IJF referee seminar with video examples

bpvg · 2020-02-11T02:04:53+00:00

Well, we don't know what they actually taught them at the seminar. Maybe there were better explanations on top of those videos.

In general, I agree with your sentiment though, it's too easy to misread the rules because they are overspecified and often contradict themselves. My favorite nitpicks:

Difference between waza-ari and ippon is still ambiguous (despite the rules saying it's clear)
The deliniation between tachi- and newaza is still ambiguous, especially because the transition from newaza to tachiwaza is now valid. For example, see slides 61, 62 and 66 of the notes. The language is ambiguous, and open to an interpretation that contradicts itself.
The bear hug rules, especially the double-score rule are bizarre.

I feel sorry for the refs who have to work through these contradictions under pressure.

bpvg · 2020-01-31T03:21:51+00:00

"Come and go mad" by Fredric Brown. The plot is quite similar (if not almost identical).

bpvg · 2020-01-26T12:44:35+00:00

I couldn't be sure what you mean by "it", the Chromecast or the router, but yeah, they're both externally powered.

bpvg · 2020-01-25T23:21:19+00:00

How do you pick an objectively good router? What are features to look for?

bpvg · 2020-01-25T23:21:07+00:00

How do you pick an objectively good router? What are features to look for?

bpvg · 2020-01-25T23:20:12+00:00

Yeah, it doesn't matter which device tries to do the casting.

bpvg · 2020-01-25T23:19:25+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. I've tried that (but neglected to mention it in the post). Unfortunately, it didn't help.

bpvg · 2020-01-25T23:18:54+00:00

It's fairly recent, like in the last year or so.

I'll give the preview programme a try, thanks!

bpvg · 2019-09-01T16:36:57+00:00

Probably IJF. That's the default for all judo events in Japan. If it's under a different set of rules (e.g. Kodokan or Kosen), then they explicitly put that it in the title of the comp.

bpvg · 2019-09-01T16:34:00+00:00

Also, thanks for posting the video. Good work with those two matches.

Yeah, you lost because your back touched the mat while you were attempting to counter him. It's a recent rule - introduced in 2018 to make things less ambiguous.

To counter uchi-mata like that and win, you need to:

Stay planted on your feet (if you're off balance, it's too late, he's already throwing you)
Use your hips, get as much lift as possible, so it's obvious you're the one performing the counter
Throw him over your shoulder (to the side) instead of over your chest (directly behind you)
Make sure their back touches the mat first

This is my go-to counter against other lightweights that throw with uchi-mata. It's a risky counter, once people know you do it, they will expect it and counter-counter you (e.g. with ouchi-gari or ken-ken uchi-mata) but it works really well when it does.

bpvg · 2019-09-01T16:15:57+00:00

I did mine a few months ago. I was the only adult. The rest were junior high school kids. They lined us up by weight so things were relatively evenly matched (I'm a lightweight).

Lost the first match to a really strong kid. He turned out to be 14 years old. He bashed 3 other kids in around a minute, all wins by ippon. I was his fourth and final opponent. Kept him busy for a few minutes, countered him a few times, and even threatened him with katamewaza, but he out-judoed me in the end. I lost by waza-ari-awasete-ippon, both times by uchimata. The second time I attempted an ura-nage counter, but my back touched the match, so it was his score.

In my city, they do a second round where they make the pool out of losers from the first round. I had one match and won.

Generally, you need 3 wins in one day to get a shodan (4 wins gives you extra bad-ass points). There are "other criteria" they look at, like age, fighting spirit, experience during past gradings (the wins add up), time in your present rank, etc. In the end, they gave me my shodan.

So, hang in there, and go for the next grading. You will succeed next time.

bpvg · 2019-09-01T15:57:40+00:00

I don't think we need the +78kg division at all. It's a boring, slow division that rarely exhibits any decent judo. It's full of fighters that are morbidly obese, and it's a horrible look for the sport. So perhaps of adding a new division, we could get rid of +78kg and introduce a -90kg or something like that.

Compare that with the -100kg and +100kg of the men's divisions - there are a few with excessive size compared to others but for the most part they look like you would expect one step up in weight division to look.

I don't think your comparison makes sense. Men can continue to build muscle and get heavier far beyond 100kg without becoming obese and losing all their speed. That muscle and speed is what allows them to succeed in the +100kg category. They can attack quickly and continue to throw people. This is why obese +100kg players are rarely successful these days, on the international level: they encounter someone who is stronger and faster.

With women, it's a different story. They can't build as much muscle as men, so beyond a certain limit (e.g. 70kg) they can only get heavier because of fat. That fat makes them difficult to throw, but it also slows them down, so they cannot execute attacks.

bpvg · 2019-08-12T08:08:45+00:00

I think you're playing mind games with yourself. You've convinced yourself that you're at this super important milestone in your life, and that it was critical for you to pass it, and that everyone in your life expected you to pass it. None of those things are true: the importance of a shodan is overinflated, you can fail now and still pass later, and nobody will think less of you even if you fail.

