Jūdōka in the playground

[Inigo Montoya]

Anybody else in the playgroud who takes judo? I'd like to hear some horror stories...particularly from those who survived opponents who were fond of chokes.

[Ashtar]

I took Judo classes years ago, I guess from the age of 9 or so. I've got two incidents which come to mind.

One day, while we were training, the grandfather of our Sensei came to the dojo. After being introduced, our Sensei asked if anyone was up for a friendly spar against a poor old "defenceless" man. Begin young and stupid, I raised my hand: "Me, Me!". Oh, good lord, did I ever get a more thourough thrashing in my life? In about two minutes, I had been thrown more than a dozen times, with the tatami making a resounding thwack when my body impacted it.

The second was at one of the regional tournaments, I managed to get to the finals in my weight category and was paired off against Aline (A girl from my school). Now, there is one thing with me, it is that I am unable to strike / throw a woman, be it in martial arts training or elsewhere. I've just got a mental lock there. So as we sparred, I managed to get a couple of throws but every time, at the last second, I would cushion the throw. I got only a couple of "kokas" from the judge. Aline was getting angrier, feeling that I wasn't fighting at my full capacity. So after getting up, she came straight at me, I sidestepped and she fell flat on her face. Dislodging a tooth.
She got up, turned to me, red with anger and blood. And before anyone could do anthing, picked me up and threw me so hard I sailed off the combat surface and lay stunned on the ground for 10-15 seconds. Needless to say, I lost, although I was so sorry for her that I didn't care.

[sun_tzu]

I took judo as a kid. Went as far as green belt, then quit (partly because the sessions were starting to feel less like martial arts than gym, and partly because I was growing increasingly averse to falling).
Not much in the ways of horror stories...But there was that time in 8th grade when I got so fed up with a classmate who'd been harassing me since the start of the school year, that one time after gym class ended, I caught him and judo-threw him. By surprise and from behind, but still, I was amazed it worked in real life outside of the dojo.
Speaking of which...Back then, the best grade I got in gym class by far was in wrestling, when I managed to hold my own pretty well against a guy much bigger than me. I have no doubt the experience from judo helped.

[Destro_Yersul]

I only took Judo for a year. This, of course, reminded my dad that he used to take Judo, so he started up again.

He's now a 2nd Dan (I probably spelled that wrong) Black Belt and owns his own club.

[Hazkali]

One day, while we were training, the grandfather of our Sensei came to the dojo. After being introduced, our Sensei asked if anyone was up for a friendly spar against a poor old "defenceless" man. Begin young and stupid, I raised my hand: "Me, Me!". Oh, good lord, did I ever get a more thourough thrashing in my life? In about two minutes, I had been thrown more than a dozen times, with the tatami making a resounding thwack when my body impacted it.


Hmm...I think I know the guy (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Miyagi)...short, wizened, speaks with an accent?

:smallbiggrin:

I've never done any martial arts, let alone judo, so I can't really talk.

[Raewyn]

He's now a 2nd Dan (I probably spelled that wrong) Black Belt and owns his own club.
You spelled it very correctly. :smallsmile:

As for me... I did Tae Kwon Do. No horror stories. *shrug*

*goes back to lurking*

[PlatinumJester]

I used to do judo when I was 10 but this wanker guy who was about 17 picked me up and suplexed me. This continued until I lft about 2 months later.

[Exeson]

I just started two months ago and I'm loving it. If I get my registration done I should be 6th mon before Christmas :smallbiggrin:

[Timberwolf]

particularly from those who survived opponents who were fond of chokes.

Have we met ?

I did judo for a few years, years ago and I have no horror stories.

However, I took up jujitsu at university and dislocated my damn knee practicing a really simple throw. Apparently it was the most bloodcurdling scream anyone had ever heard.

[BlackStaticWolf]

Anybody else in the playgroud who takes judo? I'd like to hear some horror stories...particularly from those who survived opponents who were fond of chokes.

I don't practice judo myself... but I'm a member of a "club" of sorts that consists of practitioners of a mix of different martial arts who have full contact sparring matches with each other for fun and mutual education. The only rules we really use are to keep things friendly... no eye gouges, no breaking bones or joints, match ends when one person gives up.

