Being a Good Training Partner

A visitor to the Beruang Merah Cempaka Putih Dojo made an interesting observation the other day:

We still have a lot to learn about being training partners.

We tense up during Uchi-Komi, we always go all-out to stop ourselves being thrown during Randori, we rarely 'take a fall,' even if the opponent as the technique 90 % correct.

This attitude is a major hindrance to learning new techniques.

It's partly a reflection of the lack of basic Ukemi. It's partly the influence of Olympic pressures on Judo, in which the whole enterprise becomes a selection and training mechanism for athletes. Amateurs, or people who want to learn the rich, old Judo, get left behind.

So, from now on:

1. Let's learn to be better throwing partners, including cooperative Randori, and taking a fall, ie give the opponent the technique if they're trying something new and they've got it mostly right.

2. Revisit the basics of Ukemi, drilling again and again.