Sawtelle Judo Dojo
Yonen Promotional Guidelines
Rokyu to Gokyu (White to Yellow Belt)
- Be able to answer the following questions:
- What is the English translation or the meaning of “Judo.?”
- What is the English translation or the meaning of the word Judo?
- Where did Judo come from?
- Who created Judo?
- What must every beginner learn about Judo?
- Proper wearing of Judogi, including being able to tie the belt without help.
- Use of proper Judo etiquette:
- Pay attention to and follow all instructions of the Sensei
- Bowing into and out of Dojo
- Bowing onto and off of the mat or practice area
- Bowing to your practice partner before and after performing judo
- Perform Ukemi
- Ushiro Ukemi
- Yoko Ukemi
- Mae Mawari Ukemi
- Bowing Perform the following standing throws:
- O Goshi
- Morote Seoi Nage
- O Uchi Gari
- Ko Uchi Gari
- O Soto Gari
- Perform the following mat techniques:
- Kesa Gatame
- Yoko Shiho Gatame
- Understanding of tournament procedures:
- Bowing onto and off of the tournament area
- Bowing to your tournament partner before and after competition
- Basic calls of the referee:
- Hajime
- Matte
- Sono Mama
- Sore Made
- Participate in monthly Juniors’ In-House tournament
- Participate in randori and perform tachi-waza
Sawtelle Judo Dojo
Yonen Promotional Guidelines
Gokyu to Yonkyu (Yellow to Orange Belt)
- Know and pass Rokyu to Gokyu requirements
- Be able to answer the following additional questions:
- When and where did Judo begin?
- What are some of the working principles of Judo?
- What is Kiai?
- By what means is Kiai achieved?
- Perform all Gokyu standing throws with higher degree of expertise and the following:
- Tsurikomi Goshi
- Tai Otoshi
- Koshi Guruma
- De Ashi Barai
- Okuri Ashi Barai
- Perform all Gokyu Newaza with higher degree of expertise and the following:
- Kami Shiho Gatame
- Tate Shiho Gatame
- Kata Gatame
- Have competed in the inter-Dojo scrimmages and outside tournaments
- Have understanding of Gokyu tournament procedures and the following terms:
- Tournament scoring:
- Ippon
- Waza-ari
- Penalties:
- Hansoku Make
- Keikoku
- Chui
- Shido
Sawtelle Judo Dojo
Yonen Promotional Guidelines
Yonkyu to Sankyu (Orange to Green Belt)
- Know and pass Gokyu to Yonkyu requirements
- Be able to answer the following additional questions:
- What is the purpose in learning Judo?
- What are some of the working principles of Judo?
- What is Kuzushi?
- What are some of the ways Kuzushi can be achieved?
- Perform all Gokyu and Yonkyu standing throws with higher degree of expertise and the following:
- Harai Goshi
- Uchi Mata
- Tomoe Nage
- Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi
- Hiza Guruma
- Perform all Gokyu and Yonkyu Newaza with higher degree of expertise and the following:
- Kuzure Kesa Gatame
- Kuzure Yoko Shiho Gatame
- Kuzure Kami Shiho Gatame
- Be able to coach lower ranking Judokas in Tachi-Waza, throwing and Newaza, grappling techniques.
- Have understanding of Gokyu and Yonkyu tournament procedures and definitions of:
- Tournament scoring:
- Ippon
- Waza-ari
- Penalties:
- Hansoku make
- Keikoku
- Chui
- Shido
- Have competed in the inter-Dojo and outside tournaments with significant success.
Sawtelle Judo Dojo
Yonen Promotional Guidelines
Sankyu to Nikyu and Ikkyu (Green Belt to Blue and Purple)
- Know and pass Yonkyu to Sankyu requirements
- Be able to answer the following additional questions:
- What is Torii and Uke?
- What are the referees and contestants called in a tournament?
- What are the Judo ranks?
- Perform all Gokyu, Yonkyu, and Sankyu standing throw with a higher degree of expertise and the following:
Complete the Dai Ikkyo and Dai Nikkyo of the Kodokan Gokyo no Waza
- Hane Goshi
- Uki Otoshi
- Kata Guruma
- Perform all Gokyu, Yonkyu, and Sankyu Newaza with more expertise.
- Be able to coach lower ranking Judokas in Tachi-Waza, throwing and Newaza, grappling techniques.
- Have a greater understanding of Gokyu, Yonkyu, and Sankyu tournament procedures.