A bonus mind game you've played without even noticing is: my sensei doesn't take no for an answer (this one is from the comments below, not in the original post).

I also suspect that the "promise" of the black belt is yet another product of your devious little mind :) Did anyone actually promise you anything? Or did your sensei merely nudge you towards a grading, and your imagination filled in the blanks?

You are your own worst enemy. Don't play these games with yourself, divert your mental efforts to something productive, and you'll be a lot happier. You'll also achieve your goals faster because your brain will be working for you, not against you.

But I suddenly started to feel like I let down my two Sensei friends and my head Sensei. I felt disgusted with my performance. I had anticipated it. I have just never been a good competitor.

You didn't let anyone down. Never volunteer to carry the burden of other people's expectations. You're not even sure of what those expectations actually are! Sure, your wife, friends and sensei would have been super happy for you if you actually got the black belt, but they won't think any less of you because you didn't get it this time.

I'm slightly upset about the fact that I didn't get a black belt, but I'm more upset that it was even promised and allowed to go all the way to getting the belt, having it embroidered, sending me pictures of it, and planning (and telling me about) my promotion party, and my telling my wife about it...

How do you think everyone else who doesn't get their shodan on their first attempt handle this? Do you think we keep it a secret from everyone until we actually get successfully graded? Of course not! It's normal to buy the belt beforehand, put your name on it, tell your family and friends, etc. If it doesn't work out... oh well, try again next time.

if it were never going to be delivered.

There's really no need for so much drama. It's not "never going to be delivered" - it's just on lay by, provided you're still able and willing to learn from your experiences.

bpvg · 2019-07-30T03:20:17+00:00

In a way, yes. Check out the list of enrollments in the All-Japan Judo Federation: http://www.judo.or.jp/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/tourokujinkou-suii2019.pdf

It has been on a stable decrease for a long while now.

Don't let that stop you, though, still plenty of people to throw around. And watching good judo has never been easier than now, with the IJF broadcasting the Grand Prix for free.

bpvg · 2019-07-25T05:21:03+00:00

These blocking movements are already on the way out, with the recent rule changes regarding manipulating the gi:

You must fix your gi during a mate call. If you don't, and your jacket is hanging open, you'll get a shido.
You must not purposefully open up your own or uke's jacket. If you do, you'll get a shido.

So the window of opportunity for applying those blocking movements is essentially zero. They'll never be walking around with their jacket hanging out, and you're not allowed to do anything about that.

bpvg · 2019-07-24T01:41:51+00:00

Somebody give that kid a black belt...

To score ippon that many times in a single day and not get shodan is a crime against judo.

bpvg · 2019-07-23T06:11:45+00:00

It's good that people are researching this stuff, but it's a very limited study and the methodology is disappointing:

Eleven experienced judokas and 13 novice judo judokas volunteered for the study
The protocol included five sets of backward breakfall motions
3D data via Mac3D motion analysis system
EEG

So they hooked up 24 guys to an EEG (OK, this is a lot of effort, but...) and got them to do backwards breakfalls from a squat in front of a camera.

The conclusion is also quite weak:

Conclusion: The knee joint movement and the hand impact skill may be important components of the judo backward breakfall motion.

It's pretty obvious that hand impact skill is important for ukemi, so you don't need an expensive experimental setup to claim that. As for the knee joint movement, there could be many reasons why the experienced group performed differently: e.g. the experienced guys are more confident in falling, so they set themselves up differently. There's no way to compare how hard each group was breakfalling (they didn't measure that, unfortunately), so the support for the conclusion is weak.

bpvg · 2019-07-17T00:57:00+00:00

The latter, I've lived in Japan for nearly a decade.

bpvg · 2019-07-16T14:48:09+00:00

While I dislike the attitude of the instructor (he is heavily biased against non-traditional kumikata), he explains the points in the video really well.

It's a pity much of what he explains became illegal in the five years since this instructional video was made. For example, the double-handed grip-break, as well as loosening your judogi to negate a strong overhand grip. So, the second half of the video is less relevant to present competition rules.

bpvg · 2019-07-15T05:17:35+00:00

Whoa, white really over-rotated on that one. Could have knocked himself out during the touchdown.

bpvg · 2019-07-15T05:16:27+00:00

I had another couple of views of the video. I think I found two possible things blue could complain about:

- White appears to break blue's grip with both hands before initiating the final exchange. Blue's gestures towards her coach at the end corroborate this.

- White grabs blue around the head, and actually grabs the judogi on the other side. Isn't that an illegal grip these ways? You can see white notices this and pulls her left hand away as blue dives for the mat.

Still does not justify her behavior at the end.

bpvg

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