I guess I'm addicted to judo!

I was reading I Judo tonight, and I saw his list of ways to figure out if you are addicted to judo. I think a couple of these things apply to me. The bolded ones are mine:

"1. When you see someone take a bad fall, you mentally assign a score based on how they landed.

2. When you size up someone in a bar, whether or not they have lapels figures into the equation.

3. You've ever wondered how hard you would have to slap if you fell off a two story building.

4. When you push a chair back under a table, you use a foot sweep.

5. When you trip and fall, you check your leg positioning before you stand back up.

6. When watching the show COPS, you criticize the takedown and joint lock techniques.

7. You've had to restrain yourself from choking someone unconscious for saying "Judo chop!"

8. You've ever done a forward roll into bed.

9. When one of your sons complains about his older brother choking him, you respond with, "Well, did you tap out?"

10. You've ever applied a joint lock to someone for stealing food from your plate. "

And I have a few of my own:

11. When practicing aerobic moves in class, you start practicing foot sweeps.

12. You start practicing techniques no matter where you are at.

13. You've practiced chokes while having sex (or at least thought about them).

Yeah, busted...........

Just an update about judo life

I met Adler Volmar a couple of weeks ago at work while I was picking up my paycheck. I work at the same place he did. Yes, 2008 Olympian Adler Volmar. The man lives and works in Coral Springs. I told him that I do judo, and he invited me to train with him. Really cool, huh? We talked a bit about the Olympics and I told him that the ref robbed him of his chance to move on further.

I told my sensei about it the next day, and he gave me a little warning about him. He had been accused of doing something pretty bad while he was out in Colorado at the training center. A week after my sensei tells me this, he pulls me aside in practice and lets me know that Adler's been arrested.

There's a thread on judoforum.com about it, and I posted a response about it. I really thought about it, and I felt a little sickened and sad. If there is any truth to it, I feel horrible for the victim. If not, I feel bad for Adler because his reputation is ruined. (Talking with my bosses, it's probably true.) It really upset me because I really care about this sport.

Anyway, I think my judo is improving and my specialty throw is becoming ippon seonagi. I keep using it the most. I was shown another way to do it the other night, other than the traditional way and what I call "drop seonagi." (I call it that because in order to get a better kuzuchi, you drop to your knees while throwing.) My sensei showed me how to do it off the lapel last week.

I'm thinking about going tonight, but I'm suddenly not feeling well. I really need to go. I really need to get in the gym and work out. I have 1 month to lose a little over 20 pounds, and I am not doing it sitting around doing nothing.

Finally VIDEO!!!!

Finally I have some video of myself from the tournament. My friend Garfield, when he posted it on youtube, that it was ogoshi. What you can't see it that it's actually ippon seonagi. Georgy gave me inspiration for that, and it worked. Too bad it didn't work the other time I tried to use it later.

A Practice Update

I took Monday night off from practice because I had a nutrition test the next day that I needed to study for, so last night I went to practice.

I took it easy with newaza last night. I probably should have worked a litter harder, but I was tired. I've been told that's when you really start doing judo. Mat work was okay. I have a certain few people that I like doing newaza and randori with, and my sensei keeps trying to get me to go with people I don't like working with. I ONLY like working with the black belts and one of the green belts. (Man, I'm picky.) Garfield made me work kinda fast last night, making me get my grips and work quickly. I think he's really starting to push me more.

I went one round with this new kid last night. I remember when I was all strength like him. It will take him some time, but he'll learn it's not all strength and speed. I ended up spending part of the round teaching him one way to turn someone over using the half-Neslon technique. He got it and used it on me. I didn't bother trying to keep him from doing so because I know he needed to learn it. It makes me feel good when I can teach someone something that I know. Teaching helps re-enforce everything.

We've started learning things for our belt testing coming up. When I pass this test, I'll be an orange belt. Last night was tai otoshi. Jerry was trying to remind me that no one was out to get me or picking on me last night, but it felt like people were expecting me to get it last night. I don't know. I wasn't in the best of moods last yesterday and last night; maybe that contributed to everything.

