No Gi Grappling

Can you do Judo without a Gi? Sure thing? Without a GI one thing for certain is that you will have close body contact (especially when hitting is involved). When strikes are included your opponent will either want to stay out of range or in close. When you are fighting a striker, you want to be in either of these 2 ranges. You can force the clinch once the commit to hitting you. Of course you have to risk getting hit.

Without clothing you have the sweat factor. The easiest thing to hold is your opponent's body.  I like to get a double under hook or over under body lock. This way I control their center of gravity and I can keep them from getting underneath me.

In this clip from the 2002 Shidokan World Open, I used the body lock and foot sweeps to get my opponent down to the mat. The submission attempts shown will be a neck crank (which he escapes) and later on in the clip an arm lock. Going from the Kimura to a straight arm lock. I will stay with the 2 on 1 grip on his arm.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31UwXmNf1LE

Combination Punching

When you see fighters train you will see them working on all kinds of combinations. When hitting the pads, trainers will have fighters memorize certain sequences. The reality of combos in real fights are that they will come when an opponent is tired, hurt or out matched. They don't work as you see them on the pads and bags or when fighters flurry in shadow boxing. When guys get in a dangerous position they clinch. So, to land shots it's the basics (simple combinations and movement) that work best. In this clip you won't see a long combination until after my opponent is hurt. In the last round you will a left kick to the liver followed by a 9 punch combination. Timing is everything so learn when to lay it on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZiKwilIjbCw

Rhonda Balsamello, Shidokan's Queen Of Combat

Last week we lost one of our warriors. Shidokan Atlanta Queen of Combat, Rhonda Balsamello passed away suddenly. I know that we all will transition some day, but it is so sad when we lose someone young and without warning. Rhonda was the toughest fighter we've ever had. She had no fear and was always ready to compete. Rhonda was a private person and wouldn't say a lot. She could be shy at times. But through the martial arts, her personality would show. She would was happy when engaged in one on one combat. Karate was truly her way of expressing herself. To those who knew her well, she showed a sense of humor and always went out of her way to help. As a creative person, she designed much of the Shidokan apparel we wear at our gym.

Within a year of training, she was competing in full contact bare knuckle karate tournaments. In keeping the Shidokan Karate concept of being a well rounded martial artist, she also competed in grappling and kickboxing. She found her forte to be Knockdown (bare knuckle) Karate, one of the most difficult forms of competition out there.

She represented our Dojo locally, nationally and internationally. A couple of months ago, she won the Shidokan Japan Cup. Last year she was on her way to this tournament and the night before leaving, her back went out and she couldn't walk. She had back surgery and came back to achieve what most can only dream of, winning a full contact Karate championship in the land of Karate, Japan. She has gained the love and respect of an international Karate organization. She is better well known in other countries than in the U.S.

Here is some footage of Rhonda competing a few years back. I never mined losing my voice yelling and cheering her on. Win, lose, or draw she pushed herself to the limit. She would fight until the end. She could endure the fatigue and pain better than anyone. Fighting is what gave her peace. This is one of my favorites because it shows her dig deep. She may not be with us physically, but her Samurai spirit does.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QnrPEp5Pm64

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8hcqghaPAg

Fight Officials

What makes one qualified to officiate a fight. There are judges, referees, or commission officials present. They have to certified by the state to officiate. Sometimes we see fights and at the end we see judgements that we may not agree with. Sometimes a ref stops or doesn't stop a fight that before or after we think they should. In my opinion, I don't think one should be allowed to officiate if they've never competed in the sport that they are overseeing. Would you let a doctor who has never performed surgery operate on you? No. In the court room, judges oversee lawyers. In the most fields the experts overseeing have experience. Sure one can be a fan and know a lot, but I would prefer to see ex-fighters officiate fights.

IJF Veterans World Championship

A week ago I had the pleasure of competing in the International Judo Federation Veterans World Championships in Ft Lauderdale, FL. It was an incredible experience. I competed in my first IFJ Worlds back in 2012, in Miami. In both instances it was in the next state, so, I had to go (whereas in between they were held in other countries).

What makes this tournament so cool, is that it is truly an international event. This years tournament had about 1000 competitors and 83 countries represented. It was a four day tournament. On Friday, competitors in their 60s and up competed (some guys up to the 80s). Saturday, the young guys competed 30-39, and Sunday, we middle aged guys (40s and 50s) competed. Monday was all about the ladies.

These veterans are amazing. I saw some old guys (I say that jokingly) in better shape that guys half their age. These guys would take of their Gi tops and they were chiseled and ripped.

When I go to national tournaments, there is a smaller group where one or two guys are really good. At the Worlds, everybody is good (about 30). I finished 7th this year and felt more competitive than I did in 2012. I have been successful in other combat sports (Taekwondo, Kickboxing, and Shidokan). I have been training in Judo sine the 90s and after retiring from the striking sports I have been working on my grappling game in Judo. This allows a competitive outlet for me and keeps me humble. In addition, I have competed in Karate Kata, and I even did an international kickboxing team event this past summer with a young opponent). I am 50 years old and feel like I'm 18 (sometimes LOL). I don't put the same pressure on myself like I did when I was younger. I still hate to lose, but I've learned to have fun and not dwell on it. At least I won't have the delusion of, "The older I get, the better I was". So always find a way to challenge yourself and make it fun and remember, you're a winner for getting out there in the first place.

Too Many Champions

In today's combat sports world, there are a lot of champions. The fans want to see the best fighters fight, but for some reason the business of fighting keeps the matches from happening. Fighters (or their management) want the best pay day possible. So, you end up with these fighters avoiding each other. The business/entertainment side of fighting helps and hurts it at the same time. Yes we have to be entertained and events need sponsors to be able to put them on. But at the same time fans want to see the best fight the best. There are too many organizations that have world champions to track of. It would be cool if the major organizations would pit their top fighters against top opposition and provide a true champion. Just my two cents.

Jump In The Deep End

At what level should one start when learning how to do something they are passionate about? Should you start at the shallow end of the pool and waddle your to the deep end or just jump in the deep, and sink or swim? For me personally, I've always jumped into the deep end. I won't say that it's is the best way to get started but you learn real fast. In martial arts/combat sports, I've never competed in the novice or intermediate levels. In sport Karate, when I decided to compete entered black belt competition (and the same goes for Judo). The first time I tried full contact Taekwondo do was right after competing in a point division. Afterwards we organized teams and fought. The guy that I beat in point, said "see you in the contact division". He gave me a grand welcome to full contact. When I started training in Kickboxing, there was maybe one other amateur in the gym. So, I got beat up daily for at least 2 years before I knew what I was doing. In amateur Boxing, I did not start out as a Novice, I jumped right into the Open division (fighters with 10 or more fights). My 5 professional kickboxing fight (BTW I only had 3 amateur Kickboxing fights before turning pro) was against an international champion with over 20 fights and the 6th was against a Russian Champion. By my 10th Kickboxing bout, I fought a 2X World Champion. My 6th pro boxing match was against an Olympic Bronze Medalist. So, I just went for it. Were some of the matches very hard, yes. Did I lose some, yes. But with high level training partners and competing against high level athletes. My learning cure was different than most. Now do I recommend this for everybody? No. But for the few who wish to take it is far as you can, yes. Find out where you stand with superior opposition.  You will learn much faster than those who play it safe. Test your self against the best you can find. You will be able to take pleasure in knowing that you tried if you can't reach a higher level. Or, you will reach that higher level faster.