Uniform Tai Chi

SHISEI, SHIZENTAIAHD JIGOTAI

Shisei, or posture, is a very important aspect of all judo training. The basic posture is called shizentai, or natural posture. The back is kept straight and the head up, with the eyes looking straight ahead. The feet should be shoulder-width apart with the weight spread evenly on the balls of the feet, not flat-footed, or up on the toes, but with just enough space under the heel to slide a piece of paper, allowing for rapid movement in any direction.

If tori steps forwards about 12in (30cm) on his right foot, he is said to be in right natural posture or migi-shizental; if he steps forwards on his left foot, he is in left natural posture or hidari-shizentai. This is the recommended posture for skill training, randoriand contest.

The other basic posture is called jigotaior defensive posture and involves bending the knees and sinking the hips to prevent yourself from being thrown by the opponent. Other more extreme defensive postures not actually taught as a part of Kodokan judo occur quite often in contest situations, with both players gripping the judo gi and bending 90 degrees from the waist, to keep their hips as far away from their opponent as possible.

UKEMI-WAZA

Ukemi-waza are the breakfalling techniques of judo and are another of Jigoro Kano's innovations for improving the safety of the activity. It is important for everyone to learn to fall correctly and safely, in the first place to avoid injury and in the second place to allow them to move confidently without stiffening up because of the fear of falling and being hurt. Skill in falling automatically improves the individual's ability to relax and move fluidly and leads to improved throwing skills. The three main breakfalls are the forward rolling breakfall, the side breakfall and the back breakfall. Once these breakfalls are correctly learned on both right and left sides, uke can be thrown with most techniques without fear of injury. Other breakfalls include the front breakfall, the somersault breakfall, the handstand breakfall and the single arm cut-away. Practicing the whole range of breakfalls leads to increased spatial awareness and eventually all fear of being thrown disappears.

KUMIKATA

Kumikata, or gripping skills, are a vital part of judo and often mean the difference between the success or failure of a technique. The basic grip in judo and the one usually taught to beginners in the first months of training is the sleeve-lapel grip. A right-handed player usually takes a grip on his partner's left lapel with his right hand and grips the right sleeve with his left hand. This is the orthodox grip. The left-handed player takes uke's right lapel in his left hand and the left sleeve in his right hand. If one player grips left-handed and the other grips right-handed the situation is called kenka-yotsu, which means opposing grips. If both players are right-handed or both are left-handed they take the same grips on the judo uniform and the gripping situation is called ai-yotsu.

Normally in Japan players adjust their stances quite considerably and a player who grips left-handed will stand left side on,vice versa if they grip the judo gi right-handed. European players are often more inclined to remain in a square-on posture. It is difficult but not impossible to throw left and right and it is a good idea to practice switching sides as soon as possible. This does not necessarily mean changing grips. If a right-handed player who specializes in harai-goshi from a basic sleeve-lapel grip can be taught to do left seoi-nage without changing the right-hand lapel grip he has aformidable combination at his disposal. Quite often the problem is that it takes such a long time to develop one good movement or major throw that by the time players realize the very real need for a 'big gun' on the other side it is too late. This, and other left-right switches such as sode-tsuri-komi-goshi on the other side (to the left in the case of a right-handed player) should be encouraged from the beginning in a player's development.

The grip of the judo gi is a players basic foundation, whether left or right, will determine which techniques he can use effectively. Experimentation with grips on the opponents uniform can prove very fruitful, and on occasion altering the grip can totally transform a technique. Apart from the basic grip, others that have proved to be effective include the sleeve and high collar grip, which is often favored by taller players as it offers good head control for forward throws such as harai-goshi and uchimata. Gripping the belt is a favorite ploy of east European fighters, many of whom come from sombo wrestling, and allows great force to be generated for hip throws and sacrifice techniques. It also means the contest becomes more of a wrestling match because it allows much closer contact than the traditional Japanese grip and posture where the opponent is generally at arm's length. Another grip common in European judo is the double-lapel grip, which allows fighters to switch from left to right but sacrifices control of the sleeves. The double-sleeve grip is also seen occasionally, as it allows j players to attack with sode-tsuri-komi-goshi on both sides. It was a much more popular grip in the years when there were no weight categories and was often used by smaller men against larger opponents.

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