Law’s “The Pyjama Game“. It is an enlightening study of judo, both on a personal level as Law undertakes his own practice, and on a wider scale from Judo’s inception through to the 2004 Athens Games. Frequently hilarious, it is highly recommended.

Another good read, and already quoted on this site, is Neil Adams’ autobiography, “A Life in Judo”. This has recently been re-published as a Kindle ebook.

Both of these books are available from Amazon – and if you take advantage of the fundraising partnership we have signed up to, you can raise funds for the club as well as deepening your knowledge of Judo.

Another insightful book is “50 Great Judo Champions”, published by and available from Fighting Films. Originally published to mark the 50th anniversary of the International Judo Federation, the book details some of the greatest judo players of all time, with detailed pen portraits and photos from top Judo photographers David Finch and Bob Willingham.

Happy reading…

Posted in Articles, Blog
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When you train, you should put more emphasis on learning than on competing with your partner

Posted on June 22, 2014

Judo fightWas delighted to see Neil Adams post a link to this article from his Facebook page, I have quoted it in full below:

Rickson Gracie advises on how to train and roll. He emphasizes the fact that Jiu-Jitsu practitioners should focus on the technical side first without using their physical assets. In the words of Rickson himself :

source: Rickson Gracie Association Newsletter

“Even when you spar during training, you should minimize your natural talents. By limiting yourself, you may find yourself in much worse situation, but you are forced to think your way out, using techniques you would not have otherwise used. When you start doing this, you begin to understand what is really wrong in a certain situation and you begin to understand what actually needs to be done in a technical way in order to improve the situation. You then begin to develop a real, deep progress, understanding the mechanics of any situation.

“It is important to remember that in a serious fight or in a competition, the mechanics of the fight will be exactly the same as when you are training in a gentle manner. The only important difference will be your mental attitude. When you train, you should put more emphasis on learning than on competing with your partner.

“You don’t learn when you are fighting, bringing in all sorts of tension and emotion. You learn when you are having fun, training in a smooth and gentle way. You need to work on improving your technique until you are comfortable in any situation. Eventually, you will develop a subconscious understanding of the techniques and they become reflexes. Only after you have done all this you are ready to take your natural abilities “off the shelf” and add them back into your game. Now the effectiveness of the technique will be at least ten times better.”

Which of course is not to say that training cannot be competitive; but you have to learn first and introduce the competitive element after you have gained the technical mastery. Sometimes easier said than done, for all of us!

Gile. (2014, June 19). Rickson Gracie: “When you train, you should put more emphasis on learning than on competing with your partner.”. Retrieved June 20, 2014, from www.bjjee.com: http://www.bjjee.com/articles/rickson-gracie-when-you-train-you-should-put-more-emphasis-on-learning-than-on-competing-with-your-partner/

Posted in Articles, Blog, Training
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Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard

Posted on June 14, 2014

Hard work pays off
I saw the above quote the other day, and whilst I can’t remember who it was attributed to (I think a basketball coach?), I do think it is a very appropriate reminder as the World Cup dawns on us.

The football is on TV, it can be recorded and watched later. You can’t make up for a missed training session. With the Hampshire Open fast approaching, and players competing at the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Games and Kent International, every minute of mat time is crucial.

Trevor Leggett, one of the key figures in the early history of British Judo, had this to say:

“You didn’t lose that contest yesterday, you lost it in the month before, when you weren’t training properly.

“And you’re losing next month’s contest now, today, while you stand here making excuses when you ought to be practising.”

For more on the value of practice and the myth of talent, let me refer you back to the excellent “Bounce” by Matthew Syed.

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Excellent work this week

Posted on May 8, 2014
Sangaku hold down

Sangaku hold down

Another brilliant week, great to see virtually every player on the mat. The level of work rate and commitment has soared once again since the Hampshire Closed.

The hard work we have put into the sangaku turnover and hold down, is really starting to pay off. This has been our main focus since we returned after the Easter break.

Looking at it on the DVD tonight, fascinating to see how one techniques ties up with so many other possibilities – ude garami, juji gatame etc.

We will carry on with the sangaku turnover over the coming weeks, but will also start to look at one of the biggest scoring throws in Judo, uchimata.

Keep up the good work.

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Welcoming friends old and new

Posted on May 6, 2014

Delighted to see the return of several old faces on to the mat over the last few weeks.

This is in addition to Craig and Andy who are now firmly established as part of the coaching structure within the club.

We would also like to welcome several new players as well, we hope you enjoy your time studying Judo at Court Lane Judo Club.

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Player of the Month

Posted on May 1, 2014
Player of the Month

Player of the Month

We have reinstated the Player of the Month trophy.

Winners so far for 2014 are:

February – Jonty Bassil. Sustained effort, attitude, and maturity, general all round improvement in his judo.

March – Rueben Raine. Smooth transition from the Kano Club, great effort and behaviour.

April – Marcus Tree. Very tough decision, as some very strong contenders after the Hampshire Closed. Final decision based on competition performance, all round improvement and attendance.

