Judo - Techniques Tips and Tricks

Just as Sir Isaac Newton's laws of mechanics state that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction, so for every judo movement there is a counter-technique. Naturally a badly timed or mechanically incorrect attempt at a throw is much easier to counter than a razor-sharp, finely tuned tokui-waza.

Some throws are manifestly more difficult to counter than others, at least by using counter-throws. In some cases, such as drop seoi-nage or tomoe-nage, ne-waza is the best option. Judo, though, is a dynamic environment and evolves at a very rapid rate. At international level, where video is widely used to study rivals' techniques, competitors and their coaches are constantly trying to develop specific answers to specific problems. Awareness is the key to effective counters, the trick is to feel what the opponent intends to do before he does it and have a trained response ready.

However good you may become at countering an opponent it is important not to become a lurker, the type of judo player who makes no positive moves and just awaits his opponent's attacks. The best players frequently convert techniques which originally developed as counter-attacks into direct attacks in their own right. Uranage, sukui-nage (or te-guruma as it is sometime called) and tani-otoshi are all classic examples of adaptation. Players develop a technique as a counter, their opponents become aware of the danger and stop using throws which expose them to the counter, so it is then up to the counter thrower to create an opportunity to apply the skill and the best route left open is often to go for a direct attack.

Traditionally there were felt to be three types of timing where counters were concerned: sen no sen, tainosen and go no sen. The first timing, sen no sen, is a pre-emptive strike. Tori feels uke's balance shifting as he is just about to try a technique and attacks first, not waiting for the actual attack to materialize.

The second timing, taino sen, is a counter to an attack already underway; for example uke places his foot in tori's stomach to do tomoe-nage, however, tori does not wait for uke to sit down and try to throw, but rather grabs his ankle and throws him to the floor with tani-otoshi.

Go no sen, the third timing, involves actually riding or blocking the attack and then countering, such as when tori steps over a tai-otoshiand throws uke with uchimata. The techniques involved are not especially important, the main thing is to be able to distinguish the different timings and use them when appropriate.

THE MODERN GO-KYO

The go kyo comprises five sets of eight techniques, a total of forty throws in all. These forty throws are also categorized as belonging to one of five different types:

o Hand throws te-waza (tai-otoshi, seoi-nage)
o Foot throws ashi-waza (de ashi-harai, okuri-ashi-harai)
o Hip throws koshi-waza (harai-goshi, tsuri-komi-goshi)
o Rear sacrifice throws ma-sutemi waza (tomoe-nage, sumi-gaeshi, hikikomi-gaeshi)
o Side sacrifice throws yoko-sutemi waza (yoko wakare, yoko-guruma)

These categories are sometimes confusing for the beginner as each and every throw actually uses more or less the whole body; you have to move your feet to do them all and must grip your opponent to throw him, so you use your hands in all of them.

The logic of these apparently arbitrary categories only really makes itself apparent after years of practice, and for the beginner it is best to consider them as hints as to what part of a given technique requires particular emphasis and study. If tai-otoshi is classed as a hand technique, even though you throw your opponent over an outstretched leg, it is because the essential key to an effective tai-otoshi lies in the correct use of the arms and hands. Likewise harai-goshi is classed as a hip throw because the key to doing it well is in the action of the hips.

     By Tony Hackerott 

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