Judo terminology

1. Anza                              sitting cross legged
2. Ashi                               foot or leg
3. Ashi waza                      foot/leg technique
4. Atama                            head
5. Atemi waza                    striking techniques
6. Batsugun                        instantaneous promotion
7. Budo                               martial way
8. Bushido                          way of the warrior
9. Dan                                 degree in the black belt ranks
10. Do                                    way—also torso of the body
11. Dojime                             body scissors—“body strangle”
12. Dojo                                 hall of learning the way
13. Domo arigato                   thank you
14. Eri                                    Judogi lapel
15. Fusegi                              escape
16. Gaeshi/kaeshi                  counter or reversal
17. Garami                              entangle or entwine
18. Gari                                   reap
19. Gatame/katame                lock or hold
20. Godan                               5^th degree black belt
21. Gokyo no waza                 5 stages of throwing techniques
22. Gokyu                               5^th level belt (orange belt)
23. Guruma                             wheel
24. Hachidan                           8^th degree black belt
25. Hadaka                             without the gi (naked)
26. Hai                                     Yes
27. Hajime                               begin
28. Hane                                  springing action
29. Hasoku make                    disqualification
30. Harai/barai                        sweeping action
31. Hidari                                 left
32. Hiji                                     elbow
33. Hikikomi                            retreating pulling           
34. Hishigi                                crush
35. Hiza                                    knee
36. Hon                                     basic or fundamental
37. Iie                                       no
38. Ikkyu                                  first level belt (brown)
39. Ippon                                  one point
40. Jigoku                                 hell
41. Joseki                                 side of the dojo or mat area reserved for senior judoka or officials
42. Ju                                        the principle of gentleness or giving way
43. Judan                                  10^th degree black belt
44. Judo                                    gentle way
45. Judogi                                  judo uniform
46. Judoka                                judo practitioner
47. Juji                                      cross mark
48. Juji gatame                         cross lock
49. Jujitsu                                 gentle art
50. Junbi undo                           warm up exercises
51. Kaeshi waza                        counter techniques
52. Kake                                    execution 5% of the throw
53. Kami                                    upper or top
54. Kansetsu waza                     joint locking techniques
55. Kata                                     shoulder—also formal pre-arranged routine (form)
56. Kataha                                 single wing
57. Katame waza                       grappling (holding) techniques
58. Kesa                                     scarf
59. Ki                                          internal force or spirit energy
60. Kiai                                       spirit shouting (forceful exhale during execution of technique)
61. Kime                                     decisiveness—instantaneous tensing at the correct moment
62. Kiyotsuke                             attention
63. Ko                                          small    
64. Koka                                     near yuko
65. Komi                                      pull
66. Koshi/goshi                           hip, waist, loin
67. Koshi waza                            hip technique
68. Kudan                                    9^th degree black belt
69. Kumi kata                              forms of gripping
70. Kuzure                                   variation of
71. Kuzushi                                  off balancing
72. Kyu                                        class of belt ranking below black belt
73. Makikomi                              wrapping around
74. Ma sutemi waza                     back falling sacrifice techniques
75. Mata                                       thigh
76. Matte                                     stop
77. Migi                                        right
78. Mokuso                                  meditate
79. Morote                                    both hands
80. Mudansha                               holder of any rank below black belt
81. Mune                                       chest
82. Nage                                        throw
83. Nage waza                               throwing techniques
84. Ne waza                                   supine position techniques
85. O                                               big, major, large
86. Obi                                            judo uniform belt
87. Okuri                                        assist or sending
88. Onegai shimasu                       please
89. Osae komi                                hold-down, pin
90. Osaekomi waza                        pinning techniques
91. Otoshi                                       to drop
92. Randori                                    free practice, sparring
93. Rei                                            bow
94. Ritsurei                                     standing bow
95. Sankaku                                    triangular
96. Sasae                                         propping  
97. Seiryoku zenyo                         maximum efficiency (Judo principle)
98. Seiza                                          proper sitting (on knees)
99. Seoi                                            to carry on the back
100. Sensei                                        teacher
101. Senpai                                        senior student (often assistant instructor)
102. Shiai                                           tournament
103. Shido                                          penalty
104. Shiho                                          4 corners/quarters
105. Shihan                                        master or founder of an art (Jigoro Kano)
106. Shime/jime                                 strangle
107. Shime waza                                strangle technique
108. Shumatsu undo                          cooling down exercises
109. Sode                                           sleeve
110. Sore made                                 that is all
111. Soto                                            outside/outer
112. Sumi                                           corner
113. Sutemi                                        sacrifice
114. Sutemi waza                               sacrifice technique
115. Tachi waza                                 standing technique
116. Tai                                              body
117. Tai sabaki                                  body turning
118. Tatami                                        judo mats
119. Tate                                            straddle
120. Tawara                                       rice bag
121. Te                                               hand
122. Te waza                                      hand techniques
123. Tokui waza                                 favorite technique
124. Tomoe                                        circle
125. Tori                                            person performing technique
126. Tsubame                                    swallow (bird)
127. Tsukuri                                      fitting in or entering into position
128. Tsuri                                          lift
129. Tsurikomi                                  lift pull action
130. Uchi                                           inner or inside
131. Uchi komi                                  practice without completion
132. Ude                                            arm
133. Uke                                            person receiving technique
134. Ukemi                                        breakfall methods
135. Uki                                             floating
136. Ura                                             back side
137. Ushiro                                        reverse
138. Uwagi                                         judo jacket (kimono is also acceptable)
139. Wake                                         armpit
140. Waza                                          technique
141. Waza ari                                    almost ippon (1/2 point)
142. Yame                                         wake up (signals end of mokuso)
143. Yoko                                           side or lateral
144. Yoko sutemi waza                     side sacrifice technique
145. Yoshi                                          continue
146. Yudansha                                   black belt rank holder
147. Yuko                                           near waza-ari
148. Zarei                                           kneeling bow
149. Zubon                                          judo uniform pants

