Kyle Pitman thank you for the kind words! The string is a fantastic visual aid that I find really helps all of beginners to understand the concept of Kuzushi.

Hidden? You mean kuzushi? It is a core component in judo, no one is hiding that. The first thing that any Judoka learns is that balance is fickle. A bump from the hip, or a turn of the foot has led to the end of Olympic level matches

Hidden? This is the CENTER of all Judo practice. If your school did not focus on it, then you had a bad school.

@@davida.rosales6025 "Bad school" barbs don't bother me, as I was schooled in Japan and the US by some of the top teachers of the time and part of what I learned from my judo, jujutsu, iaido and aikido teachers is that if one denigrates another school, they are revealing a weakness in either themselves or their teachers. I hope that you are big enough to take this as constructive.

I’m so glad that we have helped! Thank you for the very kind gesture! ❤️

Neither do I

Thank you!

I’m very glad to hear it! Good luck on your journey and we are here whenever you need us!

Thank you! If you are ever in the area (post lockdown) please feel free to visit! Or, join one of our randori sessions when they are back on!

Very glad I have been able to help!

Thank you for your compliments! Glad you enjoyed our video

Glad you enjoyed the video!

William W thanks William! Much appreciated.

Glad it helped!

Adrian Konoval thank you Adrian! I wish more instructors did teach this way. If they did, we would have a generation much more able judoka. Unfortunately, too many coaches neglect the basics. In my eyes, you can’t build a house without a solid foundation. Judo is the same.

Tobelli thanks Tobelli!

Tony Pacenski thanks Tony!

marco maneja glad the video helped!

Glad I helped!

GoldenPimp thanks! Glad you’re finding this useful.

timrob0420 thanks Tim. I’m glad I’ve helped you and your Jiu Jitsu. To me, Jiu Jitsu and judo are two sides of the same coin.

@@SampsonJudo I fully agree. They are both the same art, just jiu jitsu focuses more on newaza where as judo focuses more on the standing.

timrob0420 correct in most cases! However at my club, the Sobell, we practice a 50/50 split of standing and groundwork.

if they are in that stance their balance is already broken

VictorHugoVideos this is a difficult position, and many judoka get stuck here. The principles still apply though. To make it work, you will just need to adapt your technique slightly as although you will be pulling them onto their toes, their torso will be in the way. I would focus on using an over the top grip and using techniques such as Osoto Gari , Uchi mata etc. Rather than risking a full turn like an ippon seoi nage (not to say it wouldn’t work, it would, it would just be harder). You will also have to pull uke upwards and forward to try and break their posture a little. Additionally, I would utilise a lot of movements and combinations to break up the defensive stance. Perhaps I will do a video for this. Thanks for the question.

Sampson Judo Thank you for answering this question, as I'm doing judo for bjj and really want to break apart the low wrestler/defensive stance and combat guard pulling. A video to deal with these issues would be awesome! 😎 Thanks 🙏 in advance!

I never face BJJ but a wrestler once, I use pull and push, left and right, try sasae for them to lift their feet and give uki goshi or harai goshi for the throw.

A bent of stance is broken posture but look again at a wrestling stance, they aren't bent over. When the knee us over the toes and head over the knees, that is broken posture. An upright judo stance is also considered broken posture in wrestling. Most of wrestling happens outside the clinch, makes being upright very much exposing the legs, being low foot sweep don't work as well. Need to establish a clinch, in the clinch then being upright allows for upper body techniques. The principals of breaking posture are universal

sevenlevan movement, movement, movement. If they are stiff then you need to generate movement to break them up. Additionally there a small psychological element here as people panic when against the strength. It sounds crazy, but all you have to do is turn in with a serious amount of commitment and their arms will naturally rotate and loosen due to how their joint work. This one is hard to explain via text, I will have to explain it in a video.

@@SampsonJudo thank you very much. I've been meaning to ask my coaches this but they just tell me to do more kuzushi or train more strength in my shoulders. They havn't mentioned the movement part. Thank you! Judo here in my town is still very small and instructors are either very old (retiring age) or incredibly rare!

jake fisher thanks Jake!

Ken Wintin I think that anything you can do to disrupt your opponent during the fight either mentally or physically is advantageous (within the moral code of judo) and I suppose this would fall under a form of Kuzushi it you wanted to abstract the definition slightly. It’s an interesting way of describing kuzushi but I personally have not heard it defined in this way. However in terms of a principle to get the upper hand in a fight, it’s definitely true and something I have done in the past!

You share the experience of all white belts.

@@nickkizich9539 Another person that started the same time as me is doing well and throws me despite the fact that I am 50lbs heavier. We are both green belts. I know belts mean nothing and I am sure I am still a white belt in talent. I just feel very behind and that I don't deserve my belt

@@blindassassin8553 I am judo white belt. I also consider myself not very talented. But I feel I am getting better. You are very hard on yourself, forward throws depend on timing and experience. My foot sweeps are good, everybody has go to move.

@@nickkizich9539 Thank you. I lose sight of the small Progressions that I Make. Do you have any tips on improving my foot Sweeps?

g c keep going! The hardest thing in any martial art, sport, or - anything in life - is turning up week after week and day after day. My biggest piece of advice would be to keep turning up as much as you can. Although you won’t realise it yourself, you will be making improvements. Compare it to growing up as a child, when you looked at yourself every morning, you looked the same, correct? However when a family member who hasn’t seen you in a while suddenly visits, they will tell you that you look “all grown up!”. Judo is the same, you will feel as though you are staying the same however you are actually getting better each time you practice. Never be disheartened and never compare yourself to anybody else. Each person understands things in their own way and will pick things up in their own pace. No two people are the same, you are on your own journey and your path will be different to everybody else in your dojo. The most important thing is that you are on a journey and enjoying it with every step. Of course there will be days when things are harder and you feel rubbish, and there will be days when you feel great. This is normal and part of the process, even I feel rubbish sometimes! Just keep showing up and I promise you will get better. If you want to help yourself more, of course working on your fitness will help you improve; and also ensuring you maintain a healthy lifestyle without smoking and drinking. Additionally, watching KZfaq, listening to podcasts and reading books is all good practice.

Victor Ortiz the idea is the throw them before they have a chance to step and regain their balance.

@@SampsonJudo What if the idea fails and they catch their balance? I just need to spar, I'm a noob. Thanks for the vids

Victor Ortiz then you try a different technique or a combination. A soldier doesn’t go to war with one bullet, he’s goes with hundreds of bullets.

@@SampsonJudo thank you sir! Fkn right

Thanks for your comment. Although your idea is nice, I do not like using illustrations and animations in my videos as I like to replicate the same experience as being in the dojo. If I was teaching this to you in person, I would not be bring up diagrams or animations, therefore I like to make my videos as close to my face to face teaching methods as possible.

@@SampsonJudo I thought that you might have the mats that illustrate it on the floor! Huge fan, no disrespect implied! Thank you for responding!

pepsiguzzler86 no disrespect taken! It’s always good to hear new ideas, I was just explaining my reasoning. Regarding the tatami, I personally do not like them as I am a traditionalist. I never learnt with them, so I personally believe my students shouldn’t have to rely on them. However if you like them, then that’s fine by me. As long as you are doing Judo, I am happy!

A very graceful reply! My last comment for the moment. I'm having a blast reading a book recommended to me by a fellow judoka. Competition judo by Roy Inman.... Amazing. Any chance you might suggest resources or even review some? For myself judo is a lifestyle and just from this book you can see how much information/practice is hidden to us. It would be great to know some of your influences outside of mixed classes and randori