I (using a mix of mostly savate and tae kwon do) spar a guy who uses a mix of judo and muai thai. He's gotten me in chokes several times, but has only managed to actually get me to tap out once using a choke. Most of the time, I'm able to break free or force the opponent to release the choke.

[Castaras]

One day, while we were training, the grandfather of our Sensei came to the dojo. After being introduced, our Sensei asked if anyone was up for a friendly spar against a poor old "defenceless" man. Begin young and stupid, I raised my hand: "Me, Me!". Oh, good lord, did I ever get a more thourough thrashing in my life? In about two minutes, I had been thrown more than a dozen times, with the tatami making a resounding thwack when my body impacted it.


Hehehe. That sorta thing happened at my Karate club...

There was this guy who had just started. We were doing this wrestling thing(Which I was one of the best at), and he makes a comment to our instructor about women being much weaker and easier to defeat than men.

Our instructor speaks much louder now, which makes me notice him. He looks at me, and I nod.

"Okay then. We'll put you, my boy, up against one of the girls."
*Over I come*
This guy: "...Crap. I take it back?"

After the fight, which I beat him easily in, he said, iirc, "Okay, okay, girls can be better than boysowownowstophurtingmeplease"

Hilarious. :smallbiggrin:

*runs out of the thread again, after the ninja*

[Aramil Liadon]

I didn't need to know you could kick my ass. I was under a very pleasant delusion, until just now.

So, is it actually an ancient Japanese tradition that on your birthday, everyone in the dojo gets to pull one free throw on you? Or do I just have a mean sensei?


My horror story: My friends. One fights like a jelly fish and the other... like a different jellyfish. I will call them Mitch and Jerold.
Mitch is a hyperactive, super-athletic kind of guy. After an hour of judo, he's beginning to look a little whacked. He moves slow, reacts a little more slowly than normal, his movements are lazy. We start to wrestle, and he's dragging his arms on the ground, looking like an insomniacs jellyfish. if you move back, he slowly follows you, and if you move forward, he'll move back like a particularly lazy pool of molasses. But, as soon as you go to touch him, you notice that you're on you back in a hold and he's still acting like he needs a nap. Fast, deadly, looks like he's a puddle of jello. Bad combo.
Jerold, on the other hand, never looks tired. When you go in for a hold, he just moves with you, rolling right onto his back. In general, acts like a particularly dumb white-belt who thinks you win by letting the other person do a choke on you.
Jerold fights, not on his knees with his hands, but on his back with his legs. I swear he has put me in more holds, chokes, and arm-bars without moving his shoulders off the ground than he has otherwise. He, just like Mitch, looks like easy prey, and is neigh impossible to get the jump on.

[BlackStaticWolf]

So, is it actually an ancient Japanese tradition that on your birthday, everyone in the dojo gets to pull one free throw on you? Or do I just have a mean sensei?

That's an ancient HUMAN tradition, man. Birthdays equal abuse.

[SurlySeraph]

I didn't need to know you could kick my ass. I was under a very pleasant delusion, until just now.

So, is it actually an ancient Japanese tradition that on your birthday, everyone in the dojo gets to pull one free throw on you? Or do I just have a mean sensei?

Birthday punches are one of the crowning achievements of human culture.

I did judo in 3rd grade for 2 weeks. The sensei was really hostile and mocking, so I quit. Later, I did taekwondo for about 2 years. Then I took up wrestling, which I've done for 5 years. And am, finally, actually competent at. :smallbiggrin:

[ForzaFiori]

i took Okinawan Gojo-ryu, Kobudo, and Karate-do (My sensai had been trained in all 3, and so he taught them all at our dojo. essentially we learned both the empty hand and weapons styles from Okinawa.) for 10 years, reaching 4th Dan (junior class, b/c I'm under 18). I've got lots of stories, some of the best being:

there was a kid who had transfered from a different style (one of the big name ones, i think it was Tae-kwan-do), and due to his training there, was given a green belt (the middle belt in my style) when he joined. I was sparring him in a friendly match. (so there were less rules, like the fact that there was basically no ring) I was backing him up against a wall, when the dude pulls out something from the movies, and waits till i charge, goes off the wall and flips over me. It was the coolest thing i've ever seen.