- Greater emphasis will be placed on individual performance during practice and at tournaments for promotion from Sankyu to Nikkyu and Nikkyu to Ikkyu.
Individually, the Senseis will evaluate or form an opinion of you on the following.
Attendance
Being on time for class, ready to practice, and bowing in with the rest is essential. Arriving early shows that you are prepared to go and willing not to keep others waiting. However, being on time does not mean walking into the Dojo as class starts, just as we bow in, go to the bathroom, and casually tie our belts—the frequency or number of times you practice during the week counts. You may miss an important lesson that builds on other Judo techniques.
Effort
The way you practice will show in competition, first, at our in-house tournament, next, at scrimmages, and finally, at local tournaments.
Along with your attendance, ask yourself how much effort you are putting into class. Do you give 100% effort to what you are learning and practicing? Are you taking notes and writing them after class?
During randori, are you practicing your techniques or casually walking around expecting something to happen? If you expect to get better at Judo, win at tournaments, and be promoted,
Listen, take the coaching, and use your practice time in our Dojo to break bad habits, correct your technique, and improve your Judo.
Remember that we see what you are doing because we might not say something to you. Being lazy with your warmups, not paying attention, and playing around during class will promote you.
Now, close your eyes and imagine yourself improving, practicing 110%, loud Kiais at 110 decibels, taking notes, and throwing people quickly. How would you feel about yourself?
Focus
There is a time and place to play. But we only have limited and valuable time to practice Judo together. So, I cannot stress the value of being focused.
Are you easily distracted?
Now, imagine yourself in class. Sensei demonstrates and explains a technique. In the meantime, you’re playing around or talking with someone during the demonstration. You may be called out for talking or playing around. This disrupts the class and does not help the others get better. The Senseis call you out for your behavior. You feel lost or confused when you pair up and practice with each other. Do you want that to happen all the time?
Imagine competing at a tournament, stepping to the middle of the mat, and the referee says, “Hajime.” Suddenly, you hear your parent’s voice, and in that moment when you are distracted, your opponent grabs you, throws you, and you end up looking at the ceiling, asking yourself what just happened. You lost in a matter of seconds. That is a lot of time and energy at Judo practice and wasted for a few seconds at a tournament. Do you want that to happen all the time?
Now, close your eyes and imagine yourself improving, practicing 110%, loud Kiais at 110 decibels, taking notes, and throwing people quickly. How would you feel about yourself now?
You can be someone and act in a certain way every moment. Some choices have great benefits and awards, and some have significant penalties. Do you want to throw people easily, win, and be promoted, or receive the attention of the Senseis for not paying attention?
Attitude
Believe in yourself. Believe that you can do it. That’s self-confidence. You can grow your self-confidence by being successful in what you do daily and reaching your goals. Believe it or not, you become what you think. The quality of your thoughts will influence or control what you do. If I said to you, “Stop thinking,” you will probably be asking yourself why I am doing this or thinking about what you want to do next. Those thoughts in your head are like cartoons that you watch or the apps that you download and play. Your thoughts may be entertaining where you want to have fun, or they may be scary where you freeze in fear. Sometimes, you download apps, and you find that the game sucks, and you delete it.
Unfortunately, sometimes, you cannot let go of some thoughts. Imagine yourself losing a match at a tournament. You might be crying, thinking that the referee was unfair, or thinking about what happened in shock and sudden loss. Let a setback be a lesson to learn from and not something to pout about. Imagine yourself on the podium with a gold medal after four challenging matches, and your parents with their smiling faces, taking photos of you on the podium and together. Again, just as in focus, you have choices in your self-control, “I am having a great day and glad to be here,” or “I am having a terrible day, and the weather sucks today.” Take your pick.
Goals
Are you writing down your specific goals?
I am the champion at the Winter Nationals and receive my next rank by the end of this year.
I will perform 25 push-ups every other day for the next two months.
To have goals, each goal must have these five parts
Specific or “showing attention to detail.”
I am the champion at the Winter Nationals and receive my next rank by the end of this year.
This is a good, challenging start. But you need to have the steps in between to get there.
I am the winner in my division at the following tournaments
Cal State Games
Nikkei Games Judo Tournament
Nanka Fall Judo Tournament
Nanka Team Championships
Nanka Novice Tournament
Mojica Fall Tournament
Hollywood Junior Scrimmages VIII & IX
Come to every practice
Practice 20 Uchikomi at practice for Seoi Nage, O Goshi, O Soto Gari, De Ashi Barai, and Ko Uchi Gari.