Posted in Announcements, Blog
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Judo no sansatsu (The three kills of judo)

Posted on March 26, 2014

Syd Hoare, 8th dan, identifies three kills within judo (Hoare, 2002):

The first ‘kill’ is to kill or stop the opponent’s technique. The second ‘kill’ is to kill his spirit. The third ‘kill’ is to kill him, which is to say defeat him (according to the rules!). The three kills form a sequence each following on from the preceding one.

This little formula could be applied to an individual fight or to a longer war against, say, a rival.

Works Cited
Hoare, S. (2002). Judo Strategies. London: Ippon Books Ltd.

Posted in Blog

Packing for Competition

Posted on March 26, 2014

Our competition season is about to start, you are heading off to your first competition… what do you take with you?

The essentials
Judo licence – make sure it is in date! You will need to present this at the weigh-in.
Judogi – jacket, belt, trousers. Girls should make sure they also have a plain white t-shirt.
Zori, or other footwear for when you are off the mat.
If you have long hair, you need something non-metallic to tie it back.

Other clothing
A hoodie, sweatshirt or fleece is also good to keep yourself warm. It is not unheard of to see players also wearing gloves and hats between contests.

Food and drink
Difficult this one – players are often too nervous to eat on the day of contest, healthy snack foods are often best – cereal bars, dried fruit etc.

Many nutritionists advise that sports drinks are of limited value; water is just as good for short periods of exercise.

Book, music, games, homework
Something to keep yourself occupied, there can often be a long wait for your weight group to be called, once you have weighed in.

Posted in Blog, Competitions
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Using a training diary

Posted on February 10, 2014

‘There are three very good reasons for keeping a daily record of your training’, says Neil Adams (Adams & Soames, 1986, p. 34).

‘Firstly, you are constantly learning new techniques and training methods and it is impossible to keep such knowledge at instant recall, whereas writing down everything you learn and experience gives you something to refer back to. It also helps you sort out the good practices from the bad. Secondly, when you have learnt and adopted some kind of structure schedule, the diary provides feed-back in terms of the successful and the unsuccessful elements. Lastly, a training diary can help to prevent the sportsman from becoming ‘coach dependent’, because it helps to provide the necessary information for the player to set out his own short-term goals and to formulate long-term aims and objectives.

‘I used to write down everything in my training diary. I wrote down how I felt during the day, including whether I felt mental pressure one day, and physical pressure the next. I wrote down which throws worked in randori, why and on whom, and why others didn’t. I made a note of exactly what I did, how far I ran, which weights I pushed, what I didn’t do and why. And I tried not to cheat.

‘I also described what I observed, particularly about other judo players who were in my weight or above, and through that I became accustomed to watching and analysing, instead of just getting on the mat and getting up a good old sweat. And after contests, I would fill pages and pages with my reports so that I knew the strengths and weaknesses of every player I was likely to come across. Although I have never been very good at mathematics or thinking logically, I can now retrieve and use information about opponents very quickly. But at the start I had to write my thoughts down. So, for instance, about Chris Bowles I wrote: ‘Main throw, ouchi-gari (not very strong tai-otoshi). Seoi-nage under pressure. Gripping good. Doesn’t like left-handers. Left-hand grip with right foot forward.’ Then I would would note the last time I fought him: ‘Three minutes fighting for grips, attacked him with seoi-nage. Nothing. Tai-otoshi, scored koka. Ouchi-gari, scored koka. Let him attack with ouchi-gari, countered, scored waza-ari.’ Or I would put in reasons why he made it difficult for me, what I did, why I changed my tactics half way through. I made the same kind of entry for all my opponents.’

Works Cited
Adams, N., & Soames, N. (1986). A Life in Judo. London: Willow Books.

Posted in Articles, Blog, Training
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Court Lane’s Hampshire Champions so far…

Posted on February 9, 2014

Having been perusing our old records, we have produced an amazing number of Hampshire medallists, in all competitions:

1997
Hampshire Closed
Orange Belt & Under
Brett Caswell, -30kg, GOLD

1998
Hampshire Closed
Chris Batchelor, -34kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Closed
Orange Belt & Under
Kate Borland, -36kg, BRONZE
Chris Carter, -30kg, BRONZE

1999
Hampshire Closed
Andrew Gould, -27kg, BRONZE
Kate Borland, -36kg, BRONZE
Brett Caswell, -38kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Closed
Yellow Belt & Under
Andrew Potter, -27kg, GOLD
Andrew Read, -30kg, BRONZE
Jonathan Galvin, -42kg, GOLD

Hampshire Closed
Team Championship
Court Lane A, Lightweight Boys, SILVER
Andrew Gould, -27kg
Andrew Read, -30kg
Peter Caulfield, -34kg
Brett Caswell, -38kg
Jonathan Galvin, -42kg

2000
Hampshire Closed
Andrew Gould, -27kg, GOLD
Andrew Potter, -30kg, SILVER
Brett Caswell, -42kg, GOLD
Chris Batchelor, -42kg, BRONZE
Jonathan Galvin, -46kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Closed
Yellow Belt & Under
Timothy Batchelor, -30kg, GOLD

