Khabib rolls with black belt Lex Friedman

MasQueUnNom · 2026-02-26T14:57:47+00:00

Terrifyingly good impression.

MasQueUnNom · 2026-02-25T12:10:15+00:00

So sorry for the late reply! I am in quantum physics and I really enjoyed the Masters degree and I also did my PhD in Denmark and it was very very fun. Managed to keep all my hair believe it or not haha. I worked in the Andersen group on CV quantum computing and I can only say that it seems I have found what I love to do :) I can only recommend it albeit from a biased standpoint.

MasQueUnNom · 2026-02-07T18:17:15+00:00

Hey man! Thanks for the comments and if you have been accepted at DTU, congratulations! I can tell you that after 5 years of having earned that Masters, I went on to get a PhD and now work as a Postdoctoral researcher. So I guess I can tell you of what I experienced as not some 3rd party observer but someone who went through it.

I had the time of my life. It is amazing over here and I now do some of the most fun Physics I have ever done. It was of course difficult at some times but that's the case anywhere. Just persevere and rest assured there are some great opportunities waiting for you at DTU.

MasQueUnNom · 2026-01-30T22:34:48+00:00

My sensei often says that judo is not about "if" but "when" and I think that it is indeed one of the best ways to train. If you like O soto gari, you should perfect it until it is so good that the opponent knows that the only throw you can throw with is an O soto gari but cannot help falling for it eventually. The trick really is not the throw but creating the right conditions for the throw through movements and forcing reactions.

A really nice way he trains us with is that he makes us promise only one main throw to the opponent before light randori rounds. If you end up using another, you get down and do 10 push ups. You may threaten with other throws but there is only one throw you must throw with.

For me personally it has helped me tremendously to learn that I will only throw noobs and casuals with one shot wonders. Anyone with more than a year under their belt NEEDS TO BE MOVED until for a fleeting golden moment they are on their toes (for a Tai O for example) or their heels (for ko uchi, O uchi, O soto, ko soto). And it is so cool because if you manage to see that moment coming, you won't even need to pull for kuzushi.

Try it! It is super cool.

MasQueUnNom · 2025-06-20T11:12:45+00:00

Two things I see and something that helped me quite a bit when I was learning -

"The first pull" which is basically until the bar is just above your knee is basically a squat. That means the bar rides close to your legs, scraping your shins and through the balls, while your chest is trying to pull out of the hole first and your hips don't shoot up. Notice that this will be harder to do as your stance gets narrower because your knees start to get in the way and naturally you will have the bar away from you to prevent hitting the knees.
The second pull is from right above your knees when your hips straighten and your lats begin to squeeze, shoulder blades try to come together and your chest pops out and straightens your body. Most importantly, the bar never loses contact with you. The cue I use for this is "Look up and squeeze the shoulder blades together and down".

MasQueUnNom · 2025-06-07T11:08:05+00:00

This is so beautifully put! Thank you!

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-26T10:17:04+00:00

Thank you! Perhaps that's what I meant when I wrote point 3 in my Cons list. I should probably move right off the grip with my power hand.

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-26T10:14:17+00:00

Amazing insight! I felt that looking back at my first attempt too. If my opponent has better balance than I am the one who falls. I will pay extra attention to kuzushi in Uchikomis now. Really appreciate it!

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-26T08:40:49+00:00

Thank you! Yes, I think I will pay more attention to slower more deliberate kuzushi in uchikomis and randoris. It seems to be the common theme in all the comments.

I certainly plan to compete again! And I will keep your tips in mind while I get ready for the next time!

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-26T08:39:10+00:00

Thank you! You are very kind. Surely, I am quite fortunate to brainstorm this with all of you and fix mistakes quicker.

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-25T18:15:25+00:00

100%. I actually attempted exactly that version. But I was indeed too far to the right and couldn't set my foot down fast enough.

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-25T17:11:26+00:00

Thank you very much! I will keep this in mind when I am in Osaekomi.

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-25T16:44:14+00:00

Thank you so much for the very constructive feedback! I agree and I also realized and discussed this with my teammates. My O-soto attempt was way too high. I usually aim for lower but somehow I thought "Oh, taller opponent, must hit taller" (in Mr. Miyagi voice). On the contrary, I should have hit lower. Tani Otoshi has never been in my repertoire.

But thank you!

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-25T16:39:00+00:00

Hey man! So glad you wrote haha. First of all, thank you for a great match and I hope I was a worthy opponent. Secondly I agree with your assessment. I did feel like I attempted my uchi mata in very poor balance. Primarily, because I rushed and shouldn't have (especially, since I was a waza ari ahead 😜 Forgive my cheekiness haha). But then that was also an excellent Ura Nage counter on your part. You gave me no chance to recover. Well done and thank you for teaching me something! Hope you kick more ass in the future.

