TECHNICAL INFORMATION, SKILLS AND NEWSLETTER
Make it a point to scroll to the bottom of the page to view various sequence photos of judo, jujitsu, sambo and submission grappling techniques. For starters, there are several articles written by Steve Scott for your information.
All material on this page and on this website or other Welcome Mat websites, including phtographs, are copyrighted. No reproduction is permitted without the written consent of Steve Scott.
WELCOME MAT JUDO JUJITSU SAMBO
WHY DOES TRAINING MAKE YOU A BETTER PERSON?
By Steve Scott
First of all, I'm making a big assumption as my premise. I am assuming that the training we involve ourselves in does indeed somehow make us better human beings. I assume this because it happened to me personally and I've seen it happen to others as well. My assumption is that the act of physically, mentally and emotionally throwing ourselves into the hard training necessary to find success in the martial arts or combat sports gives us the tools to be better somehow and maybe even make this world a little better for having participated in it.
Okay, for my sake, go along with my premise. I bet you are willing to do that because you most likely agree with it wholeheartedly. It probably happened to you too.
So then, the question is "why?" Why does hard physical exertion transform soft, goofy, undisciplined kids into better men and women? I believe it's discipline.
Nobody is born with discipline. We come out crying and looking for physical comfort the second we are born. It's not natural to walk into a room full of sweating men and roll around the mat with them for 2 hours at a time, often getting your body and pride bruised more than you would like. Getting up early to go run and lift weights aren't natural acts either. But you know if you don't do this type of training, you'll take a beating when you walk on the mat with those sweaty men and engage in judo, wrestling, karate, aikido or any other combat sport.
There are a lot of people, in fact, most people, who think we're absolutely nuts for doing what we do. I look at the people who train with me and marvel at the personal discipline each shows every time he or she comes to practice. Here's a grown man or woman who just worked 8 hours (or more) that day, leaves a perfectly comfortable home and loving family to show up to a community center where there are about 25 other people just like him who want to sweat, stretch his arm, throw him hard on the mat and generally abuse him for 2 hours. Through it all, he or she comes out of the whole experience actually feeling better about himself. Why it that?
It's discipline. We may not be born with discipline, but what we are born with the desire to attain it. Just like a child seeks his mother's love, he also seeks discipline. Of course, not everybody's the same, but my experience as a coach for more years than I care to admit is that people (of all ages) seek discipline in their lives.
It doesn't matter what culture or in what era a person lives, the concept of discipline transcends culture, language and time.
The training we do embodies the ethics of hard work, giving up comfort to attain goals, both short and long term, working with others to accomplish a common goal or good and the many other things that describe the best of people.
Not all activities openly embody these virtues, but one in particular does. Prof. Jigoro Kano established specific virtues for his Kodokan Judo in the late 1800s that have stayed with the activity to this day. Another martial arts master, Morihei Uyeshiba, the founder of modern aikido, also codified the ethical virtues necessary to achieve a real understanding of his martial discipline. But the sports of sambo, boxing, wrestling and many martial arts (and even strength sports such as weightlifting) don't, in and of themselves, offer a moral compass to the people to train in them. So if this is the case, why do these activities actually make someone better for having participated in them?
Again, it's the factor (in my opinion) of discipline. The only way to be successful at any of these activities is to train hard, train smart and push yourself so you achieve your goals. No one will do it for you. You either succeed or fail on your own. No safety net, no team to carry you if you have a bad day...it's up to you and you alone.
I learned early on when I was a kid that if I took a beating from another guy on the mat in judo practice, I could either feel sorry for myself or I could suck it up, train harder, train smarter and do something about it. Feeling sorry for myself never made me any better. Maybe that's not politically correct to say these days, but it's part of my experience and that's why I didn't end up being a deadbeat like a lot of the young men who I knew in those days.
I've told many people "judo was my ticket out." It was the activity of judo, and my desire to be good at it that compelled me to achieve the discipline necessary to actually be good at it and, in the process is good at other things as well. I bet each of you reading this can say the same thing (whether it was judo, aikido, lifting weights or any activity that you connected with) and offer the same assessment of yourself.
In my opinion, the short answer to the question; "Why does training make you a better person?" is discipline. The discipline we learn and develop in our training makes us better people in everyday life. You can't disconnect what you do on the mat from your daily life. You're a fool if you do. I remember Chris Heckadon telling me about his job interview for where he now works. Chris was a World Sambo Champion, a national-class judo athlete and a varsity wrestler for Central Missouri State University. After Chris got the job, he asked his boss why he hired him. His boss told him (I paraphrase) "I prefer to hire former wrestlers. I know they have a better work ethic than most people." That says a lot for wrestling and that says a lot for the person smart enough to realize the benefits such an activity can do for a young man.
That story pretty well answers the question that hard training does, indeed, make a person better. The "why" is his motivation to succeed and the only way he can do that is to discipline himself to do the things necessary to achieve success and achieve it in such a way that he can be proud of having done it. There are a number of ways to win at something and not all of them are good, fair or honest. It takes discipline to know how to achieve victory honestly and strive for success from that point of view.
The first dojo I trained at had a saying right by the mat. it said; "There is no learning without discipline." I believe it was Confucius who first said it and I'll leave that with you as a last thought.
TAKING THE SOFTNESS OUT OF JU
By Steve Scott
If you've been around judo or jujitsu any length of time, you've no doubt heard that judo is the "gentle way", or that jujitsu is the "soft art." Gentle, soft, flowing, without effort...beating a larger opponent with gentleness. Okay, but over 40 years of practical life on the mats have told me something different. In fact, when I started to explore exactly what "ju" meant quite a few years ago, I found that gentleness is not high on the list of meanings for "ju." But, to make judo popular for self-defense when it arrived in the West, the gentleness aspect was played up over the more realistic meaning of the word "ju." So, what might this word actually mean, in real terms?
Ju means to be adaptable, pliable, flexible, yielding...in both physical and mental senses. Judo (and jujitsu) implies flexibility and an ability to adapt to get the job done. Prof. Kano was a firm believer in the western concepts of utilitarianism and rationality. His philosophy of ju was not soft...it was adaptable, flexible and utilitarian.
