Last weekend, we were fortunate to have Chuck Jefferson to Oklahoma for a clinic. Chuck was the 2008 US Olympic Judo alternate at 73kg, was a former World Team Member, and has won numerous other tournaments to include the US Open (2x), the Pan Am’s (2x), and New York Open to name a few. I have watched him play for some time now, and have always been impressed with his technical style. He was a former member of the San Jose University Judo team, led by Yosh Uchida.

The clinic was a refreshing look at familiar techniques and drills. The entire clinic was focused on a small group of techniques, and was put together from the foundation of warm ups, including chest crawls and ebi’s, or shrimps that are commonly done in judo. The first half was a series of drills, including the before mentioned warm ups, which led into a few ne waza, or ground (mat) techniques. Each built on the basics of drills completed in the warm up. The techniques consisted of: Read more →