Judo Tom's Training Log

[Judo Tom]

Ok just so I can track what I have been working on for an upcoming tournament.

Ill post info and pics when possible on what techniques im working on what type of drills and fighting im doing as well as training outside the mat.

the goal is to be completely prepared for an upcoming tournament

please post any comments you may have or ask any questions about the techniques or training.

Just please be respectful I am training to succeed in olympic judo not mma or self defense.. obviously judo crosses over and can help in other areas and if your question pertains to something else ask away and ill give my opinion

 

[Judo Tom]

Ok I actually started training for this tournament a week or so ago so ill try to play a little catch up.

at this point I have a good game plan and a solid diet/training program. Now all I have to do is follow it and bust my ass and I should do well. You win matches in training not the day of the event...

Ok so the diet I dont really feel like posting much about. It is not a great diet on paper but I need to loose weight FAST so I am going to do what works for me basically I am going VERY low calories eating only some veggies maybe some fruite and meat and thats really it. I know its not perfect but its working. I use a lot of caffeine and ephedra for energy and appetitie suppression. and i drink a ton of water

Ok training outside the gym consists of running and sprinting in the am and I recently learned that I need to stretch the lower legs or my shin splints will prevent me from running. I found some good stretches and it shouldnt be a problem anymore.. i may also go looking for inserts today as well..Ill go into details about my runs in future posts

I also do solo technical drills to practice the throwing and grappling techniques i use in competition. I have a homemade grappling dummy to use for the grappling techniques and i use inner tubes, pulleys and belts hung from rafters or doors to practice the throwing techniques w/o a partner and foot sweeps I will do a lot of practice on my foot sweeps hopefully at least 1000 a day.

not sure how much if any 'lifting' i will be doing. I normally focus on squats pushups pullups as opposed to traditional lifting but its in the air ill post whatever I do.

 

[Rex]

Good luck, Tom. Sounds like you're on your way. Post pics of the pulley system and home made grappling dummy. The plans to make it too if you get time.

In a few months I'll be embarking on my crusade from 176 to somewhere between 147-154, just to knock out my best friend in a MMA match he challenged me to next year when he gets more training under his belt.

 

[Judo Tom]

The grappling dummy i have is really easy to make and doesnt cost much at all.

you need a one piece jump suit type thing and stuff the hell out of it with blankets and clothes and your done. i used a one piece PJ suit the ones with the feeties and the big ziper up the front i stuffed the bottom with blankets and used a few jackets in the upper body arear and just stuffed it in a way it all stayed together. I also used a jacket with a hood and stuffed the heck outta that and just taped it together

Hope that makes sense.. Ill post some pics of the guy later

yeah dieting and training for a comp dont go well together! but missing weight is not an option its 3pm I already ran a few miles and all i had to eat was ephedra and caffeine

 

[Judo Tom]

ok some im slacking already but ill catch up.

Friday i help teach a class so i really didnt get much work in until the very end where i did randori (spar) with one other person who is good and i did pretty well. My gripping was decent and my attacks were pretty solid and i didnt get countered. I did ok in newaza (ground work) but really only got to play defense but it was good and i almost got some good reversals. I scored with seonage and some foot sweeps.

 

[Judo Tom]

Saturday i worked out twice. the first workout i am mainly teaching and dont get much work in at all but i do get to go over the basics a lot and i do get a few things in here and there even if its just strategy its something..

then we have a private workout with a good group of competitors. I worked on two throws kouchi gari and seonage and both have been getting better and better recently.

at the end of the workout we did some randori and i was really happy with how i fought i got a bunch of scores in with a few different techniques like kouchi, seonage and footsweeps. I got caught once was taken down and then pinned. I have to make sure that when i get taken down that i am going into matwork as the throw happens.

 

[Judo Tom]

monday: good workout!!!! I didnt get much practice is but we got a lot of fighting in so theres no complaining. I only got scored on twice once with a good single/double leg takedown and then once on a sneaky left side o soto makikomi the takedown was a small score the o soto was probably a half point. during matwork i was moving really good and attacking a lot and looking for a lot of different subs.

I figured out a pretty neat counter to a couple of throws too. I hit it accidentally when me an my opponent attacked at the same time. his throw left him on one leg for a little bit as he moved/pivoted. luckily i was attacking that pivoting leg with one of my favorite throws and as he was on the leg it just worked perfectly. the throw he was doing is pretty much a sacrafice so that probably helped.

i think the main reason i did so well during the standing portions of randori was my gripping and movement. I shouldnt really be standing around i need to create movement and then attack.

heading to a private workout in a bit.. me vs sensei

 

[Rex]

Bump. Keep it up.