When we apply the philosophy of "ju", we are being adaptable, and that doesn't necessarily imply being gentle or soft. For the folks who have not taken the time or effort to explore the meaning of "ju", the real idea of what Prof. Kano (no, I'm not a mind reader or have a crystal ball...I have, however, done some reading on the subject, which led to some thinking, which may or may not get me in trouble from time to time) developed has been lost. He wasn't trying to form a martial art based on gentleness, rather, he was trying to develop a philosophy of physical education on the basis of being adaptable and flexible. Getting the job done with minimal effort and maximum efficiency. Yet, the nagging fact remains that in many of Prof. Kano's writings, he openly used the word "gentleness." That being said, when you read further in the text, his explanations weren’t in the same context. Meaning, he may have used the word "gentleness" but he meant in the same sense as "yielding", "flexible" or using the opponent's strength against him. I really can't see that he meant anything else than the maximum use of both physical and mental efficiency. A matter of interpretation, most definitely, and it's obvious how I interpreted it.
Taking this soft approach to the extreme, I have had conversations with some (nice, but in my humble opinion, misguided) people who have been adamant that to be proficient in judo, it would be a mortal sin if you made the effort to become stronger or more physically fit, or in general, became a better athlete. Any type of effort other than "gentle, flowing movement" (to quote someone in my dim and distant past) was not judo.
But years of doing judo had told me something different. It's rare, I mean really rare, that somebody lets you gently pull them around and drill them to the mat. It takes effort...not the kind of effort as in brute strength, but effort none-the-less. It takes skill, a good level of fitness, coordination, and yes, strength. Strength does play a vital role in judo and jujitsu, but in a utilitarian way, just as Prof. Kano said it would. Proper and useful application of strength is necessary to be able to do good judo.
I'm not advocating that you stoke up on steroids, spend all your waking hours lifting weights and crush any weakling in your path. No, what I am saying is that judo isn't gentle. It's a tough, disciplined, rational physical activity based on proven theories of balance, movement and spatial awareness. And to better apply these theories, a person has to be physically and mentally fit enough to do the job. I can't speak for anyone else, but I've seen some misguided souls who were woefully out of shape, overweight and downright soft, get a real education on the mat because they bought into the notion that "softness can overcome hardness." Basically, they were using this concept as an excuse for not showing up in shape, training hard, or developing realistic and useful skills so that they could best use the concept of "ju." You had better prepare if you want to use "ju" effectively. So, if I have to actually train or work out to get this "ju" business down, what's a poor boy to do? Well, I have some thoughts on this one too.
My good friend John Saylor learned his philosophy of "Shingitai" from one of his coaches and mentors, Yoshisada Yonezuka. John spent serious time and effort working on the basic ideas he learned and putting them into a cohesive philosophy of training. Basically, the "shin" in the word implies the fighting heart or mental approach to overall development. The "gi" means development of technical skill based on efficiency and usefulness, and the "tai" implies the physical approach, meaning that a person has to be physically fit to be able to apply his skills to their maximum efficiency. This philosophy of "Shingitai" is a great approach to the real-world, actual and useful application of Prof. Kano's principle of "ju." John Saylor's Shingitai philosophy is not for the couch potato or wannabe tough guy. It's a practical guide to success. And while John's philosophy isn't the history-making stuff that Prof. Kano did in the late 1800s, it's definitely a cohesive and practical approach to judo, jujitsu or any similar activity.
I suppose judo and jujitsu are like just about any other subjects. People will make of them what they want. And that's okay to a degree, but before someone does this, he or she should have a good knowledge of the subject at hand. I've encountered quite a few folks who have little, if any, real background in judo or jujitsu, yet that doesn't stop them from espousing their views (and going on to denigrate any other point of view). Okay, this is America and we have the freedom to be as smart as we want to be or as dumb as we want to be in public. And, hey, I'm not the smartest dog in the yard, so if you have a different view of "ju", fine by me.
"Ju" isn't magic. It's a real, time-proven tool to get the job (any job) done more efficiently and practically. There's even a book on "Mental Judo" which is a big seller among businessmen and salespeople. Being adaptable, flexible, and then apply that adaptability to get the job accomplished...whatever the job...that's "ju."
ARTICLES BY STEVE SCOTT
Scroll down to read various articles written by Steve Scott that have appeared in the WELCOME MAT ONLINE NEWSLETTER and other publications. To subscribe to the newsletter, e-mail Steve at stevescottjudo@yahoo.com.
Steve has written numerous books on jujitsu, judo, sambo, submission grappling, coaching and training. Visit Turtle Press at
www.TurtlePress.com for more information or to order one or more of Steve's books or DVD. You can also view a variety of techniques demonstrated by Welcome Mat athletes and coaches by visiting our YouTube location at
POSITION...POSITION...POSITION
By Steve Scott
We all have heard the old saying in real estate; if you want to sell property, the three most important things are location, location and location. It’s the same thing in judo, jujitsu, sambo, and any form of grappling. It could also be easily said for any form of personal combat. If you're not in the right place at the right time, and don't put your opponent in the wrong place at the wrong time (for him), your throw or hold won't work...period.
Having been on the mat for over 40 years now, it is my opinion that one of the least emphasized skills taught is position. Too often, we rush to get to the end result with little regard as to how to make that end result happen. Training athletes in how to control their opponent's bodies is important. Here's what I mean when I say "position."
Position is purposely (and with forethought) placing your body is such a way that you can successfully work the move or skill you want to accomplish. An example is, when in groundfighting; get behind your opponent in a wrestler's ride position, controlling at least one of his hips and his near arm. From this initial position, you can sink your legs into his crotch as you climb on his low back and work into the rodeo ride. From this rodeo ride, you have the option to roll him into a sitting position, break him down and flatten him or work from there to do a hip roll or head roll juji gatame or other submission hold.
My wife, Becky, used to get her opponents in a rodeo ride, then roll them into a single wing strangle with an excellent ratio of success. I'm sure many of you have done similar moves from this top (rodeo ride) position as well.
This is what I mean by position. I like to work from the wrestler's ride position, taking the advice of Neil Adams, when he once told me to "Always get behind your opponent." Conversely, never try to let your opponent get behind you.
There are many positions that are useful. Fighting off the butt (what the Brazilian jujitsu guys have labeled "the guard") is a useful and often effective position. This position is as old as judo itself and it's an instinctive movement for many of us.
Remember, in any position you take, have a goal in mind. It may be a really short-term goal of simple getting to another, more stable or controlling position. It simply may be to get out of a bad position and get out of trouble. Not every position ends in a cool, sophisticated submission hold with the opponent tapping out. I know this may be a bit crude (Sorry ladies!), but position is like going out with a good-looking girl. If you do everything right, make all the right moves and be in the right place at the right time, then things will develop, and to your liking! Okay, I know that analogy works with a bunch of guys in a dojo filled with testosterone, but you get the point.
