Freestyle Clinic Video and Photos
Recently, Steve Scott and Kenney Brink put on a Freestyle Judo Clinic at OKCDT in Oklahoma City. It was a great clinic, below is a video from the clinic. For more videos on techniques and photos from the clinic, see OKCDT Judo’s site.
2009 Freestyle Judo Clinic from JM Darter on Vimeo.
THis is an exciting development. Judo should continue to be an art that can stand toe to toe with any grappling art out there and, allow for a progressing ground game, along with an emphasis on control and, hard throws will keep that tradition going. I know at my Judo school, many people object to BJJ guys entering tournaments and, trying out their ground skills., or wrestlers using their take down techniques. I say bring’em on! Judokas should be up to the challenge. They should find the idea of using their stand-up skills against wresters and,
Ne Waza skills against BJJ players exciting.
I hope freestyle Judo grows in popularity.
Judo has certainly changed from the 60s and 70s. Some of it has been good for judo (adding lower level scores like yuko and the now-defunct koka) and some of it pretty bad, like hansoku-make for grabbing the leg (throwing the baby out with the bath water).
After coming out of a 30-year hibernation, I’m starting to enjoy randori again. The biggest difference for me now – injuries are a bitch, take forever to heal.
While it’s pretty well impossible to go back to the kind of training we did back then, it certainly was a hell of a time and left me with a LOT of great memories.
Rainer Fischer
1976 Olympian
1975 Pan Am Games Gold Medalist