Judo: Training Methods
Judo uses three types of training method: formal exercises (kata), freestyle fighting (randori), and matches (shiai). In the formal exercises we determine various instances in which defense or attack might be necessary, establish rules for controlling body motion in accordance with correct judo theory, and practice using these set movement rules. We will omit discussions of both the formal exercises and the techniques used in them.
Judo: Training Methods
Training order calls for thorough training with freestyle fighting and then participation in matches. Once you have gotten to the point where you are pretty good in judo, you will decide what things you need special training in and practice them yourself in formal exercise training. In this section we will be discussing freestyle fighting training only.
Nowadays, practically everybody thinks that the thing to do is to have an advanced judo man teach you what to do and then for everyone to practice with someone more or less on their own level of proficiency. This notion results in the young man anxious to practice but standing glumly around in the training room because he is ready to work out but is so good that no one will practice with him. Such an attitude, of course, is folly.
Anyone who is just beginning judo training aspires to progress and wants to become as strong and as skilful as possible, as quickly as possible. Probably all of you wonder if perhaps there is not some secret, some mysterious clue that I can pass on. I will tell you my own path to progress, but it is so everyday a story that I myself feel a little ashamed of it. Try not to be too surprised.
During the heat of the summer, in 1919, at the Kodokan, I offered prayers for success and went through a course of training of one thousand points. That is to say, one at a time, over a period of 31 days, I trained with one thousand men, one point per man.
I was twenty-one then, a sophomore at the school where Jigoro Kano was the headmaster, and brimming with vim and vigor and impertinence. Why did I decide to undertake this perhaps overtaxing practice training course? The preceding autumn at the Great Kodokan Red and White Match I had been lucky enough to break away from my group and advance to the third dan. One of my group-mates at that time was the late Seijiro Hashimoto from Shikoku. Also jostling to get ahead in the same number were Kasaro Date (first dan), Sunao Goto (second dan), Hisao Imai (second dan), and Kogo Sasaki (first dan). All these men were bigger and stronger in freestyle fighting than I, and I knew that if I wasted my time, they would pass me by.
I always laid out four sets of training clothes, because with the heat and my copious sweating I knew I would not get along with fewer. When the practice session for the day was over, I would take all four sets, heavy with sweat, to a nearby well, wash them, and hang them out on a bamboo pole. This would leave me in nothing but my underwear, but by morning my practice clothes were usually pretty well dry.
In connection with matches I want to emphasize three points. First, if you have not had plenty of training in both applying attacks and in being thrown, you should not think of taking part in matches, and your instructor should not think of letting you. Of course, anyone just starting out in judo training wants to find an opponent and show what he can do in a match, but if that person lacks sufficient training he is inviting injury and accident.
Second, even if you are just at the point in development where a match is around the corner, hold off on public matches yet awhile. In other words, when you have a good basis of training and practice in the freestyle fights, first take part in a simple match by way of a test. Gradually, the degree of importance of the matches in which you can participate will increase until, before long, you will be able to take part in public matches with complete peace of mind. Sooner or later. everyone must take part in matches, and you must be sure to be particularly careful about them and do all you can to work out the best ways for you to make a good showing in them. Taking part in a large number of less important matches is the best way to get yourself used to them and ready for the more important ones. Following this path of gradual introduction to public exhibitions through accumulated experience is the best way for anyone.
From a technical viewpoint, the most important thing in matches is to come to grips with your opponent. Always stay a jump ahead of him, and win. I absolutely cannot accept the attitude that you should attempt to stay away from your opponent when he comes forward or that you should move around the training hall without even trying to come to grips with him. When he comes forward, the thing to do is to go forward yourself, stand in a beginning position with him, get the jump on him, apply your technique, and maintain control of him. If you do not, you will have no idea of what winning is.