Often being in the wrong position leads to bad results. When you are in a bad position, do what you can to work out of it. (What I like to call "get out of trouble moves.") An example of a bad position is what I've called the "chicken" position for many years. The chicken position is when an athlete lays flat on the mat, face down with his hands up around his neck and elbows tucked in. We've seen this for years in judo. It's like an ostrich sticking his head in the sand hoping a threat will go away. But that threat never does go away. It simply takes advantage of the situation. When an opponent is in the chicken position, say a silent "thank you" and then work him over. Here is a great opportunity to do just about any breakdown or set-up you want if you are the top person. He's flat on his belly and face and not fighting back and not in a position to be able to fight back. What more could you want?
Here's a plug for my book COACHING ON THE MAT. I discuss position in the book and have photos showing what I mean. A good photo of Kenney Brink with an opponent in the chicken position as well as one of Chris Heckadon with an opponent flat on his face and belly are shown.
Remember that a good position gives you a lot of control over your opponent so you can work into another (better) position or execute a throw or hold. Position is important for both standing and groundfighting situations.
There's more to be said about this subject, but let's save it for another issue. The main point is pretty simple though, in that, no technique will work unless you're in the right place (and put your opponent in the wrong place for him) to make it happen. Try to think beyond the end result and work on how to get him there.
THE TRAITS THAT MAKE A GOOD COACH
By Steve Scott
I have had the good fortune of traveling to quite a few judo and jujitsu clubs throughout the United States and world. It is my sincere belief that the real heart and soul of judo development is in the clubs and dojos, not only in judo, but all the martial arts. Dedicated and hard-working people who usually serve as the head coach, janitor, bookkeeper, and do just about anything else that must to be done head these clubs. It is these coaches who make the difference in people’s lives. Most of us who coach don’t get rich or famous, but we enjoy it immensely, and wouldn’t trade our life’s experiences for anything.
Coaching is an art, a creative process. Yes, a good coach will base his approach on rationally applied factors rooted in scientific fact and real world experience. But, coaching is an art because anytime we work with people and anytime we have to be creative that can be interpreted as an art. And, if you have any experience at all working with people, you know you have to be creative to successfully work with the many personalities that make up any group of people. So then, coaching is indeed a creative process, and if you approach it that way, it will always keep you hooked. I still get a kick out of watching good judo, really good judo, and enjoy thinking about the many ways one human body can manipulate another human body. It’s fascinating and just about every coach I know shares my opinion.
It’s not easy teaching people to do anything, much less something like judo, jujitsu or other complex skills in the martial arts. Basically, we are teaching people how to fight, and along with that comes the responsibility for us to teach them how to do it responsibly and with good judgment. It takes large amounts of discipline, skill, physical fitness, effort, humility, sportsmanship, patience and maturity for someone to find success in judo. A good coach can bring out these qualities in his students and athletes, realizing that it takes time to do it right.
Judo is one of the most comprehensive methods of physical education ever devised. Jigoro Kano was a brilliant man and he gave us a wonderful gift. I believe it’s our obligation to teach the skills of judo to the best of our individual abilities, and continue the work that Prof. Kano started. With this in mind, let’s take a look at the traits that make a good coach.
1-Organizational Ability. This includes such things as the actual class organization, class preparation, advertising of the club, recruiting new students, how often the club competes in tournaments and at what level, which martial arts organizations to join, planning and annual awards banquet, developing a booster club, getting donations for the team to travel, and all the other aspects of organization necessary for a successful club or program. It’s a job, and usually not one that pays much (if anything) to the coach…at least in terms of money.
2-The Coach’s Personality. Personality goes a long way in coaching. I have known coaches who are excellent technicians but have the personality of a bowl of oatmeal. If an instructor’s personality is unbending or inflexible, or if he can’t work well with people, then he’ll probably never be much more than a mediocre coach. Then, on the other extreme, there are the coaches who have great “people skills” but lack the technical ability to be effective. Another important point is that if the coach is weak-willed and lacks the ability to run a disciplined practice, then he is setting himself up for failure. It’s important to be a “friend” to your athletes or students, but remember, they are coming to you, as the coach, for instruction in judo or jujitsu. You need to keep a distance between you and your athletes…a friendly distance, but still keep your relationship on a professional level. Getting too chummy with your students is bad news.
3-Technical Ability. A coach should have a solid base of technical ability. He doesn’t need to have won a world title, or even a national or regional title, but he should know the skills necessary to develop students who can go on to bigger and better things, and maybe win that world title. I believe that if a coach has a good technical ability and the ability to teach skills well, he doesn’t have to possess the ability to be a great technician himself. Actually, some of the best coaches I have met (in any sport) are excellent teachers and organizers and good, but not great, at the technical applications of the sport. But…these people have the ability to teach what they know with exceptional skill and can convey thoughts through words, voice inflection, hand gestures, eye contact and other means so that the students on the mat know exactly what the instructor is teaching. This brings us to…
4-The Ability to Teach. This is the most important factor in a good coach. Coaching is teaching, plain and simple. Don’t confuse good personality with coaching ability. They aren’t always mutual. Yes, I did say earlier that good personality goes a long way, the fact remains that some coaches are “good guys” but can’t teach all that well. However, good teaching does have some element of personality to it, so a coach will find that working on people skills will enable him to be a better teacher. Some people seem to be born with a natural gift to teach. Others have to try harder. Same way with athletes; some are naturals while others have to work harder at becoming successful. Even though someone may be a “born teacher,” it would do him well to study coaching techniques and enhance his own natural ability at teaching.
The more a person teaches, the better he gets both as a teacher and in his understanding of whatever he teaches. The old saying that “the best way to learn is to teach” is often true. If you’re a coach of more than a few years, look back at the way you taught a move or conducted a training session when you first started and what you are doing now. I would bet that you have made terrific progress in your coaching ability, as well as your technical ability. That’s just the way we humans are.
Another factor in being a good teacher is the knowledge that your students and athletes will perform a skill better if they are on the same “wave length” as you. If they understand why a particular technique or skill is done, as well as how it is done, they will perform it better and with consistency.
One of the best teachers in the game of football ever was Vince Lombardi, and I always like to quote him. On this subject, he was brilliant when he said: “Don’t just show them what to do, tell them why they should do it.”