Martial Arts Maturity

I have been a student of martial arts most of my life. For nearly two decades I have had the privilege of being an instructor of martial arts. Over those many years of training and teaching, I have witnessed amazing changes in the lives of others as well as within myself. I am perpetually intrigued and continually strive to keep learning. 

Once while watching a submission grappling tournament, another instructor and I were noticing a very talented young man in the competition. He did very well in all of his matches, but displayed bad attitude before, during, and after his matches. As a matter of fact, during his matches it looked almost as if he were purposely trying to inflict injury on his opponents. 

The other instructor and I discussed this talented young man and talked about how it was a shame that he displayed such weak character. Then the other instructor said something to me that has stuck with me since. “He is simply immature as a martial artist.”

Sometimes just a few words can have paramount meaning.

As we go through life, there are many things that help develop our character. Our parents, siblings, school teachers, and friends teach us early in life. Later, our employers, co-workers, peers, and government guide us along. Life’s events such as relationships, births, deaths, successes, and failures help continue to shape us.  These are the things that mature us as human beings…just being people.

As in life, we mature as martial artists. We start off knowing nothing of the physical, mental, or spiritual application of martial arts. We move into an adolescence stage where we think we know much more than we actually do. After much experience, we mature as martial artists and realize that we will never know it all.

Another friend once described the four levels of consciousness to me. He said, “There is unconscious unconsciousness, conscious unconsciousness, conscious consciousness, and unconscious consciousness.”  

Again, just a few words, but paramount in meaning.

We are at first unaware that we are unaware. This is the stage before a person begins martial arts training.

As we begin to train, we are humbled in learning that we are not magically able to apply martial arts and that it will require many hours of hard work to develop these skills. We have to swallow our own ego and admit that we make mistakes.

Next, we begin to become more efficient in our application of skills.  We know that it takes work to improve, but we now also know that the work pays off.

Finally, we reach a level to where application of skills can be done as a muscle memory action. We no longer have the think and plan out each move. The techniques simply flow though us. We are humble and no longer are our motives ego driven.  

Each of these levels of consciousness has also come with many failures. It is the failures that teach us humility. Loosing keeps us humble. Overcoming the failures and losses is what helps us grow and mature as martial artists.  

