Judo Tips & News
Tip of the Week: Options for The Clinch
Vince:
How’s it going? I’m Coach Vince Salvador from the Arena.
Charles:
I’m Coach Charles Martinez. We’re here to discuss some options for the clinch different than what you may have seen before. We’ll start here.
Vince:
A lot of times in the clinch, the basic rule for the clinch is to have my hips close to his hips. People say cup to cup or belt to belt. If I’m out here in a clinch, I’m gonna get kneed all day. It’s easier to snap my head down if this is MMA. If I see my feet in the clinch, I’m probably gonna see a knee in my face, as well. I need to bring my hips in and I need to trap the inside of his biceps. When I do that, it prevents him from being able to grab me. It prevents him from hitting me, punching me, throwing elbows.
Vince:
Also, if he tries to throw a knee, I have a steering wheel. The steering wheel is what I’m gonna use to open up the space for me to land my shots. If I’m controlling the bicep here and I wanna make some space, I’m gonna use my inner thigh and my steering wheel to open up one side. If you come around to this side, you can see it on this side. We’re hip to hip. I have no space. I cannot knee from here so I need to make some space.
Vince:
What I’m gonna do is I’m gonna get his weight to this side so this leg is light. The way I do that is with the steering wheel. I can use this grip, this grip, either/or. It’s really a preference thing. I like this grip. This is gonna make it easy for me to bring his head down. For me to do that, I distract him with a knee. Then his weight goes here. I pull where my inner thigh is gonna meet the inner thigh of his inner thigh to open up his body.
Vince:
I’ve already opened up that side with my elbow lifting. Now my left knee just comes up and right back down. When I land that, I don’t wanna leave it there too long, ’cause he might grab it. If it’s MMA, I’m going on my back. It’s quick and down. If he does grab it, I can still kick my leg down, throw an elbow to attack on that same side, but as long as I have the bicep I’ll be strong here.
Charles:
Often times, when you’re taught this, everyone’s taught to clench the head right away. That means that you’ve gotten past all these other phases of pummeling and clench. A lot of times here, this happens in the pummel. He goes to swing his hands inside. If I reach for the head and I’m strong, he has a hard time breaking this off but he swings his hand to the inside, he can use the bicep to start to clear that grip. If he swings his hand to the inside to the collar tie, when I clear the bicep, I also use leverage in my body and I try and establish that inside control.
Charles:
If you want to think about it from an MMA perspective versus a Muay Thai perspective, when I’m controlling the biceps, he reaches in, tries to grab it under hook, I’m already in contact. If he tries to try and run his body that way, I’m able to start wizzering hard on that side and I’m already in contact versus being up here where it makes it easier for him to kind of bump and establish this good hard under-hook that he’s really looking for.
Charles:
So close, head in, and then I’m able to start advancing to a better clench from here to deliver the unbalances, knees, elbows and I’m able to be attached to him to prevent these take-downs.
Vince:
That’s your tip of the week.
Tip of the Week – Rolling Back Take
Jamarr Coleman: Hey, what’s up everybody. This is Jamarr from The Arena. I am here with the rattlesnake, Ryan Fortin, one of our jiu-jitsu coaches here.
I got a question for you. I know we were working on the rolling back take. I try it, and I’m like a damn ostrich. You know? I’m like hitting my head smack into the ground.
How do I make this rolling back take smooth?
Ryan Fortin: Definitely. Definitely. I see this a lot. You know a lot of people have this problem. Right? Let’s get into position.
Jamarr Coleman: Okay.
Ryan Fortin: So we’re gonna start in the three-quarter mount. Right? So go ahead, take mount.
Jamarr Coleman:Okay.
Ryan Fortin:And then the guy’s got your ankle.
Jamarr Coleman: All right.
Ryan Fortin: Okay? So a lot of times probably what you’re doing is you’re trying to roll right from here, right?
Jamarr Coleman: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I’m sitting up here and I’m really looking like an ostrich…
Ryan Fortin: So, the problem is is that there’s too much in the way, so just try walking with your hands more towards my feet. Right?
Jamarr Coleman: Oh, okay.
Ryan Fortin: Yeah. Now you’re creating a stronger leverage, so now when you roll, my hips are a lot lighter.
Jamarr Coleman: Oh.
Ryan Fortin:It’s much easier for you to clear that space. Make your rolling back take easier.
Jamarr Coleman: Hey, there you have it. Move of the week.
Judo: A Brief History
In mixed martial arts, there are many ancient sports that athletes study in order to become better fighters. These include Greco-Roman wrestling skills and boxing, both of which date back centuries. Judo, however, is quite important to MMA, but was only developed in the later part of the 19th century. You will find it similar to Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in many ways, and that’s not hard to understand, since BJJ actually developed out of the world of Kodokan Judo.
In Judo, the main objective is to find a way to knock your opponent to the ground and then use a lock or a choke in order to gain an advantage. Judo students do learn striking, however, throwing techniques and grappling skills are far more important. In fact, striking is not a part of either sparring practice or allowable in competitions. In the century or so since Judo was developed, there have been many figures important to the sport.
Obviously, Jigoro Kano deserves the first mention as he founded the art, which became the first martial art included in the Olympic Games. Kano, much like Helio Gracie, was a bit of an underdog. Small and physically weak, he turned to jiujitsu to increase his strength. Eventually, he added wrestling techniques and techniques from other martial arts that he found to be effective, and out of many arts, a new one was born.
Like many who have sought out the teachings of Judo, Mitsuyo Maeda was not a particularly strong or large man, but he wanted to get stronger and he wanted a solid set of defensive skills. Taught by Jigoro Kano, he did so well that he was sent to other countries to spread the martial art. While visiting Brazil, he met Carlos Gracie, who was quite impressed with Judo and became a student. Eventually, Gracie opened his own school and with the help of brother Helio, the martial art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was developed. Maeda was an impressive fighter and earned a 7th dan black belt from the Kodokan Institute.
Maeda’s primary teacher was Tomita Tsunejiro, and he certainly has earned his place in the world of Judo’s Greats. Tsunejiro was one of the very first students of Judo, trained by Kano Jigoro himself. Tsunejiro also was the first student to earn a black belt and is also considered to be one of the Four Guardians of Judo.
Aside from boxing and wrestling, Judo was the first true martial art to be a part of the Olympic Games, and it was displayed as early as 1932 and became an official part of the summer games in 1964. The first gold medalist in the sport was not from Japan, but The Netherlands. Anton Geesink was the first Judo gold medalist, and although he eventually earned the rank of a 10th dan black belt from the International Judo Federation, this rank was unrecognized by the Kodokan Institute, which has awarded very few 10th dan black belts and none to anyone outside of Japan.
Because Judo is so effective as a way to overcome an opponent no matter what their size, it is very useful for mixed martial arts. There are several Judo experts in the world of MMA, such as Yoshihiro Akiyama and Anderson Silva. Ronda Rousey has used Judo effectively to win each of her professional MMA fights, and she won the bronze medal in Judo at the Olympic Games of 2008.