Thank your Sensei!!!

Yesterday I stayed behind at the Sacramento Judo Club and had a conversation with Sensei Takeda. I had asked him about the whereabouts of a gentleman that had trained at the Club when I first started back in 2008. Sensei Takeda stated that the gentleman no longer wished to train with the Club and had gone some where else to train. Sensei Takeda seemed sadden when I asked. Sensei said that he has taught many students and had brought them up to the ranks of Black Belt but very few decide to give back and help to run the Club.

Sensei Takeda has given his whole life to Judo, often he said it has even caused many arguments between his wife and himself, he has run down vehicles traveling from one clinic or tournament to the other and has done all this with no pay. he said that the old way of the Japanese and Judo in California was always to be non-profit and to give back to the community or as Kano Sensei stated "For the mutual welfare and benefit" of all who partake in the wonderful sport and art of Judo.

We discussed the current state of Judo and that it most likely will become a "for profit" business, like what Jimmy Pedro and Rhadi Furgesson have created. Most of the schools on the East Coast are for profit and are very expensive to join in comparison to the clubs in California. Sensei believes that the old Japanese way is dying out and that as time goes many future instructors will want to be paid for their instruction and no longer give their knowledge for free.

I was sadden to hear this, as I looked at Sensei Takeda I could see his sadness in his eyes. I shook his hand and thank him for his sacrifice that he has done again and again for the past forty plus years.

I know have many friends in the Judo community in Sacramento, I know that Sensei Goodall and the rest of the Senseis at Team Sacramento volunteer their time to give back and so does Okubo Judo. If you practice Judo and you know that your Senseis freely volunteer time out of their life to  impart their knowledge on to you please, PLEASE, shake their hand and let them know that it does mean something to you.

To all the Senseis that volunteer to teach and expect  nothing in return I salute you!!!

Be Blessed!!!!

Product Review: iFightVideo's Judo Throws 1

I was lucky enough to be given a copy of iFightVideo's Judo Throws 1 app for the iPhone. After reviewing the product I must say that it is really slick. The video resolution is crisp and the audio is clear, excellent production by iFightVideos.

The throws are performed by Senseis Brent Goodall and Tauasa Timoteo from Team Sacramento. Goodall Sensei explains the throws in great detail and the throws are shown from various angles to help you get a sense of the throw's mechanics from different perspectives. Besides the video of the throws there is also an option to view the throw as a slide show with or without step-by-step instructions on the mechanics of the particular throw.



This is an excellent product from iFightVideos and Team Sacramento. I highly recommend it as audio/visual aide to your Judo training. If you are like me than you constantly are think of ways to improve your Judo and this video allows you to basically have unlimited private lessons from two top level Judo Black Belts.

I firmly believe that nothing takes the place of mat time and training, as going to practice is akin to going to school and hearing the teachers lecture; having access to training supplements like the Judo Throws 1 app is like going home to study and take notes for the final. Could you pass the class with just the lecture notes and going to school? Yes of course, but if you go home and read the text and study you know you will be that much more prepared for the test, which for us is the competition. This App is the text book!

The throws that are discussed are: Grips, Osoto-Gari, Te-Gurma, Tai-Otoshi, Yoko-Tomoe-Nage, Osoto-Gari, Harai-Goshi, Soto-Makikomi and many more.

The App is available for both the iPhone and the Droid. iFightvideo's website is: http://www.ifightvideo.com/
Team Sacramento's website is: http://www.teamsacramento.org/

Disclaimer: I received no monetary compensation for this review, if something is garbage I would say so, this app is of a very high quality and I personally use it on a regular basis.

Be Blessed!!!

DAX Moskito Judogi

Today I placed my order for one of the infamous Dax Moskito double weave Judogis. My friend Jonel from Team  Sacramento Judo team highly recommended it and said that it is thick and has a slimmer cut and can make the transition from Judo to BJJ easily.

This is good as after BJJ practice Team Sacramento immediatly starts Judo practice and I would like to join in and not have to rush to change gis.

I will write a review for the Moskito once I can put some miles on it.

Be Blessed!!!