Tuesday Judo class

Despite the past 3 weeks of intensive Max Interval Training via Insanity, I found myself dripping with sweat during warm-ups at the UWO Judo Club.  Truth be told, I was a bit annoyed with myself considering how I had been killing myself specifically to get myself ready for the rigours of judo training.  Since this was the first class of the winter term, they stuck to the basics.

At one point, we were divided into 2 groups: those with more than 3 weeks of (recent) judo experience, and those with more experience.  Despite my yellow belt, I opted to join the brand new beginners.  I probably would have had more fun with the more experienced players, but I needed to get some of these fundamentals drilled into me.  Sensei Antonio had us doing rep after rep of ukemi (break-falls).  I'm not sure how many times I hit the mat, nor am I sure of the exact names of each variation of ukemi, but by the end I was feeling pretty sore.  The raw beginners spent the better part of an hour and 15 minutes on ukemi.

Near the end of the class, we paired up with more experienced players to go through a turnover to attack an opponent's turtle position.  I take my leg closest to my opponent's and step over his back, clamping his torso between my knees as best I can.  I bend over and hook his leg and arm, then proceed to roll over, sending my head underneath my opponent as he starts to get turned.  Depending on the initial grip, I can either finish with a Bow and Arrow choke or with an arm bar.  Interesting stuff, but it felt like a "little guy" move to me.

We finished the class with some light ground grappling (no chokes or locks, though).  My poor partner had no clue he was facing a blue belt in BJJ, so needless to say he suffered quite a bit.  He would have suffered more had I been allowed to use chokes and joint locks, though!  I'm looking forward to Friday night!