Guide to Techniques and Moves in Judo

Being a student of taekwondo myself, I can say that learning any martial art is a great personality improvement tool. Stay fit, develop inner strength, and be unruffled on the outside. What more could you ask for? You can protect yourself too by hitting back if you are in danger.

Talking of other martial
arts, judo is another style, which we are going to deal with within this story.

These techniques involve moves related to throwing the opponent off when attacking. There are different categories in throwing techniques―hand throwing, foot throwing, and hip throwing. These throws are either standing or sometimes sacrifice throws.

This throw involves, as the name suggests, a person lifting an opponent (who is at his back) with one arm, taking the weight on his shoulder, and then throwing him down. The other hand is not used much in such one-handed judo moves.

Here, he lifts the opponent using both the hands facing him at a slight angle, and then throws him on the ground. This throw is a part of 67 current throws in Kodokan judo.

One of the foot throwing tactics, Deashi Harai is one of the advanced judo techniques. It is a kind of foot sweep. The person doing this starts off with having a firm grip over the opponent, facing him. Then the attacker moves his foot to the opposite side of the opponent, and sweeps his opposite leg out from beneath him.

This makes him lose
balance. During this, the upper body has to support the push-pull motion with the requisite power created as a result of the rotation of the hips. This is essential for proper execution of this sweep.

Grappling basically entails immobilizing the opponent by pinning him down on the floor. It does not involve lifting the other person. These can be done either standing or on the ground. They are meant to disable the opponent. One such grappling technique is called Kani Basami or flying scissors.

A person in this move balances his weight on one hand, while his feet are in a scissors-like position, holding the opponent in between his legs. Once that person holds the other person in between his legs, the opponent is then brought down to the ground using the force of the legs.

One of the legs is almost
at the end of the torso, and the other is on the opposite side, under the opponent's thighs.

These tactics involve an individual throwing himself on the ground after lifting the opponent. This is called a sacrifice throw, as along with the opponent, the individual also goes down on the ground to avoid injury, and then immediately overpowers the opponent. These are mostly done standing.

Again, the objective of these moves are almost the same as grappling―to disable the opponent. Here, either the opponent is pinned down to the ground, and in one of these moves, one arm goes around the neck of the opponent, and the other holds the opponent's arm.

As the name suggests, this entails choking or strangling the opponent by exerting pressure on the carotid artery. This is similar to grappling, but a bit more dangerous. These are very carefully used, and when used in a competition require expertise and supervision.

The opponent's joints are locked to prevent an attack. The knees, elbows, and other joints are targeted in this technique. Again, this is fundamentally a type of grappling.

These techniques involve, not just blocking or defense, but also attacking moves. They include striking the eyes of the opponent with the fingertips, punches, upper cut, side and rear blows, and variations of body strikes.

Ultimately, all this reminds me of something said by Deng Ming-Da, a famous martial artist and philosopher. "Some Warriors look fierce, but are mild. Some seem timid, but are vicious. Look beyond appearances; position yourself for the advantage."