I used to attend the U.S. Olympic Committee’s coaching conferences on a regular basis and had the great pleasure of hearing Doc Councilman speak. Doc Councilman was the swimming coach at Indiana University and a legend in his sport. He is a legend in coaching as well because he was one of the best teachers who ever worked with athletes (in any sport). Something he said stuck with me. I wrote it down as he spoke so I would get it right and not forget it.
“The coach is the most important link in sports. If not for the coach, then the sport would die. The coach is the person who recruits people into the sport, teaches them skills and lessons of life, and can assure success…or failure…in society.”
He went on to say that an athlete could succeed even if he has inferior training facilities, lack of financial aid or poor equipment. But if an athlete has a bad coach, then that athlete will be stymied from ever achieving his or her potential, either as an athlete or as a human being. A bad coach can do more harm to an athlete than bad facilities, no money or lousy equipment. Doc Councilman put it all in perspective.
The Two Primary Tasks of a Coach
Something else I believe strongly is twofold. A coach can influence the life of anyone who trains with him, whether it is a young child or an adult. Throughout this book, we will discuss the many ways a coach can be a positive influence in other people lives, but the two primary tasks that a coach has are the following:
1-Raise expectations.
2-Create opportunities.
When we really get down to it, a coach’s job is to help people raise their own expectations of themselves and to create opportunities. If you, as a coach and role model, expect a certain level of behavior or a certain level of expertise or skill, more often than not, your athletes or students will do everything they can to meet that level you expect and try to exceed it. If they don’t, then talk to them, coach them, be honest with them, and get them to want to raise their expectations and then do it. The key here is to make sure the expectations you want them to meet are reasonable and something attainable. Also, you, as a coach, can create opportunities for your athletes and students. If you’re a coach of a junior judo team, do your homework and find local and regional judo tournaments where your kids can compete. Talk to other coaches and arrange for clinics so that your team can be exposed to different skills and approaches to training. If you have an athlete who is really outstanding, talk to your judo organization about getting this kid to a national training center for more advanced training. Not only can you help with training and competitive opportunities, you can talk to other people in your community about educational or job opportunities for your athletes and students. As a coach, you wield influence. Use it to your team’s advantage.
Specifically, raising expectations means that the coach himself sets standards that his athletes or students must meet. An “expectation” is a standard way of behaving or pattern of living. To some degree, you could call them “goals” but that defines the concept too narrowly. Goals are specific usually. Raising expectations is more general in terms, but a definite pattern of behavior that leads to positive lifestyle choices. Part of the students’ daily training is to meet and exceed the expectations (or goals) that the coach has established. I’m not always talking about how many miles somebody has to run or how many throws must be performed each practice. Coaches should establish a specific pattern of behavior and expect his athletes to act within the limits of that behavior. A good example is not allowing athletes to show up late to practice without being expected to pay the price for it. If a young man or woman shows up late, he or she knows there will be a price to pay. The coach sets the punishment to every behavior according to its importance to him.
Discipline really isn’t a natural thing to most people and one of the ways of raising expectations in others is to teach them to be disciplined. This eventually leads to self-discipline and when a young person becomes self-disciplined, it means (to the coach) years of training have paid off. Eventually, the athlete or student will not only attempt to meet the expectations of his coach, he will set his own. When your athletes have gone beyond only trying to meet the expectations you set for them and begin to expect more of themselves, then you, as a coach, have successfully accomplished a major task in the positive development of this person’s life.
Sometimes, creating opportunities means that you have to create events or activities that will help develop your athletes. Opportunity is like riding in a car. If you know where you’re going, you’ll usually get there. If you see (or create) an opportunity and know how to take advantage of it, you’ll achieve your goals.
You, as the coach, are an important person in setting levels of expectation for your students, so you should be actively trying to create more opportunities for them. Even if these opportunities have nothing specifically to do with winning judo or sport jujitsu matches, they are still very real in the lives of everyone concerned. An example that quickly comes to mind is how many times I have talked with prospective employers when my athletes have used me as a job reference. Literally hundreds of young people have asked me to be a job reference and I have always complied. In other cases, athletes needed direction in their education and opportunities were found in getting them their high school equivalency. This has nothing to do with winning judo matches, but as a coach, I was able to help in creating opportunities for their education.
Sometimes, it only takes giving a young person a chance to prove himself. A coach doesn’t have to “pull strings” or “know somebody’ to create opportunities for his athletes. Just giving a young person a chance to prove himself is often the break that will impel this athlete to go on to bigger and better things. A coach creates an opportunity for an athlete every time he prepares him well on the mat and sets him in a positive direction off the mat.
Coaches should keep in mind that just because you have created the opportunity, it doesn’t mean that the athlete will take advantage of it. An old saying that has a lot of truth in it is; “You can lead a horse to water, but he has to drink it for himself.” Don’t be too disappointed when somebody doesn’t step through the door you opened. Hopefully, your athlete’s expectations of himself will prompt him to take advantage of positive opportunities, but if he doesn’t, he simply doesn’t. Don’t give up on him, but don’t be too disappointed either.
You Don’t Have to be a Saint, But…
One other thing is important and should be mentioned. If you plan on coaching, then you had better lead a life above reproach. Kids, and adults too for that matter, look up to their coaches. You, as the coach, set the example and that example should be a good one. You don’t have to be a saint, but you better be a decent human being if you want to be a good coach. Whether you like it or not, you are a public figure when you are a coach. What you say and what you do will be remembered for a long time, even a lifetime, by your athletes.
IF IT WEREN'T FOR THE STORIES I WOULD BE DULL
By Steve Scott
We all have stories to tell about people we've met, things we've done and places we've seen. Some funny, some sad and some we really can't tell in polite company. Here are a few that can be told in polite company.
Black Belt Killers
"How many guys did you have to kill to get your black belt?" He asked this question with a straight face and looked me right in the eye as he asked it. I love this one. We just completed a demonstration at an area shopping mall and I decided to take questions from the audience. After several interesting questions from thoughtful people, this one came along from a young man who obviously had watched too many kung fu movies. The question wasn't "Did you kill someone to get your black belt?" or "Would you kill someone to get your black belt?" No, the young man (about 20 or so) asking me that question knew to get a black belt, you gotta kill somebody! This guy was serious. I thought for a second whether to have some fun with the kid, but his blank stare told me that any attempt at sarcastic humor would be wasted. Obviously this wasn't an individual who could multi-task. Anyway, I politely told him that a black belt indicates a person has a good, working knowledge of a martial art and killing someone is not required. I made it a point to tell him that killing people is against the law, thinking it was a wise thing to mention. He nodded his head, gave me a knowing look and said: "I understand." He turned away, knowing that I was covering the dreaded truth that all black belts have to kill somebody to get the coveted rank!