A friend of mine (he's a couple years and about 2 belts above me) and I have been sparring each other every chance we get basically sense we met (which was about the 1st year i was there). in 10 years, i think we've finished...MAYBE 10 matches. Most of the time, its because one of us starts to bleed (which causes my sensai to call the match :(.) Some of the cooler injuries was me breaking his nose with a backfist to the face, Him punching out one of my teeth (a baby tooth, thankfully), and then he sliced his toe bad tripping trying to get away from me one time.

One of my sensai's was an old friend of my moms, so whenever he needed to demonstrate something to the class, I was usually the demonstratee. He was showing an "old faithful" throw, essentially an over the shoulder throw, and managed to chunk me like 4 or 5 feet into a wall. Hurt like nothing i've ever felt before. Thankfully, it earned me about a week of not having stuff like that done to me :P

Martial arts is some fun stuff.

[Aramil Liadon]

After careful consideration, I have decided that I want to learn to flip like that.

Oh, and I've also decided that it's not so much being kicked, I'm scared that our local Pieomancer could grapple my ass and I wouldn't be able to stop her.

Assuming I'd want to, that is. ;)

[fireinthedust]

Have we met ?

I did judo for a few years, years ago and I have no horror stories.

However, I took up jujitsu at university and dislocated my damn knee practicing a really simple throw. Apparently it was the most bloodcurdling scream anyone had ever heard.


I was there!!! well, sort of. At my university this other guy was taking his orange belt test. Hip throw, dislocate, scream. He didn't come back.

Personally, I joined when I wanted to make a zombie film. I went to university and the jujitsu club was affiliated with the police college nearby. I grappled with police officers and officers in training for two years. I was about... 160lbs? The smallest guy in the class. I couldn't actually pin any of them directly, as they were too strong. However, they couldn't get me as I was too wirey and good at the moves (so lots of skill but no strength; escape artist ranks +10?)

I think the horror story was when other people would try to ruin the vibe. This one guy who was ahead of me decided he didn't like me; I trained a lot, though. Anyway, when grappling I choked him out with his t-shirt (It had been done to me by a black belt, so I don't know if it was or wasn't allowed in practice). He went nuts when he got up and attacked me... so I grappled, and knelt on his stomach, and was about to arm-lock him when he tapped out with a "fine, whatever, this is stupid".
I let him go, as I was thinking "I'm not sinking to some unprofessional level", but the incident really bugged me. he didn't come back, though, due to long-term injuries.

Really, the only "horror" would be people who want to use practice as a way of hurting others and *cause paaaain* rather than helping each other to be better jujitsuka

[Brickwall]

I took a few judo classes. Now, any day I get to throw people around is fun, even if it involves being thrown around. I have no way to explain the fact that I didn't like it much, so I'll write it off to personal taste. Still, I know many jovial judo practicioners. Apparently all that hugging makes you either cuddly or psychotic (and in some cases, both).

[VeisuItaTyhjyys]

I've taken Judo since I was about seven. I quit after my second dan and started taking Sambo when I lived in Finland. Much less stylish, but a lot more useful in an actual fight. Not that Judo's not, Sambo's just Krav Maga for badasses.

I don't really have many horror stories. Because of something involving being way underweight and something or other and ligaments and blah-blah-I-was-drunk-when-it-got-explained-blah, dislocating doesn't really mean anything to me. I don't feel it and I can put them right back in.

[averagejoe]

I've judoed a bit. I remember being particularly fond of chokes too.

Horror stories... one time I bruised this girl's ribs when I was pinning her. :smalleek: (To be fair, she could probably totally kick my ass in the sort of fight where you actually try to hurt each other.)

[thubby]

I don't practice judo myself... but I'm a member of a "club" of sorts that consists of practitioners of a mix of different martial arts who have full contact sparring matches with each other for fun and mutual education. The only rules we really use are to keep things friendly... no eye gouges, no breaking bones or joints, match ends when one person gives up.

I am a member of a similar group. i'm one of the small guys (about 5'5", wiry). I get paired up with one of the biggest guys in our group (at least 6foot, around 200lb, built like a brick wall). I use a combination of Taekwondo and grappling techniques, odd I know but it works.
I did well at first, staying out of his reach. then he grabs my right arm with his left, gets his other arm across my chest, and plows me into the ground full force. the best I can do is get my leg around under his arm and get a kick at the back of his head before nearly blacking out.
that hit was the only time I have ever genuinely feared for my life.