This weekend we are fortunate to be hosting a Kata workshop at the club.

Dennis and Tina Penfold will be attending our 5:30pm class and helping us learn the basics of Kata. If you are on Facebook please do RSVP on the event’s page: https://www.facebook.com/events/526537067385981/

We have been doing kata at the end of many of our sessions, but this workshop will be an opportunity to learn from two high graded kata experts who not only teach kata but judge kata in european kata competition.

We are hosting a kata competition in September, so now is a great time to learn the basics from two experts so you can start rehearsing with a partner for that event.

Kata is arguably the original training form for Judo and all martial arts. It is the formal display of techniques and principles of Judo and aids us in understanding and learning Judo for the club or for competition. This is a real “must do” event, so please RSVP and attend as we may have to turn people away or just let them watch if the current level of interest persists.

The workshop is open to club members and visitors, £3 at reception and £3 in the dojo to cover the time and expenses of the two guest instructors.

 

We are continuing with our Tuesday morning JudoFit sessions this month seeing as we had okay turnouts to the trial sessions in January.

These sessions involve a mix of Uchi Komi and body weight based conditioning exercises. So they are improving your fitness and your technique.

Uchi Komi is the repetition of techniques, without throwing; so although the sessions are hard work, you are not getting battered. The intensity is high as the session is short (approximately 45 minutes of actual workout). Also the mix of uchi komi and exercises is ideal for developing technique and Judo specific and general fitness.

For those who have not been along yet, it may be early but what a great start to your day. Everyone is welcome, not just those training for events; especially if you come in a pair any level can attend.

Hoping to see the numbers grow a little more by the end of February, so that we can make it a permanent part of our schedule. So it is a case of use or lose it; currently attendance is   enough to justify continuing…just. Just a few more new faces would cement this sessions position in our timetable. So please come along, bring a friend and get a great workout!

 

 

Many of you will be aware of our 7am Tuesday Morning training sessions we trialled in January.

They have proven popular and worthwhile, so we have decided to keep them going through all February also and maybe permanently if number remain good.

The sessions are different to our other sessions in not just the time of day. These sessions are designed to get your Judo Fit, once we start we don’t stop until the session is over. There is no throwing, just uchi komi and conditioning exercises.

In the photo attached to this post you can see the whiteboard in the dojo. You can see on the board the sets of uchi komi we did along with the final “burn” on the right. Across the top (hard to see in the picture) are the conditioning exercise cards we have done in that session. We choose them at random to give some variety.

The sessions are informal and short (only and hour) and good solid hard work. You do not need to be a high grade, you can attend at whatever your level of Judo or fitness and improve both. The players coming along are getting fitter, stronger and getting better technique.

Come on down on Tuesday morning just before 7am, pay your £3 at reception and join us in the dojo for the best workout in town and get truely Judofit !

This weekend we competed in the fourth round Hampshire Judo Team Championships. We had a full team, Winchester Judo Club took top spot on the day and then it got very interesting, due to the way the round-robin worked the results were almost exactly the same and depending on how you looked at it the result varied.

The way the officials calculated it we came third behind Southampton Uni.

In our first match against Winchester Judo Club, Winchester took an initial lead before we were able to come back. Winchester then sealed the victory with a final Ippon beating us 3-2.

Next we took on the number one team in the championships, Southampton University. This time we started of with an Ippon, but the strong Southampton Uni won the next two in a row. We won the fourth but lost the fifth and final fight of the match.

Next we fought the combined team of Crofton and Holbrook Judo clubs. This was a close match, we started with a win, then lost the second. But the next two went our way giving us the win although the other team manage to prise the final match away form us.

Our final match of the day was against the AWE club. We took the first, third and fourth fights. AWE won the second and fifth fights; giving us the win.

The final tally for us was two wins and two losses. What was nice was that the two matches we lost were the first two, with the final two being the ones we won. So the team learned as it went along.