The Challenge
During the heyday of the kung fu craze in the 1970s, a young man smartly dressed in a black and white kung fu outfit walked into the community center and right up to the side of the mat where I was running a judo practice. He went through an intricate ritual bow where he slapped his fist into his other hand, and then waved his hands by his face similar to how the Three Stooges did in their comedy routines. He introduced himself as a "disciple of Master (I honestly forgot his master's name---sorry)" and "My master wishes to issue your dojo a challenge to fight." A word of explanation here. The low-budget kung fu movies were a big hit here in the United States at that time. The standard script was one kung fu school challenged another school to a fight to see who had the tougher school. Of course, umbrage was always taken and the schools would have a big fight with lots of rockem-sockem action. Everybody got kicked or hit at least 100 times and always came back to fight again. This is how silly some of these guys were in those days. I had never heard of this "master" but then, I wasn't up on all the kung fu masters in town anyway.
I told the young man that if he, his "master" or any of his team-mates would like to fight with any of us, they could enter the next judo tournament scheduled. I went over to the bulletin board, took a tournament flyer off of it and showed him the date and place of the next tournament. He informed me that what they did was "too dangerous for sport fighting." I said something like: "Well, if you want to fight us, you'll have to enter a judo tournament." He bowed in the same ritual way he did when he entered, turned and left, never to be seen again. I guess he showed me!
What Time Is It?
Years ago, after giving a demonstration for a bunch of kids at a local park, I asked if there were any questions. Now, please understand, I was a young instructor who was really interested in building my club. This was a big deal to my young bunch of students. We lugged a bunch of mats in the back of a pick-up over to this park, set them up just right and I had about 5 or 6 of my little studs there that put on a terrific judo demonstration. We had a good-sized audience of about 30 or 40 kids and I thought I was King Coach for doing such a great job with the demo.
Anyway, after we finished the demonstration, I asked if anyone had any questions. Silence...nobody had a question. I pressed them by saying that there must be "something I can tell you." In the front row, a little kid about 8 years old raised his hand...the only hand to be raised. I pointed to him and said: "What would you like to know?" He said: "What time is it?" Everybody broke up. I'm sure I turned beet red, but I went over to my bag, got out my wristwatch and told him the time. That was the only question we had that day. I didn't live that one down for a long time.
IS SELF DEFENSE POLITICALLY INCORRECT?
I don't know. I realize the older I get, the more crotchety I get, but it seems to me that today's kids are getting some downright weird messages about self-defense. I've been keeping track of news stories in an unscientific manner about the way parents are dealing with bullies. It's as if this is a new phenomenon. Bullies have been here since dirt was invented and kids have learned to deal with them in other ways than have therapy sessions and more Prozac prescribed. What's wrong with a kid learning judo, jujitsu, karate or some other martial art and learning some real "self-esteem" and not the stuff that puffs up a kid's ego by never telling him "no."
I would imagine that most of you reading this started in the martial arts to learn how to fight. I did. What's wrong with that? The combination of fighting skills, discipline and hard work made me a better human being. I'm sure it made you one too. When did it become bad to have these qualities?
In the late 1990s, a mother called me to ask about enrolling her son in our judo program. I described the program to her, basically giving the days, times, cost and other necessities. Her son was being bullied and she wanted to do something about it, she told me. I explained to her that judo and jujitsu are great for kids because it develops self-confidence, a healthier body, teaches discipline and maturity along with the skills needed for self-defense. That's where she balked. She told me she was more interested in "strategies" a child could use and "alternative behavior skills" that would be used instead of learning how to fight.
Needless to say, she didn't sign her son up in our judo club. Maybe the kid can use the psychology book his mom was reading to defend himself with. But, seriously, this is something that we see from time to time and is developing into a definite trend of our culture.
Kids get bullied every day. Kids can be cruel to each other. We all were kids once and remember it all. But today, I see kids who get bullied, then over-anxious parents put them into some kind of therapy rather than actually doing something about the problem. A few years ago, it was still fashionable for a child to learn how to defend himself when he got bullied, then go pound the snot out of the bully and solve the problem. And if he couldn't pound the snot out of the bully, he at least gave it a real try and showed he had the guts to try to change his life for the better. The best therapy for a kid is the real self-esteem that comes from learning how to defend himself and gaining the confidence that comes with it. Sometimes, you actually have to stand up to and fight a bully. The old saying is usually true. "A bully doesn't want to fight you, he only wants to beat you up."
I told you I'm getting crotchety.
TIPS ON SUCCESSFUL MATSIDE COACHING
By steve Scott
With our kids’ judo team from Welcome Mat on the read a lot these days (reminds me of when Becky and I used to pack a bunch of kids in our van and hit as many tournaments as possible every year), I wanted to cover some basic, common sense tips for coaches working at matside at tournaments. This advice is good for any sport, martial art or activity, but yours learned it the hard way truly from years of coaching at matside in judo and sambo tournaments. I've included this in several of the coach workshops that I've done recently. Hope it helps.
1-Prepare in the dojo. Work on strategy and tactics as part of your training.
2-Know the rules. Coach by the rulebook and not necessarily by the textbook. I’ve seen coaches who were absolutely ignorant of the rule in question argue with referees…and lose every time. You’re doing a disservice to your athletes if you don’t know the rules of the sport.
3-Come prepared for the day. Bring water, fruit and snacks for the team. First-aid kit and have each athlete bring an extra judogi in case of a tear or blood stain.
4-Bring a stopwatch and use it.
5-Pre-Match instructions. Talk to your athletes before the tournament and before the match. If you need to give them some “rah-rah” type of talk, then do it. It works well for many athletes in many situations, but if you do, mean what you say. Often, a good, quick discussion of the upcoming match in a positive tone helps a lot.
6-Don’t over coach, but don’t ignore them either. I’m not sure which is worse, the coach who shouts, talks and yells too much or the coach who sits there like he’s a spectator and never offers any advice or information.
7-Advice should be clear and to the point. When you offer matside advice, make it clear, understandable and to the point. Don’t confuse your athlete with a lot of useless banter or garbled language.
8-Only one coach. Too many people shouting at an athlete only confuses the situation and some people will just offer dumb advice that your athlete might listen to. You do the coaching.
9-Match time is important. Have a verbal signal worked out so that only your team knows what you mean. “Tiger Time” used to mean 30 seconds left in the match for my teams. “Double Tiger” meant 1 minute. “Almost there” meant that the match was half over; things like that. Just yelling out “30 seconds left” tells both your athlete and his opponent the time that might be helpful to the opponent.
10-Don’t be a cheerleader. Be a coach. Offer encouragement when necessary, but keep to the job at hand.
11-Train your athletes to look over to you at the side of the mat during breaks in the match. When tying the belts or tucking in the gis…that type of break, but never while the time is running.
12-Don’t berate or dress down your athlete during the course of the match. If you need to discipline him, do it after the match, unless he does something really stupid (like flip off the referee). Also, never use profanity at any time to anyone.
13-Have specific names for things you want your athletes to do. Example: Let’s say your athlete is ahead in the score. You want him to kill some match time by working on the mat and looking busy enough to keep the referee from breaking the action and stopping the clock. Tell him “Gutter Time” and he will know what you mean. You’ve worked on this situation in practice before the tournament (lots of times!) and he knows exactly what you mean. This point ties in with the very first point listed.
14-Make sure the athlete doesn’t talk back to you as the coach. His job is to fight. No talking. Also, have a hand signal worked out if the athlete needs to know the time for what ever reason. I used to have my athletes tap their head if they were having trouble working their best throw on their opponent. Make sure the signals aren’t too complicated.
15-Do not irritate the officials. Yes, I know. That can be hard to avoid. They control the match. You don’t. You can’t coach if you’ve been thrown out of the gym. I must admit, I learned this the hard way and although I was never thrown out of a gym, I did have a way of getting on some officials’ nerves.
16-Be polite to all tournament officials. Suck up to them is you need to. You’re there to help your team win. If kissing up helps, do it. A referee will be more likely to give the benefit of the doubt to a “nice guy’s” athlete. Referee’s are human too.
17-Sometimes, your athlete is wrong. If your athlete deserves a penalty, then don’t argue the point. If your athlete’s been scored on, deal with it and give him positive advice on how to catch up or take the lead. However, if there is a serious mistake on the referee’s part (giving the score to the wrong athlete, for example) you should point this out in a professional and calm manner. Yelling “Hey jerk face, you gave the score to the wrong guy” never helps your side of the situation! But this is only if there is a mistake on a technical point or ruling…never on a judgment call. You may think it’s only a koka and not a yuko, but that’s a judgment call for the most part. Second-guessing the referee only makes him dig in his heels and make it tougher for your athlete. A coach will lose credibility if he continually argues with officials over points that are subjective.
18-Never, ever, rough up your athlete or touch him in anger. If you do, you should be kicked out of coaching…and judo for that matter!
19-“Play” the referee. Sometimes, you can actually influence the calls a referee makes. I used to have, whenever possible, a member of the team (usually an adult) call out a score (“ippon”, “waza-ari”, etc.) when one of our guys did a throw that merited a score. Sometimes, the referee can be swayed. Actually, more often than you would think. If there is an “iffy” score and you see that one side judge might question it, yell out (politely, of course) “looks like a yuko to me.” Sometimes that is enough for the judge to signal the other judge and question the referee’s call. But again, never be caustic or rude…you can get more with honey than with vinegar.
20-You’re there for your athletes. After the match, if they win, congratulate them and discuss the match with them. If they lose, tell them what they might have done wrong, but don’t berate them for losing. Believe me, they feel bad about losing, so don’t pile it on.
21-Be professional. Look professional. Act professional. A dirty T-shirt and cut-ff jeans is no way to appear by the side of the mat. Be in team sweats or in other athletic attire. A T-shirt is okay, as long as it’s clean and neat, but a polo shirt is better. Don’t use profanity (mentioned before but worth repeating). Sit in the referee’s chair assigned to you. Don’t ever walk on to the mat unless specifically asked by the officials.
Now, remember, these tips are written by a coach who was serious about having his athletes win matches. I hope they haven't offended any referees, who may be reading this, but it's the kind of stuff I used to do and it worked on a consistent basis.
Don't be one of these coaches with a chip on his shoulder and assume that all referees are "out to get" your athletes or you. I've competed, coaches, refereed and acted as meet director for lots of judo, jujitsu and sambo tournaments for 40 years. There's not much I haven't seen. You can always tell the coach (usually new ones) who absolutely know that the referee, meet director, CIA or somebody else has it in for both them and their athletes. Any call the referee makes is contested by this kind of coach, unless of course, the call benefits his athlete. Don't be one of these coaches. We're all in this together, so if you, as a coach, make it a point to be friendly, professional and have your facts straight in the event a disputed call, then you'll represent your athletes better and be a credit to the sport.
Something else before this article wraps up. Go back to #7 in the list above. I'm asking you to do this because of a very funny incident that happened at the World Sambo Championships one year. I observed, from across the large gym where the tournament was being held, a coach who was yelling at his athlete on the mat. Now, this guy had EVERYBODY'S attention in the gym. He was actually barking like a dog at his athlete on the mat. Apparently one of his signals or bits of advice was to make a "woof woof" sound like a dog...and do it really loud. He was hilarious! He was a big guy and he stood there going "WOOF WOOF WOOF" at that kid and he was totally serious. Never saw anything like that before or since, but it's something I'll never forget. Not sure what "woof" meant to the athlete on the mat, but it sure was funny to everybody else.
I'm sure there are other tips that other people can add, but this is about the sum total of my vast wisdom and knowledge on this subject...seriously, I hope this advice on matside coaching helps the cause.
WHAT IS YOUR TOKUI WAZA?
By Steve Scott
A "tokui waza" is often referred to as a "favorite technique." When used in judo, it's more often than not used to describe an athlete's favorite throw rather than his or her favorite newaza (groundfighting) skill. However, many in the judo community freely name an armlock, choke or hold as a tokui waza (as do those in the jujitsu community).
Actually, the word "tokui" means "anything with which one is well acquainted; experienced, or is skillful in; forte, specialty." In this sense, calling it "favorite" is making the assumption that a person's specialty is also his favorite. That could be the case, or maybe not. Most likely, you tend to favor the things you are good at, so it's usually a correct assumption.
But let's not leave our idea of a tokui waza as only a single "technique." We need to examine what "waza" means to get a full picture. "Waza" means "work, deed, art, cause, reason, performance, technique, trick." Looking at it this way, we can look at "tokui waza" as more than simply a single technique. We can interpret it that way if we wish, but we can also broaden the scope of the phrase to mean more than only a specific throw or hold.