Since the beginnings, martial artists have sought out worthy opponents to test their skills against. The test is not of whether one can beat the other, but rather to discover one’s own physical, mental and spiritual weaknesses. Once those weaknesses have been exposed, the martial artist can focus energies to overcoming and correcting those errors.

As in life, physical maturity in martial arts comes much sooner than mental. Even black belts can be immature as martial artists. The literal translation for “shodan” is “beginning degree”. This is to indicate that the person is mature in the physical application of technique, but the path to martial arts enlightenment has just begun.  Statistically, only 1 in 100 students will ever make it to shodan rank.  Even less make it farther than that.  

In life, we learn from our mistakes, and if we’re paying attention, from the mistakes of others. In martial arts, we do the same. Learning helps us to grow. Growth means that we are maturing. This continues throughout our lives. In our entire lives, we will never learn all there is to learn in martial arts, but we will continue to mature as martial artists.

Periodization Training vs. Overtraining Syndrome

There are 3 main ingredients to building strength. Those ingredients are work, nutrition, and rest.

1-Work- No athletic success comes without a great deal of work. When we talk specifically about strength building, work means the stress we put our body though that actually causes microscopic damage to the muscle tissues. Damage? Yes, damage! By damaging the muscle fibers, we are prompting a rebuilding process, which if the other ingredients are in place, should make us stronger than before.  However, this cannot be achieved without the other two ingredients.

2-Nutrition—proteins are the building blocks for the muscles. Carbohydrates are fuel for the work and the recovery. Healthy fats help promote the loss of bad fats, serve as reserve fuel, and have other benefits as well. A proper nutritional program must regulate how much proteins, carbs, fats, and other micronutrients we intake. We must also take these nutrients in at proper times.

3-Recovery—in order for the muscles to take advantage of the work and the nutrients to rebuild, there must be a rest time. If muscles are sore, it is because they are damaged and pumped full of acids. The nutrients help flush out the acids and provide fuel for the rebuilding process, but the rest period is the time needed for the repairs. Athletic improvement actually happens during the "rest" period.

There are many more details I have left for later discussion, but you should get the general idea.

Most sports around the globe have a preseason in which to train, a season of competition, and an off season for recovery. In martial arts, there typically is no off season. Martial artists in general, are expected to be in peak shape and top form all the time. It sounds good, but is actually impossible. In fact, martial artists tend to suffer from “overtraining syndrome” more than any other athletes.

Overtraining syndrome is probably best defined as the state where the athlete’s body has been repeatedly “damaged” by training to the point where rest is no longer adequate to allow for recovery. The "overtraining syndrome" is the name given to the collection of emotional, behavioral, and physical symptoms due to overtraining that has persisted for weeks to months. This is different from the day to day variation in performance and post exercise tiredness that is common in conditioned athletes. Overtraining is marked by cumulative exhaustion that persists even after recovery periods. We are also more prone to injuries during this time.

As I mentioned before, most sports/athletics have seasons and in turn “off seasons”. Trainers for these sports take that into consideration while planning the athlete’s workout programs. They use a method called periodization.  Periodization allows and athlete to work out their full capacity and while preventing overtraining.

Periodization itself is the principle of cycling the athlete’s workout programs over a period of time such three segments in a 6 month period.

An example of periodization is as follows…

Phase one might be a predatory period of about 3.5 months focusing on building the athlete’s foundation through strength training and bio-motor development.

Phase two would be the competitive period wherein the athlete is in peak condition. It is during this period that the athlete will work to maintain and protect the progress made in phase one. This is also the time for tactic and strategy preparation.

Phase three would be a 2-3 week segment called transition or taper phase. This is the time the athlete lowers the intensity level of workouts giving the body time to heal. This is not an ideal time for competition. 

After the three phases are completed, the cycle repeats itself. This type of cycling of workout/competition seasons will not only greatly benefit the athletic abilities, but also help prevent overtraining syndrome.

This week at Dynamic MMA: June 27-July 1

Wow! We were super busy the last two weeks. Boys and Girls Club summer camp, Camp Millennium, self defense seminars for Roseburg area teachers, self defense seminar for Bureau of Land Management, all capped off with a great submission grappling tournament.

I just want to say a really big “Thank You” to everyone that helped out during these last couple weeks to help out with these events.

