Monday 31 March 2008

Marcus & Lee were absent last night so I’m writing a summary.

Combat Ready was it’s usual 45 minutes of healthy punishing conditioning, this week with more hindu squats added than you could shake a stick at.

Afterwards the main class was taken by one of Edinburgh Judo Club’s coaches, David Miller. David’s particular warm-up mix that evening included more rolls and balance work than we usually see and 100% more cartwheels! We had a quick game of Kabbadi then onto the meat of the session. This time it was groundwork all the way including launching yourself into a defensive position on your back, flipping someone before they could get a proper guard, trapping someone’s elbow and turning them into a prone position. The last moves taught were choking someone with the blade of your wrist while using your legs and hips to force your opponent into the ground. We finished with some free styling with partners as we tried to put into practice the moves we had learned that day.

Speaking for myself I found David’s session very useful. I’d never (knowingly) tried any judo before and the session helped me gain a bit of insight into some of the principles of that martial art and how it flows. Its helped broaden my understanding of the self defence landscape, helping me make connections in working out where some moves have come from, showing me another path my training could go and, should I see someone pulling any of those moves, I’ll now have a better idea of what training that person’s had and what I’ll have to deal with.

Menzies