There's a referee clinic Saturday after practice. I should go, but I do need to study for an exercise physiology test that I have on Wednesday. Choices, choices.........

For my first tournamet

I think I did pretty well. I ended up with a silver!!!!!!! GO ME! I think I represented my dojo well and all of the girls that play there. The five of us that are there. I'll have more pictures to post later. I wish I could get the video that was taken on here too.

Blue Judo Gi's

I now have two blue judo gi's and two white ones. My boyfriend, Jerry, got me a HSU double weave competition gi for my birthday, and it finally got to his house today. I picked it up and wore it tonight at practice. Oh, it was great!!! I love blue gis!!!! I don't know why, but I do!!! The other one I bought myself on Saturday and wore it to both Saturday's practice and Monday's practice.

My sensei is getting club patches for our gis and he's also getting our last names for the backs of our gi jackets. I'm getting this done to one of my white gis and my blue competition gi. I can't wait to see how that turns out. I also ordered a t-shirt. Now, I get to show my dojo some love (and advertise at the same time.)

Tonight was the last scheduled practice before the Kevin Book Tournament at UF. That's this coming Saturday. I am a little nervous about this because I'm not fighting in the weight class that my sensei wants me in and that he feels will be safer for me. He says there's a girl in my current weight class that he says has "bad judo". I can't remember what he says she does other than delibrately falls on people, but what is bad judo? I'm still trying to learn the "good" stuff. I almost hope she doesn't show up to this tournament..........

The guys in my dojo are pretty brutal. They kept pulling my gi over my chin trying to choke me. I don't know whether it was them being brutal or I was properly protecting my throat. I think maybe it was the latter of the two, but what do I know? (LOL) Of course, that's also what I get for being one of two girls in the adult class.

I think I realized tonight why I don't like being thrown. I think that it has a lot to do with the fact that I can see the mats when I'm on someone's back. No throwing was done tonight, but during the exercise mentioned below, I noticed that when I was on my partner's back and looked down, I got tense, anticipating the rest of the throw. When I closed my eyes and tucked my chin, it wasn't bad at all. (Something I have to remember for later.....)

I ended up helping teach some of the new kids tonight. These guys are so new, they don't even have gis yet. Sensei wanted us to practice getting our hips in for ogoshi, and I had no partner because he had to leave early. I like to help teach because it helps re-enforce what I know.

I think after the tournament we start practicing for belt testing. I think my sensei said something about that, but I've been so scatterbrained lately, I don't know whether I'm coming or going. I'll be an orange belt then. One step closer to that black belt I want so bad.

Another practice blog

Today's practice wasn't bad. I went and got myself a blue gi for my birthday, so I wore it today.

We did some throwing practice (nage komi), mat work (newaza), and some grip fighting (kumikata). Mat work seems to be becoming my strong point right now because I'm such a chicken when it comes to randori. (I really don't like being thrown at all. I hope the refs allow me to do the mat work I know.....)

The nage komi was done with crash pads today, which made me rather happy. My ippon seonagi was amazing today! The drop seonagi was good too. Heck, every throw that I did one someone who was close to my height and weight was amazing! I felt really good about the throws!

Georgy, who's one of the senseis we have at my dojo, is a very good sensei. He's pretty patient, and I like that. I did some newaza with him and he was in my group for nage komi. He's willing to teach anyone who wants to learn.
I took this picture a while ago in practice one night. The guy in the blue gi is really good and really really tall. Georgy (not the guy in the white) wanted me to throw the blue gi guy koshi garuma (hip wheel), and I couldn't do it because he's like 6'6" and I'm 5'7". I ended up throwing him ogoshi because it was easier.

Sensei Vega had us doing the nage komi a little different today. He had us split up into two groups, lightweights and heavy weights (I was a heavywieght), and try to throw the people in our group as many times as we could in one minute. That was a little rough because we had to move quickly in order to do this.

I have some of my normal bruises back, so I'm pretty pleased. I, for some reason, enjoy those bruises. I think they make me feel like I accomplished something at practice.