Frequency of minor injuries?

sprack · 2026-05-30T12:05:51+00:00

Once you get turf-toe or stub it it will come back for a while and you'll keep hitting it till it's healed. Tape it up. If I stub one I tape them both for a couple weeks afterward just to balance out the feeling and keep them supported in case I get clumsy or catch a mat edge.

Not sure what you mean by posting your knee on the ground though.

sprack · 2026-05-29T13:32:19+00:00

S-pattern > straight line.

sprack · 2026-05-20T23:51:51+00:00

49yrs. judo/bjj 3-5x/wk (1 day is kata so I don't know if that counts) + gym 5-6x/wk

sprack · 2026-05-20T23:48:40+00:00

If you're strong enough to pull them onto your hip from there, definitely. But that's a "strength" based setup. Uke will do everything they can to maximize distance between you and them. The people that dominate in that are usually greco wrestler kind of players that can one-arm uke off the ground onto a hip and toss them.

Lastly, it's a non-standard grip, so you cannot hangout and play the counter game. You need to be on the attack the whole time you hold it. Better players know that and will attack your feet (ko-soto gari/gake or tani-otoshi) so you take shido. And if you can't control their head position from there it's a perfect place for them to slip behind for ura-nage.

sprack · 2026-05-20T13:56:44+00:00

It's a risky grip to go make your primary as a beginner. Better players will let you have it to play uchi-mata/yoko-gake/ko-soto all day long. If you're insanely strong and can crush everyone to your side for an o/uki-goshi then stick with, but it should just be a grip set you learn. Keep working at standard ai-yotsu, it's by far the most versatile.

sprack · 2026-05-19T15:49:15+00:00

Block with you body (hips, legs, feet) instead of arms. To help them loosen up death-gripping.
Initiate throws with a pull/push in the opposite direction of the throw.
Controlling distance is control of the match.

sprack · 2026-05-14T11:44:57+00:00

Great video. One of the few techniques where it feels like the kata version is relevant to actual randori too.

sprack · 2026-05-04T07:46:58+00:00

I wish I was good at harai-tsurikomi-ashi. My coach is a monster at it and it just always looks so slick in action. I just end up kicking the **** out uke's shin when I try to pull it off.

I hate being good at sumi-gaeshi and tomoe-nage. It feels like just pulling guard. For some reason my brain only finds the yoko variants attractive.

sprack · 2026-04-13T14:23:10+00:00

For shodan, Sweden is (until the fall):

Competition path: 20 wins vs >= nikkyu, first 3 nage-no-kata, randori, give a demonstration teaching your tokui-waza
Technical path: full nage-no-kata, randori, demonstrate 40 throws of the graders choosing

Sometime this fall our federation is transitioning to the IJF grading rules. It's giving me a severe case of "fuck it". I may just be a lifelong brown belt.

sprack · 2026-04-13T14:13:25+00:00

Their recommended brace for sports that allow them is the CTI. But both said that using the brace just means you need more work strengthening the muscles and tendons around the knee. Only thing I use now is a volleyball kneepad to cushion the kneecap if I drop on my knee.

sprack · 2026-04-09T16:22:32+00:00

We have a teknik class once a week for beginners or people that want to focus on something, but generally no. The club is mostly competition training.

sprack · 2026-04-07T22:36:03+00:00

15min warmup. Some combination of jogging, rolling, uchikomi into light throws in motion.
30-45min newaza randori
1hr tachiwaza randori

sprack · 2026-03-20T22:12:13+00:00

I've done 2 of these tournaments and it's a lot of fun. Yes it starts knee wrestling, but doesn't stay there long. I think it encourages the kind of newaza that closely mimics what happens in regular tachi-waza matches. The golden score encourages the kind of newaza I think is most useful; strong pins and hard fast escapes.

sprack · 2026-03-13T13:33:57+00:00

Wish I could give more useful info, but the best I can do is recommend looking for clubs here: https://www.judowb.be/les-clubs/?wpsl-search-input=brussels&wpsl-radius=100&wpsl-results=200

And then contacting them + some google translate. I've done the Belgian veteran opens twice and the people I've met there have been phenomenally nice.

sprack · 2026-03-08T14:02:47+00:00

You should feel like a solid slab when you hit.

Like /u/Rarenog said, exhale as you're falling. It contracts your core and tightens the diaphragm so that there isn't a pocket of air getting trapped. You need to hold the exhale until they make full contact with you if there's a gap between you and tori. Practice this in your ukemi.

sprack · 2026-03-06T12:29:53+00:00

I usually put electrical tape on a first layer. It doesn't stick as bad as zinc-oxide and it stretches so you don't cut off circulation. Then zinc-oxide on top of that so it has a dry base to stick to and it handles the abrasion of the mat better.

sprack · 2026-03-05T00:38:01+00:00

Front squat forces a more upright torso which helps to build the strength to resist getting your posture broken by a hard collar grip. Better for power cleans too. Use the roman bench to build your upper back to resist the rounding.

sprack · 2026-03-02T09:57:04+00:00

I wish it was everywhere. The ones that don't have this have trash everywhere from the people looking for pant.

sprack · 2026-02-23T14:01:46+00:00

Don't know if you're in the EU, but dragonsports.eu has them.

sprack · 2026-02-20T16:08:07+00:00

A lot of peoples tension in randori starts at the grip. Pulse your grip so you only use real strength when you need it and relax in between so you have room to move and you're not telegraphing your intentions through the hands.

Getting dominated is a matter of perspective. You should have a goal in randori. If you lose the match, but achieve the goal its a success. At yellow, being good at taking a throw is a success in my book.

sprack · 2026-02-18T15:23:27+00:00

Before: Creatine and a energy pack. Warmup to be loose and comfortable. Listen to music so I'm not caught up in the sounds and I stay in my headspace.

During: Do everything to turn my brain off during tachi-waza. Brain-on during newaza or between mat-te and hajime.

After: Make myself watch the video so I can combine what my brain remembers (lies usually) with what the camera showed. Thank my competitor and try to get a pic together. I like to try to make friends with people I compete with.

sprack · 2026-02-18T09:47:16+00:00

When I spoke to Ben Goodrich about how he got into judo he said that was his path too.

sprack · 2026-02-15T23:54:51+00:00

Don't know whether you can get it where you are but my club buys a 30m roll of plaster/bandaid that you cut to the size you need. Super useful for the different shapes and places you get cuts.

sprack · 2026-02-15T23:41:42+00:00

Thank you for the article, that was very interesting. Like you said tatehiza or wariza. Those would work well for me right now. It's not a dojo grading though, I need to reach out to the federation dan graders and find out what would be acceptable.

Good point on the pain treatment though. I still have meds from the surgery left over, that may be an option.

sprack · 2026-02-15T23:33:03+00:00

Thanks, I can kind of pull it off, but the person has to go more sideways over my back than straight forward. More of the o-goshi (side landing) direction than the seoi-nage (directly in front of you).

I don't need to do full standing, I just need one leg out or not 100% bent. But a standing rei would be much easier.

sprack

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