Judo Tournament Training Day 1

My takedowns suck.

They really do. So I am learning some Judo to supplement my pathetic double and single leg takedowns. To really put my feet to the fire, I am entering a Judo tournament. The tournament is in July.

My friend and Jujitsu coach, Ed, will be doing the tourney with me. Ed hurt his achilles tendon not so long ago, and has found that he can not shoot or do his normal takedowns. So he thinks that Judo will help him out with this.

We are approaching the tournament the same way we approach a Jujitsu tournament, or a MMA fight. First four weeks is about sports specific conditioning (drilling movements until they are second nature) and technique. Next three to four weeks is about Conditioning - with a capital "C" (gotta get a big gas tank to out physical our opponents)- and sparing.

Today we learned the uchimata. We spent about an hour and a half drilling the entry, pull, and reap. 100 reps today, and we are looking to get at least 100 reps on Thursday. In between, we are doing at least 25 reps on our own. That should give us about 250 to 300 reps by next Sunday when we learn a new throw.
Our philosophy is that you only need three to four throws in all. After that is is just being able to hit the throws in any possible situation. First we drill the three or four throws, to get the motion second nature. Then we spar them to be able to execute them in any situation that may arise.

I am already sore.