This was out final session before Easter and I wanted it to be a solid session for everyone from the first class right through to the last class of the night and it was that and much, much more, we all need the rest by the end of the night including me after teaching 3 straight classes in a row at high intensity .
We started out with a set of combined exercises that were designed specifically for Judo as well as to provide a full body workout for the kids, increasing their grip strength, pulling power, shoulder muscle development and other Judo related benefits.
The first of these was pulling the dead weight of your body by using just your forearms and a circular motion with your arms.. think like a swimming motion. It looks so easy and simple until you have to do it and even the fit adults struggle with this one, it is a real killer on your strength and cardio.
The second exercise was one where one child laid on the stomach and stretched their arms forward and griped to small pieces of judo belt, their partners walked backwards until both their arms were straight and then used the power of their arms, shoulders and upper body to complete a rowing motion pulling their partner to their feet, the process continued until they reached the other end and then they swapped over and the exercise was done again… a tough but effective training tool.
The next was some abdominal work to help the kids strengthen those tummy muscles that are so critical not only for our Judo throws but for our health and back in later life.
The exercise required the kids to raise their feet off the ground at differing heights for a set period of time. This really got the kids going and I pretended to loose count so we have to start counting again and again… a lot of fun and great for the kids as well.
The next step in the nights training was to do a solid review of grips and more specifically the finer points of grips and the correct ways to apply them to maximum effect and control.
After several goes through the grip positions and use we started to move onto the first of their Judo throws, as this was also a review of how much they had remembered and how much of the technique was being utilized correctly.
We took some time going back through the finer points of the throw before partnering up and stepping though the throw by individual count.
From this we went into the throw on a single count and the class did an exceptional job at getting this throw to a solid level of competence.
In the last section of the nights training we moved from the throw to performing a hold down once the person had moved to the ground, this hold down is known as a scarf hold and it is extremely effective when used correctly.
You even see this hold used to great effect in the Olympics and the most seasoned of Judo practitioners find it extremely difficult if not near impossible when applied in the correct manner.
The kids grasped this technique with their normal vigor and passion and within minutes there was the hand raised in the air with the obligatory “YES” I held him down… Then of course it was time to switch over and then the score was reversed, all great fun and the skill building the kids are gaining will stay with them for life.
