Video(s) of the Week

This week, I'm actually gonna post two videos, sort of.  They are really just the same video, but the second has been altered to show the throws in slower motion.  

Remember this is Kodokan judo; this is sport judo which comes from roots in jujitsu.  Lots of the throws are very similar to what we do, but some reveal significant differences.  

These videos highlight our shared heritage.  Kodokan does a great job teaching people to throw at real speed against resistance.

Enjoy and feel free to comment.

Best martial arts flicks of all time...

I am looking to make this blog a bit more interactive.  As such I would like to ask each of you in the group to suggest your personal favorite martial arts film, and why you think that film is the best ever.  Add it to this post as a comment.  I want to see how well this works out.

I will start with my own personal favorite:

Above the Law, starring Steven (I'm gonna waste you **s) Seagal.  This movie features a lot of hard hitting, directly to the floor jujitsu.  It also provides a bit of history on aikido and its relation to jujitsu.  That, and Stevens hair at the time looked a lot like mine.  I felt tough by association!

  

Video of the Week

I am starting a new feature for this blog.  I will highlight a video each week--one that relates to our jujitsu class.  This week, the video will be a formal judo kata.

These guys are godans (5th dans) in kodokan judo.  Many of the throws they do will look very familiar as they come from jujitsu.  Think of this kata as comparable to a karate kata.  That is the exercise the single karate students perform to learn techniques.  In judo--and jujitsu--so much of the emphasis is on manipulating the opponents momentum that is virtually impossible to perform solo katas.