Recap of Gary Goltz's Clinic
Sensei Gary Goltz paid us a visit on his whistle-stop tour of the East Coast . His clinic started with a demonstration of some simple, effective drills to teach footwork and body positioning for throws to the uke's rear, focusing on the three main entries for rear throws. He demonstrates the culmination here:
He then demonstrated similar drills focusing on two main entries for forward throws. The "regular entry":
And the "irregular" entry:
He then gave a simple and effective version of Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi - As a side note, I really like how he executes this Sasae, starting by destroying uke's posture and making him hop to stay alive... I think I will start teaching it this way:
We then looked at how to combo into Sasae, using Osoto Gari as a lead-in:
Not coincidentally, this combination is reversible! You can just as easily go Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi to Osoto Gari!
Following that, if you didn't quite complete your Sasae, your opponent should be in a great position for O Guruma, Harai Goshi, or a number of other throws:
Finally, we did some randori, but with a twist: At first, only the high rank could attack. The lower rank was only to respond to the throw, by either a) avoiding it, b) countering it, or c) just taking the fall. After a few minutes, the attacker and "responder" would change. I really liked this flavor of randori, especially when you have some lower ranks on the mat, because it simplifies the action somewhat, and allows more focus on sub-components on randori (see my post on multitasking for more on why I would like this).
Just before bowing out, Sensei Goltz shared some great news with us: our very own Leo Valdes (a.k.a. "KodokanJudo" for anyone who has been reading the comments on this blog) received his promotion to Yodan! Big congratulations to Leo on that. Definitely well-deserved.
In addition to Sensei Goltz, we also had Senseis Bernie Gill (Richmond, Godan) and Hamdi Hawash (Richmond/Egypt, Godan) who added another 100+ years of Judo experience to the mix. In all, it was a great clinic that everyone, whether experienced or novice, could take away from and add to their own Judo. Sensei Goltz's focus on the simple and effective provided drills and combinations that hammer home some core principles of Judo in a very easy-to-grasp manner. We at Akari Judo really appreciate him taking the time to work with us, and will definitely be integrating his drills and techniques into our practice.
And congratulations again to Leo!
Labels:
clinic,
Drills,
Gary Goltz,
Leo Valdes,
Osoto Gari,
Randori,
Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi
7 comments:
Chad,
The clinic was great! Gary is certainly a very classy and down to earth guy, and a great sensei.
As far as my promotion, I give the credit to Bernie and Hamdi. They are the ones that pushed me to fill the promo form and signed it for me.
Thank you for all you do for judo in Richmond.
One thing I can say is that sometimes I've been more proud of the dan grade promotions that I've turned down, than those that I have accepted.
I like the drills that he showed us. one thing that always frustrates me over at VCU is with the constant stream of newcomers i have a hard time developing a class that is useful to all ranks and captures the early interest of the new people. Let's face it, learning to fall is boring. I think the drills will get me through some of that. By (as you point out about the randori Chad) allowing focus on some components, white belts will be able to get some early "successes". I'll be coupling this with the inner fish drill (kusushi) that Leo likes. When we start the instruction part of the class I'll talk about putting the two parts together in a specific throw.
The inner fish is what allows a smaller man to throw a larger one.
Ah! One of the secrets of judo: "uchi-zushi" (inner fish)!
LOL
My favorite part of Gary's clinic was the secret "kodansha-hontai" (high dan posture), but I'm glad he did not reveal the secret "kuro-obi-rei" (black belt bow). LOL
I like Gary's drills for beginners.
Chad, your drills are good for intermediate students and the kuzushi drills have more benefit for the advanced students.
What do you say we experiment with this for a couple of weeks?
Jake, what do you think?
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