judo help

hey, so I recently started judo at my uni for the first time ever and I still dont feel confident. I really enjoy it I just find it difficult and i cant seem to breakfall despite having a lesson on it :/ I cant seem to think fast enough and I feel kike im annoying the sensai and other club members and myself :/ started in january and im the only white belt in the club, should I just persevere?

Reply 1

mickmook

Yeah certainly! I am not well qualified to talk about judo but I've trained a lot of different martial arts over the years. The core aspect of any martial art is discipline - and sometimes that means digging deep. If you need to, practice outside of hours and work on with it in your own time, find a training partner maybe. The key thing you mentioned is that you enjoy it - you're doing it for you, not them, and so as long as you're still enjoying it you're onto a winner :smile:

If you're really not finding it appealing, consider moving clubs if there are others nearby. I've trained in many clubs over the years with different combat sports and learnt new things from each teaching style. I've had everyone from approachable people to genuine nut-cases train me and they all have their benefits :P

Long story short, you're developing a skill (especially when it comes to things like reaction times which you mentioned) and this takes time. Training more than once a week is recommended and finding a club thast suits you will definitely help you develop. "Thinking quickly enough" relies on muscle memory which isn't really like "thinking" at all and so can't be rushed, you have to develop it over time.

Good Luck!

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 2

ihavemooedtoday

Original post by MichMoch

That's normal! It took me quite a while to feel confident, too. For my first 10 or so lessons I was always a little afraid of getting thrown.

You will eventually get it, though! It just takes a bit of practice - getting thrown in different orientations, getting thrown by not very experienced people, etc.

I find that, though, the most important thing is to keep chin in (otherwise you will hit your head and it will hurt like @#$@#%), and legs apart (knees landing on top of one another can leave you limping for days). The rest is really secondary. Many people don't do the arm slap, and they seem to be OK.

It becomes much more fun once you get past the breakfall stage, and aren't afraid of getting thrown anymore. That's when you can really start working on the more complex throws.

Reply 3

MichMoch

Ahh thanks! :smile:

I currently train 2/3 times a week at my current club. Over the summer I'm finding a club near home so I can still train whilst not at uni, this seems to be a good idea after what you said mickmook :smile:

I get what you mean about the fear of throwing, I'm still a bit iffy about it mainly because I can't seem to breakfall, I know how it just doesn't happen when I'm thrown lol I'm not sure how to practice that in my free time :/

Reply 4

ihavemooedtoday

Yeah I guess there is not much you can do at home... someone needs to make a robot that can throw people! (preferably non-fatally)

Breakfalling when getting thrown is never going to be the same as breakfalling by yourself, because every throw is different, and you don't have a lot of control in how you get thrown :P. Also, if your opponent is taller and they hold on to your gi after they throw, it makes breakfalling much more difficult, because your back won't really be contacting the mat.

IMHO the perfect breakfall is really not that important. As long as you keep chin in, feet apart, and don't stick your hand out, you won't get injured. And in some cases, namely tournaments, people would actually deliberately not breakfall, because breakfalling and making a loud noise is basically telling the referee to give your opponent the point.

It would be cool to see cats do judo!

And yeah different clubs is good! That's the best thing about judo for me - you get free friends everywhere! And every club is a little different, with different focuses and different atmosphere (social vs hard core, etc).

Eg. I am from a small (~10 people) and casual club in Vancouver, and when I worked in California a while ago I joined a judo club there that happened to be one of the oldest club in the US with ~150 members and a huge gym - everything is so different! Made tons of friends, and had a send-off party to send a girl to 2012 London Olympics (she ended up winning bronze). I'm going to London in a few months, and will definitely find a club there to join, too!

Reply 5

DatSk8rBoy

you'll soon learn to breakfall cause your body will get tired of getting hurt and so a breakfall will become your natural reaction. I know cause i've been doing judo since i was 7 (I am almost 16 now so thats 9 years). I was afraid of being thrown at first because, much like you, I could not physically breakfall due to many disabilities such as Dyspraxia and things of that nature. To be honest I soon managed to get the timing right after a while of being thrown, getting hurt, getting back up, and doing it again and again until i got it right. Now I am a green belt (12th Mon / 3rd Kyu) which I am pretty proud of achieving.
So, don't stress about it. As you said, you enjoy doing it, and really all it takes is that and the motivation to be able to be hurt but carry on trying - and trust me it hurts alot, especially when you get to armlocks, but don't worry that won't be for a few years for you hopefully (depending on the instructor though some go by you have to be 14 y/o some do you have to be green belt or higher)
anyway i'm rambling xD
hope this helps even if it is almost 5 months after you originally posted lol!

~Callum :biggrin: