AWOL's (AKA Nawfal) pick of the week

As cocky as Karo Parisyan is, you have to respect the way he applies no-gi judo here are some moves he shows and it being applied in a fight

Capt. Ben's Pick of the Week

Capt Ben says "this is why you don't show off."


[from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv-sNvCfj24]

Round 2 of the Dantai Sen/Batsugun Postponed.

Breaking news. Due to unforeseen circumstance, round 2 of the upcoming Dantai sen/Batsugun is to be postponed. Sensei Rick has to travel to Japan in order to sign some legal papers. The next available date for the contest is 31 October 2009 (so as to not interfere with the All Japan Masters Judo Championships in Oita city, Kyushu, Japan on the 25/26/27th of Sept). The Auckland University Judo Club would like to extend an apology to any teams that may have been inconvenianced. We hope, however, that the delay will merely make the contest more intense and exciting (and possibly give the South Island a chance to assemble a team or two). Potential compeditors from the South Island please contact G. Spinks.

Correction: The Makings of a (Wo)man

We thought he was a man but we were obviously mistaken!

The Metamorphosis of Capt Ben

Fresh Meat Sandwiches

New players to University Judo. Easy targets 3 out the 5 are only white belts.....

Learning from the Master

To increase your chances in Randori, choose the lowest grade and smallest person (preferably someone that is less than half your weight) as demonstrated here by Rick Littlewood sensei.

The Makings of a Man

If She Hasn't Yet, She Soon Will

Sensei Rick Announces Round 2 of the Dantai sen/Batsugun Shiai 8th August 2009

Dantai sen/Batsugun Shiai 8th August 2009.
This months teams dantai sen was very successful with Judokai Glenfield winning the final with Kuma the bear to spare.
The atmosphere and noise level was so high in the final fight that when Ben Stallworthy was giving Alistair Leat the legal knuckles in the neck to apply shimewaza [youtube.auckland uni judo] he failed to hear matte!
The coach from Judokai rush onto the mat to protest that you could not do this to one of his precious little boys, pandemonium broke out, this coach was told in uncertain terms to piss off and get off the mat.
Judging from the body language from the western/uni judo members this was the closest to an all in punch up that I have ever seen in my 50 years of judo.
The judo coach from judokai was hustled off the mat and the contest resumed with young Leat throwing Ben for a nice yoko tomoenage and thus winning the dantai sen for judokai.
It was very nice and sportsman’s like to seen both teams form two lines to shake everybody’s hands.
The standard was very high and with 60 judoka participating and 30 spectators the uni dojo was packed.
We were very lucky to have Dave Browne IJF referee and his team to control the dantai sen shiai , the standard of refereeing could not have been higher.
Thank you again from Uni Judo club Inc and all the other judoka.
In sumo the grand champions are call Yoko zuna =judokai
The next rank are called Ozeki =champions which applies to all those who participated.
Igor Kano the founder of judo said ”to lose is to win”
Ozeki is a very famous sake company in Japan and they called their sake Ozeki rather then yokozuna so that they would always try to better then sake . Judo is the same .
TO LOSE IS TO WIN
Our next dantai sen/batsugun will be on the 8th August at 1.30 pm.
Judokai have made a few requests, which we have no objection to.
All judo members must be registered with the NZJF. No problem
Dack/mosquito Pakistani judo suits be banned, no problem
Female judoka be allowed to fight, under the human rights act 2001 we cant stop them.
Coaches be banned from invading the shiai area. No problem.
Uni judo was lacking in stopwatches and renewable ice packs [judokai suffered 3 knee injuries] this will be rectified for the next dantai sen.
BJJ = Brazilian jujitsu
It is possible a BBJ team will be entered, so the honour of judo is at stake.
The bjj team will be fighting under Kodokan/ijf rules but while saying that they are very good at newaza one will have to be very careful not to lose.
It is fortunate that our referee’s in N.Z, don’t allow newaza to progress passed 3/4 seconds so we might win .
Sponsorship
We have obtained sponsorship in the form of 10 cartons of beer for the winners from Fosters, beerforce, Tanuki/Kura/and the Cave, Uni judo, Judokai, and Western judo.
I propose that the winners get 2 cartons, runners up get 5 cartons and the balance go to the team with the most kyu grades.
Teams will be made up of 10 judoka, lined up in lowest grade 1st then by age, winner stays, in a draw both sit down.
We would like to thank the teams who came from Wgton , Tauranga, Hamilton,Howick, Western and Judokai and we hope to see you all again on the 8th August.

Brent Cooper Steps Down

I am writing to confirm that Brent has decided to step down from his role as Head Coach of Judo New Zealand.

Brent has been in the role since 2001 and agreed to remain Head Coach to see out the last Olympic cycle. With that need now over and the impending appointment of a High Performance Director, Brent feels the time is right to move on.

Over this period Brent has done a tremendous amount of work with individual athletes, coaches and New Zealand teams to have them perform at their best at tournaments and championships around the world.

On behalf of Judo New Zealand I would like to thank him for those efforts, a large amount of which goes unnoticed and unacknowledged.

Acknowledgement is also given to the time spent by Brent in his two stints as Acting CEO when he picked up the administrative reins of the Federation in a time of need to keep the organisation functioning.

I am sure Brent‘s knowledge and skills will not be lost to judo in New Zealand in the future and I am sure you will join with me in thanking him for his work as Head Coach and his other roles with judo and wish him well for the future.

Yours in judo
Dave Browne
President – Judo New Zealand
[FROM: http://www.judonz.org/mains/news.asp?article=2009072201]

Help Wanted

Ever since Aaron relocated to Wellington we have not had a permanent Club Administrator. Therefore anyone interested in managing the club admin can email r.littlewood@xtra.co.nz to apply – instruction manual/training provided.

This role is not limited to University members, it is open to all – only requirement is that you’re available to turn up to training at least once a week to collect fees etc.

(NB: This is something to think about especially if you plan to enter the North Islands and/or Nationals because without an admin NO ONE registered with the club will be able to enter….)

Sensei Rick's Picks of the Week: The uncertainty of the English language

Two guys were discussing popular family trends on sex, marriage, and family values.
Stu said, 'I didn't sleep with my wife before we got married, did you?'
Leroy replied, 'I'm not sure, what was her maiden name?'
-------------------------
A little boy went up to his father and asked: 'Dad, where did my intelligence come from?'
The father replied. 'Well, son, you must have got it from your mother, cause I still have mine.'
---------------------------------------------------------
'Mr. Clark, I have reviewed this case very carefully,' the divorce Court
Judge said, 'And I've decided to give your wife $775 a week,'
'That's very fair, your honor,' the husband said. 'And every now and
then I'll try to send her a few bucks myself..'
---------------------------------------------------------
A doctor examining a woman who had been rushed to the Emergency Room, took
the husband aside, and said, 'I don't like the looks of your wife at all.'
'Me neither doc,' said the husband.
'But she's a great cook and really good with the kids.'
-----------------------------------------------------------
An old man goes to the Wizard to ask him if he can remove a curse he has
been living with for the last 40 years.
The Wizard says, 'Maybe, but you will have to tell me the exact words that
were used to put the curse on you.'
The old man says without hesitation, 'I now pronounce you man and wife.'
----------------------------------------------------------
Two Reasons Why It's So Hard To Solve A Redneck Murder:
1. The DNA all matches.
2. There are no dental records.
----------------------------------------------------------
A blonde calls Delta Airlines and asks, 'Can you tell me how long it'll take
to fly from San Francisco to New York City ?'
The agent replies, 'Just a minute.'
'O K . Thank you,' the blonde says, and hangs up.
----------------------------------------------------------
Two Mexican detectives were investigating the murder of Juan Gonzalez.
'How was he killed?' asked one detective.
'With a golf gun,' the other detective replied.
'A golf gun! What is a golf gun?'
'I don't know. But it sure made a hole in Juan.'
-----------------------------------------------------------
Moe: 'My wife got me to believe in religion.'
Joe: 'Really?'
Moe: 'Yeah. Until I married her I didn't believe in Hell.'
----------------------------------------------------------
A man is recovering from surgery when the Surgical Nurse appears and asks
him how he is feeling.
'I'm O. K. but I didn't like the four letter-words the doctor used in surgery,' he answered.
'What did he say,' asked the nurse.
'Oops!'
------------------------------------------------------------
While shopping for vacation clothes, my husband and I passed a display of bathing suits. It had been at least ten years and twenty pounds since I had even considered buying a bathing suit, so sought my husband's advice.
'What do you think?' I asked. 'Should I get a bikini or an all-in-one?'
'Better get a bikini,' he replied. 'You'd never get it all in one.'

He's still in intensive care.
....................................................
The graveside service just barely finished, when there was massive
clap of thunder, followed by a tremendous bolt of lightning, accompanied by even more thunder rumbling in the distance.
The little old man looked at the pastor and calmly said, 'Well, looks like she's there.'

Old Ideals Made New Again! A Timely Reminder

[An abridged version borrowed from Wikipedia] On 18 April 1888, Kanō and Reverend Thomas Lindsay presented a lecture called "Jiujitsu: The Old Samurai Art of Fighting without Weapons" to the Asiatic Society of Japan. This lecture took place at the British Embassy in Tokyo. Its theme was that the main principle of judo involved gaining victory by yielding to strength.

Being an idealist, Kanō had broad aims for judo, which he saw as something that simultaneously encompassed self-defense, physical culture, and moral behavior.

Since the very beginning, I had been categorizing Judo into three parts,
rentai-ho,
shobu-ho,
and shushin-ho.
Rentai-ho refers to Judo as a physical exercise. Shobu-ho is Judo as a martial art. Shushin-ho is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue as well as the study and application of the principles of Judo in our daily lives. I therefore anticipated that practitioners would develop their bodies in an ideal manner, to be outstanding in matches, and also to improve their wisdom and virtue and make the spirit of Judo live in their daily lives. If we consider Judo first as a physical exercise, we should remember that our bodies should not be stiff, but free, quick and strong. We should be able to move properly in response to our opponent's unexpected attacks. We should also not forget to make full use of every opportunity during our practice to improve our wisdom and virtue. These are the ideal principles of Judo.

In 1915, Kanō gave this definition to judo:

Judo is the way of the highest or most efficient use of both physical and mental energy. Through training in the attack and defence techniques of judo, the practitioner nurtures their physical and mental strength, and gradually embodies the essence of the Way of Judo. Thus, the ultimate objective of Judo discipline is to be utilized as a means to self-perfection, and thenceforth to make a positive contribution to society.

During March 1922, Kanō brought all this to fruition through the introduction of the Kodokan Bunkakai, or Kodokan Cultural Association. This organization held its first meeting at Tokyo's Seiyoken Hotel on 5 April 1922, and held its first public lecture three days later at the YMCA hall in Kanda. The mottoes of the Kodokan Cultural Association were "Good Use of Spiritual and Physical Strength" and "Prospering in Common for Oneself and Others." Although those are literal translations, the phrases were usually translated into English as "Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort" and "Mutual Welfare and Benefit." The theories of this organization were described in some detail in an article published in Living Age in September 1922.

The purpose of my talk is to treat of judo as a culture: physical, mental, and moral, -- but as it is based on the art of attack and defense, I shall first explain what this judo of the contest is...
A main feature of the art is the application of the principles of non-resistance and taking advantage of the opponent's loss of equilibrium; hence the name jujutsu (literally soft or gentle art), or judo (doctrine of softness or gentleness)...
...of the principle of the Maximum Efficiency in Use of Mind and Body. On this principle the whole fabric of the art and science of judo is constructed.
As to the moral phase of judo, -- not to speak of the discipline of the exercise room involving the observance of the regular rules of etiquette, courage, and perseverance, kindness to and respect for others, impartiality and fair play so much emphasized in Western athletic training, -- judo has special importance in Japan...

Sensei Rick's DOs and DON’Ts for the next Batsugun/Dantai Sen Shiai

The Batsugun/Dantai Shia is intended to be fun and promote Judo. We play Judo to improve the person, better our waza, and make new friends. With this in mind here are a few DOs and DON’Ts for the next one:

DO
*Turn up even if you don’t have a full team. We will make you one and we’ll donate you some players if you don’t have them. At the last shiai AKL UNI put up 18 players of all grades and ages of which 7 fought for other teams/clubs.
* Enter if you are a kyu grade, social player, or simply old. There is a place in the Batsugun format for people of all levels, ages, and abilities (including the blind, lame, and obesce).
* Bring supporters and your cute girlfriends to the contest.
* Stay around for a beer or several. Meet new people from different clubs. Tell a few lies. Etc...
* Try and control your mouth on the sideline.

DON’T
* Be embarrassed if you wet the mat after being strangled unconscious (just reconcile yourself to the fact no one will ever forget it).
* Run onto the mat swearing and protesting legit techniques (albeit accidentally continued after Matte)
* Wear illegal, IJF banned mosquito suits with a view to win.
* Enter only 8 of your best players and refuse to put in 4 more lower grades as they may have lost.

Uni Judo Rumor Mill...

Unconfirmed rumors have it that a talent scout was recently seen at the Uni Club taking names and photos of club members to star in an upcoming Coca Cola commercial. The bad news was that the gig paid $800 a day for 10 days in Queenstown (all expenses paid). Training on Friday nights, apparently, does have its perks!
It may also be true that two Auckland BJJ teams have expressed interest competing in the next Batsugun. But they have requested that Mosquito suits be made illegal on the grounds that they are contrary to the spirit of the art as practiced by Mitsuyo Maeda (the Conde Koma).

Interclub at Henkada

Venue: Henkada Judo Club Hamilton
Date: Sunday 26th July, 2009
Time: Newaza 11am - 12pm; Tachiwaza 1pm - 2.30pm
ALL JUDOKA WELCOME

If you need more details you will find a link to the Henkada website in the "Friends, Foes, and Judo Links" in the right column. Or click here.

AJA Acknowledges Success of the Batsugun

Khan and Jun have temporarily given up on uploading images and video of the event. But elsewhere, The Auckland Judo Association (the "real" one) report that the Batsugun was success. See: http://www.judoauckland.co.nz/news.html.

04/07/09 - Auckland University Judo Club hosted a highly successful teams competition at their dojo today. In the first round the Judokwai North Harbour team beat the Western Judo Academy team, while on the other side of the draw a combined Waikato & Howick team beat a combined Wellington and University team. Judokwai went on to beat the Howick/ Waikato team in the next round earning the right to challenge the host team. Judokwai successfully beat University in the final despite being two men down through injury. Congratulations to the winning Judokwai team and to all other competitors who took part. It was a great event enjoyed by all who took part.

Batsugun Final

Here we have the final fight in the recent Batsugun. Allaister Leat of Judokwai takes the match to a draw again the heavier and slightly less aerobicly conditioned Ben Stallworthy (the last man for the Auckland Uni team). The draw meant both players were sat down, leaving Judokwai with one man standing.

Sensei Rick’s Judo Coup: The Most Exciting and Enjoyable NZ Judo Contest in a Decade!?

[Saturday, July 04, 2009, Auckland, NZ]
Team Judokwai have defeated Auckland University Judo to win the first round of the New Zealand North Island Batsugun Judo contest. Judokwai made the final and earned the right to challenge the host team by defeating Western and then Waikato. The final was a tense affair with great judo and side-line ridiculousness in equal admixture.

As the hosts of the event, University Judo would like to congratulate the deserved winners, and unofficially declare Darren “Cutty” Cutfeild man of the final. With several injured players on the sidelines, Cutty showed real fighting-spirit, skill, and determination.

University Judo would like to thank:
First and foremost, the players (especially the Wellington team for travelling up to the event). We would also like to offer a big thanks to Dave Browne (aka Ramses Gold), the referees, and the timekeepers. Everything ran smoothly. The judging was of exceptional quality and it was great to see the full and proper definition of Ippon being applied (despite no shortage of partisan hecklers). We also need to thank Jackie (as always, busy behind the scenes). And offer thanks to the hecklers. You make it colorful and much less bland (Donald, leading the charge again). A special mention of thanks also needs to be made to the Judokwai and Western players who were looking to brawl one another off the mat. That s#^t was like when you accidentally stumble across two drunken homeless people, bathed in their own urine, trying to copulate on Queen St late on a Friday night — hilarious and entertaining . . . yet also embarrassing (not to mention contrary to the spirit of Judo and the event itself).

Honourable mention:
* The masters: still fighting! Greg, Tuffy, Wayne, Kumar, Rob, Ben (and those I have forgotten).
* The kyu grade players: while the standard of Judo was high and there were some formidable players you represented your respective clubs and fought as hard as you could.

More details, photos, and video footage coming soon!

If you were around in 1919 and came upon the following poster. . ..



.... I mean, seriously, would you quit drinking?

Sensei Rick's Picks of the Week

Jockeys at tomorrows horseracing meetings will wear black armbands out of respect for Jacko who successfully rode more 3 year olds than anyone in living memory.

Reports of Michael Jackson dying are incorrect. He was caught in the children’s ward having a stroke.

Michael Jackson has cancelled all upcoming dates. One is Thomas aged 9. Another is Dylan aged 6.

MJ’s Family have consented and given Michael’s body away to Lego...He will be melted down so that little boys all over the world can continue to play with him.

What’s the difference between Michael Jackson and Disney? Disney can still touch kids…

Early reports are that the Hospital does not know what to do with the body as plastic recycling is not collected until next Thursday.

McDonalds are commemorating Michael Jackson with the McJacko, a piece of 50 year old albino meat between two 8 year old buns

At the autopsy they found children’s underwear strapped to his upper arm. According to his doctors it is just a patch, he’s been trying to quit for a while.

Los Angeles police have now been round to Michael Jackson’s Neverland ranch following his death. It is being reported that they found Class A drugs in his kitchen, Class B drugs in his bathroom and Class 4C in his bedroom.

Police suspect a smooth criminal was responsible He was not alone. There was apparently a man in the mirror who was very dangerous and wanted to be startin something even though MJ told him to beat it and was heard to say leave me alone. Nobody knows if the suspect was black or white.

Whacko Jacko ... now believed to have died from from food poisoning ... he choked on some 12yr old nuts

Jacko died of a heart attack this morning shocked when he discovered that boyz II men was a band, not a delivery service

Judo History: Kosen Judo and Sensei Hirata

Judo History: The Origin of Kesa Gatame

[By Phillip J] Hi Guys, As you know this hold is one of the easiest when done with the correct applications. However have you ever thought where its name come from ???

Kesa is a jpn buddhist robe, I guess you can see the off shoulder slope from left neck to right armpit. The osae komi was named over 100 yrs ago. The Photo here dates from about 1870.

Judo History: The 1970s

During the 1970's it was, apparently, completely permissible to mix Judo and crack. [Please note that, despite several similarities, this footage was not taken up at Judokwai]