It is well known that different factors can contribute to muscle damage in judo matches or training. Previous research analyzed only the effects of simulated judo combat or judo training on biochemical markers of muscle damage without determining its specific causes. Our objective was to identify possible differences in biochemical markers of muscular damage in response to different training methods in youth judo athletes. Twelve high-level male judo athletes were randomly assigned to a standing (SP, n = 6, age = 16.6 1.1 years) or a groundwork (GP, n = 6, age = 17.8 0.8 years) position combat practice group. Both groups had the same protocol of four 4-minute combat practice bouts separated by 1-minute rest intervals. Before and immediately after combat practice blood samples were taken to assess muscle damage markers: creatine kinase (CK), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT). There were significant increases in AST, LDH, and CK after the standing and groundwork training sessions compared with resting values in both groups. Additionally, no significant differences in the enzyme's activity between SP and GP groups were found. These results showed that standing and groundwork randori training (free sparring or free practice) causes similar muscle damage in adolescent judo athletes. Future research should assess the effects of the same damage mechanisms over a longer period of time.
As noted above, individual judo training sessions typically last about two hours, regardless of training level. Top athletes training for a competition may have more training sessions per week, but the format of each session is somewhat consistent. Of the two hours, typically about one-third is devoted to general conditioning, one-third to technique and throwing drills, and one-third to randori. In contrast, a typical judo match can be as short as a few seconds, and will not exceed eight minutes. Thus, the authors observed, coaches need to carefully plan training and recovery to ensure their athletes are in peak competition form.
The second paper reviewed attempts to quantify the metabolic demands of different types of judo training. The various studies considered measured heart rates, recovery rates, blood lactate levels, and oxygen uptake levels of both elite and non-elite judoka.
Based on their review, the authors suggested short, intense randori or drill sessions, with longer rest intervals to improve anaerobic fitness, while longer sessions at lower intensity are more appropriate for improving aerobic fitness. The authors found that the potential for overtraining is high enough to warrant ongoing monitoring of immune function, markers of muscle damage, and other potential danger signs.
Katherine Derbyshire combines her training as an engineer with her vocation as a writer to explain scientific and technological issues for non-specialist audiences. A fulltime self-employed writer since 2001, she has covered topics from aikido to quantum computing, with many stops in between.She has a second degree black belt in aikido, and is currently training for her third degree black belt at Aikido Eastside in Bellevue, Washington.She also competes in the sport of weightlifting, which she discovered through Lynnwood CrossFit in Lynnwood, Washington.When not found in either of those places, she's probably out cycling with her husband or home answering the whims of her cats.
Above all, OKADA had to promote an awareness of the athletes about the importance of physical training with scientific foundations and the necessary diet, both on the nutritional content of food and the times for its intake, to complement physical work. To do this, in a first stage, OKADA had to personally guide the muscle training sessions, and then delegate some activities to other team members, since his status as a university professor did not allow him a full-time dedication to athletes.With systematic work, he was achieving important changes in the physical preparation of the athletes who reached the 2016 RIO Olympics. Among the most notable changes, we can mention the case of an athlete of the heaviest category who started the work with 92kg of weight and 20.5% of percentage of body fat that, after several months, increased his weight to 106,8kg with a body fat percentage of 14.6%, increasing muscle mass (approx. 15kg) and reducing body fat (approx. 6%).OKADA comments in journalistic interviews that his first impression when having in front of the members of the male Judo team was that almost everyone and mainly the heaviest ones had weak muscles, which forced him to start with a basic job, practically common for any sport, starting with the exercises known as the BIG3 (squat, bench press and deadlift) in order to increase muscle mass (hypertrophy) and strength on the basis of the system applied in bodybuilding.
The next step was work to increase the speed and power of the increased muscle mass, along with its flexibility to allow for wider movements, performing routines with high weights and rapid lifting movements. For this, he proposed the athletes to apply the method called HIIT (high intensity interval training) that allows to improve the power and flexibility of the muscles consuming energy (burning fat) efficiently in a short time. 041b061a72