Post on how it went with sensei.

 

[Judo Tom]

hey this is long i was just babbling mainly.. also i apologize for the grammer at first i didnt care but now im thinking maybe i should make these easier to read... maybe next time..

ok had a good workout again. today i went over kouchi gari again and it is feeling better and better each time i practice it. i am getting in deeper lower and faster and bearing down much better. My back foot is very close to my opponents foot which i am reaping allowing me a good reap with a lot of drive. we also review points on seonage and i took a lot of falls for that. falling for a throw actually makes you better at it go figure.

and we went over a choke that you can use while you are being pinned in a side body type hold (yoko shiho gatame in judo translates to side four quarters hold) the name of the choke is ashi jime which translates to leg choke. if you were being pinned with your opponent on your right side you would reach down w/ your left hand and grab his right lapel and push down towards your hip you would also push his upper ribswith your right hand down towards his hip, you then get your left leg above his head so the back of your knee is on top of the back of his neck (not head) and then straighten your leg and pull in w/ your hand to choke.

we also went over a choke/reversal when someone 'turtles' up your approach from the front or your opponents right side and grip his gi right at the back of the neck. position your hand so that you have a fist on the back of his neck with your elbow tucked in and you are now perpendicular to your opponent at the same time reach under neath him with your left hand and grab high on his left lapel. push down into the mat through your opponents neck and then post your lef leg up next to his right and slide your right leg underneath his body. you then roll to your left using your abs to throw him over. as you rotate apply the choke as your roll secure a mount and continute choking if your arms fell out of position release your right hand keeping his right arm trapped over his face with your chest and hold the pin or look for the armlock.

then me and sensei sparred doing groundwork only and it was brutually exhausting. i did ok at times its hard to judge progress because he can be so dominating at times but i have to look for little things like my defense improving or how my armlock attempts are getting closer and closer things like that. but i can see them and it is helping i really need to take more of my tournament matches to the mat either to finish my opponent or use it to my advantage by tiring him out.

 

[Rex]

Tom, do you have pics of those chokes? I tried to visualize them, but I just can't seem to get it. Sounds like you're well on your way to being ready for the tournie.

 

[Judo Tom]

i am pretty sure i can dig up pics of ashi jime quickly ill post as i find them.. i might have to take a pic of me doing the other roll choke to demo but ill try to describe the hand position again from a slightly different position / setup.. now im gonna describe it this way just to describe the hand position.. not saying this setup will work on a resisting partner.

ok lets say you have someone in your guard. grab right behind the center of his neck on his collar with your right hand and pass your right forearm over his head and place the outside bone of your forearm against the right side of his neck. then pass your left arm through the space between your opponents tricep and abs and grip his left collar palm up placing the bone of your arm against his neck

that is the same hand position you end up in the other position except your right hand will be deeper and your left hand migt not depending on how you catch it when you reach through.

the good thing is in judo when you are turtled and someone grabs your neck they normally are going to attempt to roll you forward over your head or shoulder and most people will not expect to be rolled sided to side let alone pulled in towards his opponent.

 

[Judo Tom]

here is a pic of a variation of ashi jime from the guard

i generally do this more when i am off to the side after i have broken someone down or something and i have two hands on his arm

 

[Judo Tom]

another from a north south type position

 

[Snypr]

Do you find Judo to be tough on the back? Some of the moves in H to H combat(Marines) were said to be borrowed/stolen from Judo and other MA's. My back injury was always being aggravated.Do you ever lift to specifically target back?
Good luck, also

 

[Rex]

Thanks, Tom. Good pics.

 

[Judo Tom]

Do you find Judo to be tough on the back? Some of the moves in H to H combat(Marines) were said to be borrowed/stolen from Judo and other MA's. My back injury was always being aggravated.Do you ever lift to specifically target back?
Good luck, also

that is a bit of a complicated question actually because judo will be as tough on your back as you make it. it is very tough on my back because of the throws i tend to use and the positions i am comfortable in.

i missed about 2 years due to a severe neck injury and rehab'd it all the way back to where i hardly even notice it. I really think that you just need to strengthen and stretch your back more and more as you progress in the sport especially if you plan on fighting hard in class or competing.

if not for a recreational player it can be quite easy on the joints especially once you get good at ukemi or falling.