Hampshire Closed
Orange Belt & Under
Tiffany Caswell, -25kg, SILVER
Andrew Gould, -30kg, BRONZE
Andrew Potter, -30kg, BRONZE

2001
Hampshire Closed
Andrew Gould, -30kg, SILVER
Andrew Potter, -34kg, GOLD
Andrew Read, -34kg, BRONZE
Brett Caswell, -46kg, GOLD

Hampshire Closed
Yellow Belt & Under
Tiffany Caswell, -25kg, GOLD

Hampshire Closed
Orange Belt & Under
Sophie Read, -28kg, SILVER
Craig Jones, -46kg, BRONZE

2002
Hampshire Closed
(Novice)
Oliver Eggins, -27kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Closed
Andrew Gould, -38kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Closed
Orange Belt & Under
Ben Garside, -27kg, BRONZE
Owen Jones, -34kg, SILVER
Craig Jones, -55kg, BRONZE

2003
Hampshire Closed
Andrew Gould, -38kg, GOLD

Hampshire Closed
Yellow Belt & Under
Ben Garside, -27kg, GOLD
Owen Jones, -34kg, BRONZE
David Murana, -42kg, BRONZE

2004
Hampshire Closed
Ben Garside, -27kg, SILVER
Lewis Dolman, -30kg, SILVER
Joe Garside, -42kg, BRONZE
Andrew Read, -50kg, SILVER

Hampshire Closed
Yellow Belt & Under
Tiffany Caswell,  -36kg, SILVER
Daniel Lattimore, -42kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Closed
Orange Belt & Under
Ben Garside, -30kg, SILVER
Lewis Dolman, -30kg, BRONZE
Owen Jones, -34kg, BRONZE

2005
Hampshire Closed
Ben Garside, -30kg, BRONZE
Lewis Dolman, -34kg, GOLD
Owen Jones, -34kg, BRONZE
Joe Garside, -46kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Closed
Yellow Belt & Under
Charlie Swetman, -27kg, BRONZE
Lee Growse, -46kg, GOLD

Hampshire Open
Ben Garside, -30kg, SILVER
Lewis Dolman, -34kg, SILVER

2006
Hampshire Closed
Lewis Dolman, -34kg, GOLD
Owen Jones, -38kg, BRONZE
Lee Growse, -46kg, BRONZE
Craig Jones, -73kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Closed
Yellow Belt & Under
Charlie Swetman, -30kg, SILVER
James Andrews, -34kg, BRONZE
Louise Growse, GOLD

Hampshire Open Split Grade
Owen Jones, GOLD
James Andrews, BRONZE
Louise Growse, -57kg, BRONZE
Craig Jones, -73kg, BRONZE

2007
Hampshire Closed
Lewis Dolman, -38kg, BRONZE
Owen Jones, -38kg, BRONZE
Craig Jones, -73kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Closed
Yellow Belt & Under
Jack Morey, -38kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Junior Open
Craig Jones, SILVER
Owen Jones, BRONZE
Lewis Dolman, BRONZE

Hampshire Senior Open
Kev Jones, BRONZE

Hampshire Split Grade Open
Jordan Ward, -34kg, BRONZE
Lewis Dolman, -42kg, SILVER
Owen Jones, -46kg, GOLD
Craig Jones, -81kg, SILVER

2008
Hampshire Closed
Owen Jones, -46kg, SILVER
Lewis Dolman, -46kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Open
Owen Jones, -50kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Split Grade Open
Jordan Ward, -38kg, BRONZE (+12, Orange/Green)

2009
Hampshire Closed
Lewis Dolman, -55kg, GOLD
Owen Jones, -55kg, SILVER
Reece Blackmore, -46kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Closed Yellow Belt & Under
Sophie Dolman, GOLD
Matthew Randall, SILVER
Jonty Bassil, BRONZE

Hampshire Senior Split Grade Open
Brett Caswell, -66kg, GOLD
Craig Jones, -100kg, BRONZE
Kev Jones, -100kg, BRONZE

Hampshire Junior Split Grade Open
Lewis Dolman, -60kg, GOLD
Owen Jones, -60kg, SILVER

2010
Hampshire Junior Closed
Owen Jones, SILVER

Hampshire Senior Closed
Brett Caswell, -66kg, GOLD
Craig Jones, BRONZE

2011
Hampshire Junior Closed
Matthew Kirby, -73kg, BRONZE

2012
Hampshire Junior Closed
Joel Bassil, -27kg, SILVER

2013
Hampshire Junior Closed
Sarah Carr, -32kg, BRONZE
Azhar Baree, -34kg, SILVER

Hampshire Junior Closed Split Grade
Azhar Baree, GOLD
Sarah Carr, SILVER
Joel Bassil, BRONZE
Jonty Bassil, SILVER
Marcus Tree, BRONZE
Jack Rogerson, SILVER

Hampshire Senior Closed Split Grade
Jess Oakden, BRONZE

Who can we add in 2014?

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