Subcategories of "Columns":
- Allen Woodman (8)
- Donald Miskel (57)
- Frank Dux at Large (1)
- Iain Abernethy (13)
- Kata (8)
- Russell Stutely (20)
- Hidden Secrets (12)
- Kata (1)
- Pressure Point Tips (5)
- Training Tips (2)
- Stephen Kaufman (10)
Reunion
Article by: John WallaceAt the age of seventeen I began studying Judo. Small and slight of build, but with an acumen for basketball none-the-less, I was finding it necessary to defend myself on the basketball court when bigger players became frustrated with me and began to rough me up when simply guarding me proved ineffective. I had grown [...]
Transitions
Article by: John WallaceI suspect that like some martial artists, my martial arts journey has been unusual in that I drifted away from the arts for a while and then returned to them after a considerable absence. I began my studies at age seventeen with the legendary Judo Sensei Don Schneider, in the Tidewater judo Club of Norfolk, [...]
True Humility
Article by: John WallaceInteresting talk on the phone today with my old-time Judo Sensei, Don Schneider. Due to the vagaries of an article which appeared about him in our then-local paper, some 38 years ago, I have always been under the impression that he earned a place on the 1976 US Olympic Judo Team by coming out to [...]
Tomoe Nage; Eastern Throw, Western Craze
Article by: John WallaceAnyone who has ever seen an old west fistfight staged for a movie or TV series has probably seen a scene in which one character falls to his back and then somersaults an opponent over his head, using a leg and foot to do so. Anyone who has ever studied Judo knows this throw as [...]
America’s Hunters and Gun Control
Article by: John WallaceIn World War Two, the Japanese Emperor Hirohito was musing about the possibility of invading the United States in the aftermath of Pearl Harbor. Admiral Isoroku Yamamato, the greatest Japanese military leader of the time, and a man who had gone to college in the USA, told the Emperor, “You can never invade the United [...]
The Judo Jab
Article by: John WallaceJust as in boxing, where it is said that “Everything works off the jab”, in Judo it might be said that “Everything works off the foot sweep” known as De Ashi Harai. De Ashi Harai is a basic, first principle throw, executed by coordinated movements of the sweeping foot, the body and especially the arms, [...]
Restraint
Article by: John WallaceWhen is it alright for a martial artist to dispense with restraint in real life confrontations? A tough question with no easy answer. Indeed the answer will vary from one situation to the next depending on many variable factors, including who the people involved are. This question came back to my mind last night in [...]
Calm
Article by: John WallaceIt has been my experience in Life that, with a few notable exceptions, whenever a bully is confronted with a resolute and calm and (at least SEEMINGLY) confident adversary, he will usually back down. Does not work every time, but it has proved to be, in my experience anyway, generally true. I noticed a while [...]
O Goshi, for Sport or Street
Article by: John WallaceA basic and popular Judo throw is O-Goshi, the well-known hip throw. It is an ideal throw for shorter people to employ against taller and rangier adversaries, requiring a low center of gravity and good balance. In sport competition, much of the throw is, of course, dependent on a good grip on the adversary’s attire, [...]
O Soto Gari – Different Arts, Different Perspectives
Article by: John WallaceA basic first principle throw in Judo is “O Soto Gari”, a major outer reaping of the opponents outside leg. This is usually done in Judo with a foot sweep technique, along with a chest bump and a twisting of the opponent’s upper body in the desired direction necessary to compliment the throw. From the [...]