Very often I hear the comment, “you guys are everywhere!”This comment is referring to the fact that we spend so much time working with different community projects and organizations that we are seen a lot. This is not by accident. We have worked very hard over the years to demonstrate not just the physical effectiveness of our martial arts, but the positive influence it is in our lives.

None of this would be possible without great students. Our dojo has grown and continues to grow.  Just as a martial artist matures with his/her advancement through the ranks, a dojo matures with the development of its members. We chip away the negatives and hold onto the positives. We constantly seek out to improve. I believe we have the greatest group of students training with us now that I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I also believe that we have a remarkable group of instructors. Thank you all. 

DSGC IX was a great success! Everyone in attendance seemed to like the event. The quality of athletes and atmosphere continue to improve. The match ups were great at this tournament. I enjoyed watching every match that a reffed for. I am looking forward to DSGC X. Congratulations to all the winners and participants. Also, big congratulations to everyone that helped out. Pulling together is what helps make the event so good. 

Well, with the busy weeks behind us, we can get back on track with some other things. First off, look for big changes on our website soon. Also, I am looking into building a Dynamic MMA app for i-phones and android phones.

Mixed Martial Arts—

Monday and Thursday—

Striking techniques

Tuesday and Friday—

Using the cage as a tool.

Kodokan Judo—

Monday and Thursday—

Tachi Waza. We will be doing a lot of throws.

Tuesday and Friday—

Ne waza. Our focus will be on strangles and arm locks.

Brazilian Jiu-jitsu—

Monday and Thursday—

Jiu-jitsu fundamentals

Tuesday and Friday—

Spider guard techniques.

Muay Thai—

Wednesday—

This week I’ll be showing some good leg catching techniques and follow ups.  

This week at Dynamic MMA: June 20-25

Dynamic Submission Grappling Championship IX is Saturday, June 25th. The last day to register will be the 23rd. I hope to see a lot of our members competing at this event. This will be the first time we have held the event at the Roseburg Boys and Girls Club.

In our classes this week, we will be hammering the basics. Everyone in our dojo is familiar with submissions. One might say it is our specialty. This week we are emphasizing positional control and transitions.

No need to bring gloves or pads this week. We will be grappling.

All members are invited to attend Randori on Wednesday of this week. This will give you a chance to hone your skills a bit more before the tournament.

Dynamic MMA will also be at Camp Millennium this week. A few of our members will be making the trip out to Kellogg to help teach martial arts to the kids at the camp. Camp Millennium is a summer camp for kids that are dealing with a cancer diagnosis.
This will be the third year Dynamic MMA has been a part of the camp experience. Visiting the camp and witnessing the spirit and strength of these kids is truly an unforgettable and inspiring experience.

It seems nowadays there is no family untouched by cancer in some way. If you are not one of the assistants going to the camp with me this year, be sure to put yourself on the list for next year.

This week at Dynamic MMA: May 31-June 3

I hope that everyone had a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day weekend. Summer is right around the corner. Be sure to keep yourself hydrated before, during, and after training.

This week we move back into tournament preparation phase. Judo, MMA, and BJJ classes will all concentrate on series of attacks and defenses that will help you be more successful in the upcoming tournaments. 

We’re taking techniques that you already are familiar with and connecting them together into combinations so that they can be executed in one smooth flow.  

June 11—Subleague finals—Hillsboro

June 25—Dynamic Submission Grappling Championship IX—Boys and Girls Club in Roseburg.

We had several members qualify for the Subleague finals. I hope to see all of our qualifiers there. Be sure that when you register for these tournaments that you register your team name, so that we can secure our season team points as well.

Dynamic Submission Grappling Championship will be bigger this year than ever before. We will have a few special guest referees helping us with the officiating. This is a perfect tournament opportunity for our members that have never competed before, as it is on your own home turf and you will have plenty of support from your teammates, coaches, friends, and family.  We will post the skill/weight divisions and updated rules later this week on our website.

Our dojo has also been asked to perform a Judo demonstration at the Seven Feathers Convention Center on June 5th. Any of our members that would like to get involved, please let us know asap and start working on the choreography now. 

See you at the dojo!

-Sensei Keith-