Importantly, this result moved us back up into the top three in Hampshire. Our goal is to hold onto the third place position for the remaining two rounds in the championships. If things go really well, we may even be able to climb even higher.

So a big congratulations to our team, you did great and it was particularly good to see the results of our extra training paying off. Our focus on defending against shime waza (strangles) was apparent, with none of the team succumbing despite some strong attacks against Reece and Helen in particular.

Fitness was good, our technique is developing and the work we are doing at present on “Kake” is showing positive signs and should “bear fruit” for the next Team championships event and importantly for the Hampshire Championships on March 16th.

Video footage from the Southampton Solent media students filmed the event and we shall share it here when it is ready.

 

Tonight was another great week of training at the club; Sunday’s Technical session, Tuesdays 7am workout and tonights well attended Thursday night workout. It’s good to still be getting new faces joining us and that the female portion of the club is growing.

And this weekend we get to see how the training is working. This weekend we shall participate in the fourth round of the Hampshire Team Championships. This series of events that started in October last year is a great series of informal competitions that we have participated in since the initial trials.

Sadly, in the last event in December we slipped out of the top 3 into fourth position in the county. So this weekend we are hoping for a good performance to try and get back into the top slots.

The event starts at 1:30pm on Sunday, we are hosting so even if you are not competing, please come along and spectate. We could do with any and all help to lay out the contest area and to make the visiting teams feel welcome.

Afterwards we shall hold our regular 5:30pm training session, which will be and ideal opportunity to review what happens on the day and learn from the experience we gain competing. It is also fantastic preparation for the Hampshire Individual Championships on March 16th.

See you on Sunday!

Dear All, entries for the Hampshire Championships (Hampshire Closed) are now open. Anyone with a BJA License (we all have one) with Hampshire on it can compete! The competition is being hosted by us at St Marys on March 16th, so if you are not competing, consider yourself conscripted as a volunteer!

Details on the event are on the Hampshire Judo website: http://hampshirejudo.org.uk/competitions/hampshire-championships-closed/ and entries are being taken until March 9th via the online entries system at https://www.onlineentries.co.uk/events/hampshire/20130316.php

Get your entry in early as there are only 150 total entries available across both Junior and Senior divisions.

P.s. don’t forget that we are also hosting the Hampshire Team Championships on February 3rd and March 3rd. These are perfect warm-ups for the Hampshire Championships!

Summary of this today’s 7AM training:

Uchi Komi on the following throws:
* O soto gari
* Taio toshi
* Ippon Seoi
* Yamarhi
* Makikomi
* O uchi gari
* Turnover (wrist grip)

This was interspersed with:
* Star jumpers
* Calf Raises
* Superman(s)
* Crab Crawls
* Lunges
* Fire Hydrants
* Pushups

Once again, not a bad turn out for the first session. Nice to see our colleagues in the basketball team training too. Next week lets have more people and try and be there for 7am (i.e. be there early so we can make best use of our time).

See you all on Thursday.

Lance

As a result of the clubs training planning meeting last week, we have booked some Tuesday morning training sessions for those preparing for competitions (or just looking for a great workout to start the day).

Tuesday sessions are at 7:00am at St Marys. The sessions will be mainly uchi komi and nage komi and drills. All are welcome but the focus is on competitive preparation so be ready to sweat!

If you would like to indicate that you are coming, and you are on Facebook, please take a look at the events page for our sister club Southampton Solent Judo Club: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ssujudo/events/

 

Sessions will be January 15, 22 & 29.
£3 at reception.

We will book more sessions if numbers and enthusiasm justify it. 😉

After a great Christmas break we are back!

Sunday January 6th, 5:30pm at St Marys Leisure Centre. Then Thursday at 6:30pm.

See you there, lots of fun coming! Hampshire Team Champs at the start of February. BUCS in late Feb for students and Hampshire Championships mid March! Busy busy!

Thank you to everyone who has attended and or supported the club this year!

Tonight was our final session of 2012 and it was great to have two new faces with us even on our last night!

We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

See you on January 6th 2013.