Practice 20 Uchikomi at home every other day for Seoi Nage, O Goshi, O Soto Gari, De Ashi Barai, and Ko Uchi Gari.
Perform our warm-up exercises at home at home every other day
Stretch every day in the morning and at night
On Sunday, we spend time with family and do something fun, except when we’re competing at a tournament or going on a group hike.
You must develop new habits, eliminate old bad habits, and take smaller goals or steps to reach your larger goals.
Measurable- In “I will perform 25 push-ups every other day for the next two months,” the goal gives an action, how many times you will do it, and how
Achievable- This is proof that you can accomplish your goal. Can you perform 100 push-ups every day when you have not even started push-ups? That would take extreme amounts of discipline. On the other hand, doing only ten push-ups in two months would be too easy and not challenging enough to get you excited to start or finish your goal. You have to be excited enough to accomplish your goals. Imagine yourself accomplishing your goals. How would you feel? You must believe you can achieve these goals rather than a holiday wish list of gifts you want. It would be best to put the work in yourself, sometimes hard work.
Relevant—Ask yourself, “Why is this goal important to me?” You will do things for yourself that are important to you, and you are only. You may be too young to make your bed properly or make your parents breakfast, but I am sure others would appreciate it. Keep your goals to yourself. Please don’t bother telling others about your goals unless they will be helping you along the way.
Time-bound—This means when you want to complete your goal. Do you want to complete it next week, month, or year? If you don’t place a specific date, your goal might sound like this: “We’re going to the beach.” Now, you could be asking yourself, when?
Here’s another goal.
We are having a Judo beach party at Dockweiler Beach on Sunday, August 25th, from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 pm, under beautiful, sunny summer beach weather. We gather again at Dockweiler Beach after a three-and-a-half-year hiatus with games, potluck BBQ, diving into the warm Pacific Ocean, and some mid-year awards to have a summer celebration with our entire Dojo. We celebrate together for the summer of 2024.
This goal details what will happen, when and where, and why we are doing this. It may excite you to participate and be challenging to achieve. Remember, you can change or adjust your goals over time as your results and life change.
Remember, in Judo and Life, it is a matter of choices you make, habits, and actions that will make a huge difference and give you satisfaction. Remember not to quit on yourself. You don’t know how far you can go until you do it. Everything new may seem difficult at first.
Did you notice that the first letter of the five parts of a goal spells the acronym S.M.A.R.T.? An acronym is an abbreviation that forms a word.
In the end, you have to answer for yourself what you are practicing Judo.
What kind of person do you want to be? Describe who you are in the present tense. For example, I am strong. I am confident in my skills.
Are you doing this because this is fun?
Are you giving all your energy to practice?
Are you learning human values of respect, courage, integrity, friendship, honor, etc.?
Do you believe that you’re a champion in Judo and life?
The five elements (or parts) of throwing techniques
Kumikata-taking a grip of your opponent. In our Dojo, we expect you to grip your Tsurite properly (lifting hand) at your Uke’s (opponent’s) collarbone and not halfway down their lapel. Grab the lapel and hold it so the inside (reverse side) of the lapel faces toward you. Your Hikite (pulling hand) takes a grip of your Uke’s (opponent’s) sleeve below their elbow. Grab all the material like you’re wringing out a wet rag with no slack between your hand and sleeve. Your pinkie finger faces outward to the side, and the back of your hand faces upward.
Kuzushi-off-balancing your opponent. Before you move your feet with your arms fully extended, you should be able to begin Kuzushi simply by standing up straight. Then, with your hands first in most cases, your Tsurite pulls out; rotate your Tsurite so the back of your hand faces toward you with your hand aligned with your elbow directly below. With the rocking of Uke to one side, they will want to rock back in the other direction, in the direction of your Hikite. That is when you apply your Hikite. Your Hikite pulls out and up in a whorl or logarithmic spiral. You pull slightly down to begin Uke’s elbow and out and up in a circular fashion. It would be best if you were now facing your Hikite, looking at your “watch,” your Hikite’s wrist,
Tsukuri-getting into position. Usually, in two and sometimes three steps, you position your body against your Uke’s body in the direction of the throw.
Kake-executing a technique. Finishing your throw, landing your Uke at the top of the triangle.
Kime-scoring technique: Throw your Uke safely on its back with skillful control, speed, and technique. Or in Newaza, pinning your Uke for 20 seconds with no previous score or 10 seconds with a previous Waza-ari score.
An added requirement in our Dojo
Perform your Kiai every time you execute your techniques.