How about looking at your tokui waza as a strategy or tactic or even a series of moves that culminate in a successful conclusion? Your tokui waza could be how you specialize in winning a match or your strategy in a self-defense situation. A good example of an athlete who I know very well is Chris Heckadon. Chris was a "position" grappler or wrestler. His preferred sport was sambo, but he also competed successfully in judo and collegiate wrestling. He always seemed to be in the best position for himself and managed to put his opponent in the worst position (for his opponent) almost all the time. His goal was to control his opponent's body position and how he moved and see what happened. Rather than control his opponent's body to hit in with a specific throw or hold, he preferred to position himself so that he could have options and use the move or technique that he deemed to work the best at the time. Naturally, he had a range of skills and techniques that he preferred, but none were his "favorite." I've seen other guys like Chris in their respective sports or martial arts. While it's interesting that many of them were known for a specific throw or hold, but their intention was not necessarily to get that particular technique. Rather, it was the result of their tokui waza, which was putting an opponent in such a position that a scoring move could be achieved.
This is what I'm getting at; your tokui waza doesn't have to be just one technique. Your specialty, your main strength, can be creating a situation that puts you in the best position to beat your opponent. Neil Adams immediately comes to mind in this context. Depending on when, during his career, and who he was fighting, his tokui waza could be any of the following: Uchi mata (inner thigh throw), seoi nage (shoulder throw), juji gatame (cross-body armlock), sankaku (triangle hold or choke), tomoe nage (circle throw), ko uchi gari (minor inner reap), or a number of other moves. What Neil Adams was really good at, his "tokui waza," was putting himself in position to have the option to use most any of these techniques depending on the opponent, circumstance, grip, time left in the match, or any number of factors. His specialty was being in the right place in the right time and making sure his opponent was in the best possible position (for Neil) and worst possible position for the opponent. I remember during a discussion I had with him, he said that he "always tried to be in the best position to attack or defend from."
Another example is Shawn Watson. Shawn was accomplished at judo, sambo and sport jujitsu, but his "self-defense" skills are "legendary" in many places around the Kansas City area. In other words, as a teen-ager, Shawn would find himself in a brawl from time to time. He would always get a stern lecture and choice words from both his father and me, but Shawn still managed to rarely avoid a street tussle. He's older and wiser now, and I mention this to preface my point about using a tokui waza in a personal combat situation.
Shawn invented what he called "Watson Jitsu" which was basically his tokui waza in a fight. Years ago, as a kid, he developed a strategy in a street fight and the skills necessary to achieve success. Shawn had a standard, overall, strategy (which was "fluid" and could change if necessary) when confronted with a situation. He worked out how his body should be in relation to his opponent, his first move to close the gap between the two bodies and how he would take his opponent to the ground and what he would do once they got there. This was his tokui waza...his most efficient way of beating his opponent. (By the way, Shawn is now a police officer in Honolulu, so I guess the lectures he got from his parents and me did some good!)
Maybe we should look at "tokui waza" as more than a single technique or event. The concept is based on the unique set of skills, circumstances (you create or adapt to) and goals you want to achieve. But then, it can also be your ace in the hole and the move that you call on to end a match or settle a dispute. It can be the uchi mata (inner thigh throw) that Jim Bregman was famous for, or the sankaku (triangle hold) that Karen Briggs would use time and again with great success.
TAKING THE SOFTNESS OUT OF JU
By Steve Scott
If you've been around judo or jujitsu any length of time, you've no doubt heard that judo is the "gentle way", or that jujitsu is the "soft art." Gentle, soft, flowing, without effort...beating a larger opponent with gentleness. Okay, but over 40 years of practical life on the mats have told me something different. In fact, when I started to explore exactly what "ju" meant quite a few years ago, I found that gentleness is not high on the list of meanings for "ju." But, to make judo popular for self-defense when it arrived in the West, the gentleness aspect was played up over the more realistic meaning of the word "ju." So, what might this word actually mean, in real terms?
Ju means to be adaptable, pliable, flexible, yielding...in both physical and mental senses. Judo (and jujitsu) implies flexibility and an ability to adapt to get the job done. Prof. Kano was a firm believer in the western concepts of utilitarianism and rationality. His philosophy of ju was not soft...it was adaptable, flexible and utilitarian.
When we apply the philosophy of "ju", we are being adaptable, and that doesn't necessarily imply being gentle or soft. For the folks who have not taken the time or effort to explore the meaning of "ju", the real idea of what Prof. Kano (no, I'm not a mind reader or have a crystal ball...I have, however, done some reading on the subject, which led to some thinking, which may or may not get me in trouble from time to time) developed has been lost. He wasn't trying to form a martial art based on gentleness, rather, he was trying to develop a philosophy of physical education on the basis of being adaptable and flexible. Getting the job done with minimal effort and maximum efficiency. Yet, the nagging fact remains that in many of Prof. Kano's writings, he openly used the word "gentleness." That being said, when you read further in the text, his explanations weren’t in the same context. Meaning, he may have used the word "gentleness" but he meant in the same sense as "yielding", "flexible" or using the opponent's strength against him. I really can't see that he meant anything else than the maximum use of both physical and mental efficiency. A matter of interpretation, most definitely, and it's obvious how I interpreted it.
Taking this soft approach to the extreme, I have had conversations with some (nice, but in my humble opinion, misguided) people who have been adamant that to be proficient in judo, it would be a mortal sin if you made the effort to become stronger or more physically fit, or in general, became a better athlete. Any type of effort other than "gentle, flowing movement" (to quote someone in my dim and distant past) was not judo.
But years of doing judo had told me something different. It's rare, I mean really rare, that somebody lets you gently pull them around and drill them to the mat. It takes effort...not the kind of effort as in brute strength, but effort none-the-less. It takes skill, a good level of fitness, coordination, and yes, strength. Strength does play a vital role in judo and jujitsu, but in a utilitarian way, just as Prof. Kano said it would. Proper and useful application of strength is necessary to be able to do good judo.
I'm not advocating that you stoke up on steroids, spend all your waking hours lifting weights and crush any weakling in your path. No, what I am saying is that judo isn't gentle. It's a tough, disciplined, rational physical activity based on proven theories of balance, movement and spatial awareness. And to better apply these theories, a person has to be physically and mentally fit enough to do the job. I can't speak for anyone else, but I've seen some misguided souls who were woefully out of shape, overweight and downright soft, get a real education on the mat because they bought into the notion that "softness can overcome hardness." Basically, they were using this concept as an excuse for not showing up in shape, training hard, or developing realistic and useful skills so that they could best use the concept of "ju." You had better prepare if you want to use "ju" effectively. So, if I have to actually train or work out to get this "ju" business down, what's a poor boy to do? Well, I have some thoughts on this one too.