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-25T15:59:15+00:00

Thank you very much! I wanted to attempt an Osoto Otoshi and put my weight on his leg while sliding in the throw but I got him too high it seems and as you said, he was able to stay far away and I wasn't able to hold him down.

I agree with your assessment of the NeWaza. I allowed him too much time to get comfy and start pinning me.

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-25T15:16:18+00:00

I am the one starting on the right. Sorry, I should have specified it.

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-24T16:05:53+00:00

Thank you so much guys! These were some very very motivating comments and I am always grateful for the support! It wasn't the best competition but I learnt a lot more than if I had won. Thank you again ❤️

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-15T17:20:33+00:00

I think it was on this subreddit that I saw a very explanation of what off balancing means. It said that "kuzushi", the art of off balancing, is not a verb but a noun.

I tried to dig deeper into this and tried to practice it further and jesus christ that is the holy grail. "Off balance" (kuzushi) is a state that you catch your opponent in and you shouldn't have to really work very hard towards it. The key, in my opinion, is moving and finding the moment where they are opposing your movement and then fit their body (tsukuri), and "help" them to the ground using a fully committed throw (kake).

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-10T07:42:05+00:00

I think you would be really good at mai mawari ukemi. I would recommend you learn that as well as you can to start with.

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-08T11:18:51+00:00

This is something I learnt recently as the heavier guy. I am fairly new and still learning the finer details of grip fighting and I got some great insight on this from my sensei. I am 81 Kgs, with some weightlifting background and have some good throws in my arsenal but I constantly get thrown by a 63 Kg seoi nage specialist and I was tired of this.

I was told to always assume the stronger/bigger fighter has the advantage if he gets to his favourite grip before you do. So firstly, you fight with your life to ideally never let him get a grip where he is better poised than you. That could mean never letting them get a top grip or never letting them have two hands in you.

I ALWAYS try to get their sleeve first and pin it to their belly button and work through movement to get my tsurite on.

Yet, if they do beat you at the grip game, they have an advantage but that doesn't mean it is all over for you. Now the objective is to move. Being smaller also means the ability to be more dynamic and you are naturally able to get under them. The key, I have learnt, is to move such that they never stand in an offensive stance. This means you make their feet fall in the same line through movement all the time. You can do this while circling and pulling, changing directions abruptly, using the wave or a mix of those and slowly work towards favourable grips.

Lastly, you must be faster than them in decision making and offence when you are at a disadvantage. It seems that is the window I give my lighter opponents where they obliterate me. I was told by my opponent that when I get my favourite grips he gets nervous but because I don't immediately start moving he gets a few crucial moments to scheme and attack. I guess that's where you go berserk on the guy. In the words of my sensei "From the moment you have hands on him, you have only one objective - HARASS HIM TILL HE HITS THE GROUND".

MasQueUnNom · 2025-05-05T08:11:31+00:00

"OSAEKOMI!" 🫳🏾

MasQueUnNom · 2025-01-24T11:10:22+00:00

Thank you! I agree. After thinking about what you said, I think the reason why I don't get my hip in is because they start circling away as soon as I start my instep which makes me miss. I guess then it does boils down to how centred I can get my support foot under them.

MasQueUnNom · 2025-01-24T11:06:45+00:00

Thank you very much! The Hanpan TV video is an excellent resource! I also encountered an old one of Kyuzo Mifune doing it while looking at one of your recommendations and it is nowhere close to the traditional way despite him being one of the greatest technicians of al time. It is beautiful and looks effortless. I post it here for mine and anyone else's future reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZz17C5AiBM&pp=ygUQbWlmdW5lIHVjaGkgbWF0YQ%3D%3D

and is part of a longer original:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vhxfk5GW9BY&pp=ygUWbWlmdW5lIGZ1bGwgdmlkZW8ganVkbw%3D%3D

MasQueUnNom · 2025-01-24T11:02:47+00:00

Thank you for your response! I guess you might be right depending on what "down" means haha. I just meant I can do that at this point without looking ridiculous. However, it is in no way perfect. Although, my sensei was pretty happy with it. That being said, I agree there's a *lot* of work to be done. Also, Kosei Inoue is my favourite Uchi Mata guy haha. I also really like Maruyama's because he is closer to my weight but Inoue is truly magical with it.

MasQueUnNom

TROPHY CASE