After a traditional Kodokan Judo line up and bow in the class got underway.
Kodokan Judo for kids really started kicking into full gear this week and the kids Judo with stand up techniques and randori. The judo classes started off with some serious warm up work and then followed this with stamina training.
We then went into basics training with a focus on the Judo roll from both left and right hand side, followed by some entry work on O-soto gari. I was quite surprised that some of the kids had slipped a little on the technical side of the entry and many had to have corrections given due to incorrect foot position on the step in phase of the throw.
It just serves as a reminder ( to me as well as the students ) that we need to continually practice our Judo basics so all aspects of the technique stays fresh in our mind to produce accurate execution each and every time we train.
After a drink break it was time for the learning of this weeks Judo techniques. Getting grips ( and hence control ), breaking of balance during the standup and entry phase was the order of the day… What looked quite simple to the kids quickly had them sweating and working harder than they would ever have imagined.
In each of the kids Kodokan Judo classes moving from the 6 to 10 year old class to the mixed age beginners class, 
which did breaking of balance from the kneeling position ( followed by pinning of their opponent ), and then to the 11 to 16 year old class the intensity grew. In the 11 to 16 year old class we saw some really solid levels of stand up grip fighting with breaking of balance, many of the students finding it more than just a little challenging to get their opponent off balance and on the mat with the use of Kuzushi only.
To ensure safety of all the students involved we limited the numbers of participants on the mat at any one time. Many of the kids basically collapsed by the end of their rounds due to the physical effort involved at this level of their learning process.
It is just so pleasing to see such incredible growth in our students and I really look forward to 2013 when some of the club members start to compete in competition to test their skills and themselves even further.
Next week is the last week of term and then the Kaizen Martial Arts Australia students will have a two week break. When we return from the school term break it will be full bore training towards the last grading of 2012. So many of the kids already can barely contain their excitement for the opportunity to grade to the next belt level of their Kodokan Judo and Shotokan Karate training.
We finished off the classes with the traditional bowing out process and then club high fives all round!