 

[Judo Tom]

ok wednesday training.

good class except i realized that i better start eating a bit more cause i was getting all sorts of dizzy all day when i was standing up or walking up stairs and things like that but again my weight is dropping rapidly so im a happy camper and can actually afford to start eating more. thank goodness cause i dont want to pass out at class

Ok so last nite i worked on my kouchi gari again. I worked on hitting it right after i break someons grip on my right arm and launching right into. I was focusing again on getting my left foot up close to his right which helps me get a good reap and allows me to reach his foot if he does step back. I worked on it right off the grip and i worked on making sure i really 'hung' onto his shoulder with my right arm.

here is a link with a lesson on how to do kouchi gari (this version is called kouchi makikomi)

http://www.judoyonah.com/lesson-5-e.htm

the main difference in the way i do it and the way it is shown in the page is that he is grabbing the opponents right leg with his right arm where i generally keep my right arm hooked up into his armpit and use it to lock on to him and drive him down. IMO grabbing the legs works well but if you get the throw with your arm in his armpit you have the potential for a much bigger and more powerful throw.. so thats what i go for...

I also worked on my seonage. I worked on using it coming in left foot first. I worked on using it off a foot sweep using my left leg then pausing and then using it. This was working terribly during practice and the problem was it is that w/o resistance you are just doing 2 forward throws in a row and its goofy. however in randori when you try to throw someone forward they react backwards.. then there is a pause in there movement.. then they either continue moving backward (kouchi time) or move forward and thats when i hit seonage. this worked really well when we did randori because i could wait for him to react back into me.

here is a lesson on seonage:
http://www.judoyonah.com/lesson-3-e

i do it like it looks in the last pic very low or actually most likely i have dropped to my knees to finish the throw .. launching in straight on your knees is much faster but lacks the power of the real low style

 

[Judo Tom]

ok so journaling isnt as fun as i thought.. props to kane fan for keeping his going soooo long.. i just cant keep up

BUT my training has been great. i feel great. im already under weight so i can eat normal up until my tournament which will be nice. my confidence is pretty high and i feel i have a good game plan ready to go.

ive been on the mat about 6-7x a week for the last 3 weeks and a lot of my 'tools' are working nicely.

ive also been fighting guys that are MUCH heavier then me so that when i fight someone my weight they will be easier to deal with then my training partners.. hopefully..

i still have about 4 mat sessions left before the tournament and that will bemainly focusing on strategy and some quick tactical moves that are easy to learn but may help in a tournament.

 

[Snypr]

Congrats on the weight, and good luck!

 

[KOArtist]

Hey Tom, you don't use the ephedra pre-competition do you (like that day?) That shit ruined me for a BJJ comp once.

 

[Judo Tom]

no i dropped all stims like 3 days before teh comp and just sipped some diet soda to prevent those caffeine headaches..

 

[Judo Tom]

well tournament was on sunday.

i fought 3 divisions. I was really only in good enough shape to fight 2

I got a silver and a bronze. the silver was in the lightest division and the bronze in the heaviest. I had no luck in the middle division.

This was the toughest tournament Ive ever fought in MENTALLY because i was fighting every few matches (so every 3-5 mins) and was exhausted stepping on to the mat for almost all my fights.

I puked after one of my losses due to exhaustion and excess gatorade. I puked in a garbage can after the match and I put my gi on and went to find my coach near the mat, before i even got to him i had to fight again. It really toughened me up and i saw how uneffective some of my attacks became once i was dead tired.

I also realized that i can fight WAY better on the ground when exhausted then on my feet. I also realized that some of my strategies and game plans are really really good but i just need to stick to it and not get fustrated.

My next tournament will most likely be in a few weeks to a month and it is HUGE one of the biggest out there and I will only be entering one division which should make things much easier.

Throughout this tournament I used some of my bread and butter judo throws like seonage and kouchi but i also used a lot of double leg take downs and firemans carry's.

more details upon request.. or if i get bored.. which i will

 

[Kane Fan]

how did you compete in multiple weightclasses?

 

[Judo Tom]

the divisions are set up so its like <10kg <20kg <30kg (EXAMPLES)

so i was <10kg and fought there.. since i was <20kg i could fight there and <30kg as well

in the highest division i was giving up over 35lbs to some of my opponents. but strength wasnt an issue at all.. just my endurance or recouping in between matches that killed me

oh well it is huge motivation for my next tournament

 

[Kane Fan]

oh so if your little you can compete in like all the weightclasses?

 

[Judo Tom]

now you got the idea.

also in a few years god willing when i reach 30 i will be able to compete in masters divisions too.. although i dont think i will compete in that division except for the nationals.