There are no “new techniques” in this wonderful martial art and Olympic sport of judo that can be seen as groundbreaking, but often there are slight variations that can make a valuable difference. A slight change in strategy of entry, or emphasis on posture can make a noticeable difference. I believe that the Nicolas Gill DVD is successful in showing such variations, and showed some great judo techniques from a World and Olympic medalist.

The DVD includes instruction on Ko soto gake, Tani otoshi, O soto gari 1, Kuchiki taoshi, Uki otoshi, Sase tsuri komi ashi, Koshi guruma, O soto gari 2, Uchimata sukashi, Uchimata, Kata guruma, O uchi gari, Sankaku jime 1, Sankaku jime 2, O kuri eri jime, and also includes Nicolas’s best 1, Nicolas’s best 2, and Nicolas’s best .

The one technique that really stands out for me personally, is his uki otoshi. I haven’t seen very many videos incorporate uki otoshi in a more competitive setting, but his looks effortless, not only in the video, but also in a few of the YouTube competition highlights that I have seen. And after practicing the Uki Otoshi variation, it is easily adaptable and does work. Each throw starts with a clip of him executing the technique in a major tournament, then is followed by a break down of the technique.

The video is quality is really good, and it is easy to see the major parts of the throws, using a blue and a white gi. If you have Neil Olenkamps book, “Judo Unleashed”, you will know what a difference it makes using blue and white gi’s. This has also been standard in other videos, as mentioned above. Each technique is shown full speed, then in a slower motion clip. There is a nice breakdown of the key points of each throw at the end of each sequence, by “flash card” type images.

As you can see from the list, Gill’s instruction is heavy on the tachi waza, and offers lots of it. If you listened to his podcast interview, you will remember him talking some about posture, which comes across in this DVD as well. I found a couple of the throws somewhat confusing by the names given, and I found the background music somewhat distracting. It felt like being stuck on a DVD thriller movie menu. In the end, I believe that if you like watching Gill on the mat, you will definitely like this DVD, and I would highly recommend it to all levels of judoka.

This past weekend, several members of OKCDT attended a clinic featuring World Champion and 4 time Olympian Jimmy Pedro. It was a great clinic and was attended by over 100 judoka. The sessions covered Ne Waza, or groundwork in the morning, followed by Tachi Waza or standing in the afternoon. The day ended with an hour randori session. Jimmy Pedro has some great DVD’s and books out, be sure to check out his site above for more info. For a video from the clinic, be sure to visit The Judo Podcast, or click the pic above. Enjoy!

The Oklahoma City Police Academy recruits got a rare treat last week, as Saulo Ribeiero, 6 time World Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Champion, got on the mat and taught for a short time.  Ribeiero was training at the police academy with police officers Brian Picklo, Travis Serna, and ex police officer Mike Darter, along with 1 time World Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Champion, Rafael Lovato, Jr.

Last weekend, two of our competitors competed in the Lone Star Classic in Hurst, Texas. Rob High competed in the Masters division and Stephen Sanders, pictured here (blue gi) competed in the Juniors division. Rob is also getting ready to compete in the World Police and Fire Games in Audelade, Australia in March. Congatulations to you both, and thanks for representing our club!

Masters: Rob High 1st

Juniors: Stephen Sanders 2nd

The Christmas Clinic this past Holiday season was a huge success and featured Hiram “Tonka” Cruz from Jacksonville, Florida. Tonka has been a guest instructor at our dojo before, and brought some great new drills and excercises for not only the kids, but for the adults too. If you would like to see the videos from the clinic, you can do so at www.thejudopodcast.com We are looking forward to hosting competition clinics in the spring and summer for our kids program. Below are videos from the camp.

Congratulations to Mark Darter for being awarded the Intermediate Player of the Year by the Oklahoma Judo Association! Mark was recently promoted to a green belt, and recently won a silver medal at the OK State Championships. Mark was last years Gold medal winner of the State Championships. Mark is a true leader in the OKCDT kids program.

Special thanks to our guest visitors on Saturdays two-a-day practice. Akin and Roland from Dallas Judo, Okuri Judo (Hurst, TX) came up for a great workout, as well as Kyle Dake from USA Stars in Moore. We had a great morning workout, followed by Falcones Italian lunch (which is a great little Italian restaurant next to the dojo if you need a quick fix after practice) then another afternoon technical workout. It was a great share of judo all around, and we would love to have you guys up again anytime. Thanks for the workout!