My good friend John Saylor learned his philosophy of "Shingitai" from one of his coaches and mentors, Yoshisada Yonezuka. John spent serious time and effort working on the basic ideas he learned and putting them into a cohesive philosophy of training. Basically, the "shin" in the word implies the fighting heart or mental approach to overall development. The "gi" means development of technical skill based on efficiency and usefulness, and the "tai" implies the physical approach, meaning that a person has to be physically fit to be able to apply his skills to their maximum efficiency. This philosophy of "Shingitai" is a great approach to the real-world, actual and useful application of Prof. Kano's principle of "ju." John Saylor's Shingitai philosophy is not for the couch potato or wannabe tough guy. It's a practical guide to success. And while John's philosophy isn't the history-making stuff that Prof. Kano did in the late 1800s, it's definitely a cohesive and practical approach to judo, jujitsu or any similar activity.
I suppose judo and jujitsu are like just about any other subjects. People will make of them what they want. And that's okay to a degree, but before someone does this, he or she should have a good knowledge of the subject at hand. I've encountered quite a few folks who have little, if any, real background in judo or jujitsu, yet that doesn't stop them from espousing their views (and going on to denigrate any other point of view). Okay, this is America and we have the freedom to be as smart as we want to be or as dumb as we want to be in public. And, hey, I'm not the smartest dog in the yard, so if you have a different view of "ju", fine by me.
"Ju" isn't magic. It's a real, time-proven tool to get the job (any job) done more efficiently and practically. There's even a book on "Mental Judo" which is a big seller among businessmen and salespeople. Being adaptable, flexible, and then apply that adaptability to get the job accomplished...whatever the job...that's "ju."
THE MORTAR THAT HOLDS THE BRICKS TOGETHER
By Steve Scott
Anybody who's been on the mat any length of time realizes that there are lots of moves that make other moves happen. These are the kind of skills that set an opponent up for that choke, armlock or throw that ultimately does your opponent in. These moves go by different names...breakdowns, set-ups, turnovers, taisabaki, gripping and other descriptive names. They are varied and different; yet all work toward the same end and that is to make the technique you want to work actually work.
I've yet to see an opponent who will lie down for you and let you slap an armlock on him and tap out voluntarily. You have to make him do what you want. How you get him there is the mortar that holds the bricks together...the moves that create the success of the technique you want to apply. This "mortar" or the position, set-ups or breakdowns holds the "bricks" or the scoring technique or skill together and makes it work as well as it does. If a brick is to be functional, it needs the mortar to hold it in place and help it form a building.
Specifically, I'm thinking of what I've called "breakdowns" for many years. These are skills that take your opponent from a stable position to an unstable position and set him up for your armlock, choke, leglock or hold. A good example is when your opponent is on all fours and you get to his side or back, establish a good position and roll him onto his back or flatten him on his stomach and apply a hold or choke.
These aren't cool moves that immediately make your opponent tap out. They are the skills that put him in the position so that you can apply that cool move to make him tap out.
To me, as a coach, it's a lot of fun to teach these moves. There are so many ways of manipulating the human body, it takes a lifetime to learn and appreciate the skill, science and artistry it takes to do it. I know I'm preaching to the choir, but it's actually a thrill (that never seems to get old) to set a guy up and cleanly throw him, choke him or hold him to the mat, knowing that the hours of training you put into that set of skills paid off.
For the most part, these skills I'm talking about have never been cataloged or categorized much. Maybe that's good, because then they wouldn't be "set in stone" as some of the major techniques of throwing and grappling have been done. But then, by not categorizing these skills, they haven't been given the credit they so richly deserve.
If you still don't know what I'm trying to describe, take a look at fighting out of the guard (when on your buttocks in groundfighting). These are the skills you perform when on the bottom, or top, position and are part of what I'm describing; the ways of getting past an opponent's legs to apply a hold or armlock. The "trick" move (that's not really a trick at all) that somebody has to set his opponent up for the strangle that always seems to work for him.
Logically, a breakdown or set-up comes as a result of having established a good position, then methodically working the breakdown to it's successful conclusion, which is a scoring technique. It's really establishing a series of positions that eventually result in a scoring move. This is the chain of skill that separates success from failure in any grappling sport or activity.
It all starts from "position." Position is being in the right place at the right time and putting your opponent in the wrong place (for him). If I were a mathematician, I would write it this way; P + B = S. P (Position) + B (Breakdown) = S (Skill). And even though I'm not a mathematician, I still wrote it that way because it looks kind of cool and helps me remember the chain of skill better.
The human body had a lot of handles and by the same token, has a lot of tools to manipulate those handles, which make breakdowns and other similar skills work so well. Hooking an opponent's elbow with your hand is a simple, yet good, example of what I mean. His elbow (in this case) is the handle and my hand (in this case) is the tool I use to control that handle. Knowing how to use your arms, legs, hands, feet, head and other body parts as tools to manipulate your opponent's body is a skill that takes time, effort and much hard work to be able to do and appreciate.
I guess the point of this article is to stress the importance of working on the skills that make the big scoring moves actually work. The position, rides, set-ups, breakdowns, grips and other moves that are truly the mortar that holds the bricks together in the sequence of skills in any form of grappling.
TECHNIQUE INSTRUCTION
Keep checking in to see when new skills are added.
SPINNING JUJI GATAME
Demonstrated by Bill West on Steve Scott.
HIP ROLL JUJI GATAME
Demonstrated by Bill West on Steve Scott.
BELT AND NELSON JUJI GATAME
Demonstrated by Bill West on Kyle Meredith.
WE LIKE JUJI GATAME (CROSS-BODY ARMLOCK) AT WELCOME MAT, SO YOU'LL SEE A LOT OF VARIATIONS OF THIS ARMLOCK HERE.
HEAD AND ARM LEVER AND APPLY JUJI GATAME Demonstrated by Steve Scott on Bill West and Bill West on Eric Millsap. A "lever" is what we call it when you pry your opponent's arms loose to apply an armlock, in this case, Juji Gatame. It often starts in the "Leg Press" position where you are sitting on your buttocks with your opponent on his back or back/side. Levers are essential to know so you can pry your opponent's arm free and get the armlock.
