Slapping the ground during ukemi.

**GRAB MY WRIST** · Posted On: 3/22/2006 10:04pm

I agree slapping dissipates the energy after taking a hard or high throw. I also notice slapping hard tends to give me the bounce back up effect vis-a-vis without the slap. Could be psychological though?

Slapping the mat hard during training also helps to build up arm power, think of it as hitting the makiwara with your palm each time you slap the mat. Now that is like killing two birds with one stone, IMO.

Yours truly,
Grab My Wrist

**MONGO** · Posted On: 3/22/2006 10:36pm

Slapping is important when learning to take throws. It doesn't mean that it is all important when taking a hard throw because the force generated will make your body slap the ground, so you don't need to add to it.

I have personally seen experienced Judoka get seperated joints from falls from powerful throws and even occasionally knocked out.

**Fearless Ukemi** · Posted On: 3/23/2006 10:52am

Originally Posted by Garbanzo Bean

If you get driven to the mat hard enough by an experienced Judoka, there is a lot higher chance that you're going to get something broken. I'm not an authority on Judo by any means, but I have been on the receiving end of enough of their throws to know that a good hard throw can break bones.

Not only that, some throws are harder to breakfall. In my LIMITED experience, for instance, Uchi Mata can result in a fairly awkward fall. One other example from my experience: There are variations of some of the reaps like Osoto Gari and Ouichi Gari where you're driving your opponent's head into the ground. Breakfalling from that is not easy.

Judo is ROUGH. Bones break sometimes, regardless of how good you are at breakfalling.

This is why I say have almost no judo experience. I have never taken instruction from a judo instructor, but I have been thrown by enough judoka enough times to at least say that I have more than none.

**Tourettes** · Posted On: 3/23/2006 11:10am

Originally Posted by JohnnyCache

Oh, that's underway. But I'm more worried about the short term. I would like to live to get good :icon_lol:

Choose your randori partners carefully then. Your sensei (or your seniors) should know who will be a good match for you but even then, there are some opinions you can trust and some you can't. If you're a straight up white belt, I say work with upper ranks who have lots of experience and nothing to prove. Stay away from lower ranks who will throw you sloppily, especially because you're a big guy and also because the competitive ego thing can start happening and bad habits can develop.

And of course, stay awy from the guys in the club who don't give a **** about hurting you - they're out there.

***JohnnyCache*** · Posted On: 3/23/2006 11:27am

Well, I have to train in the interim :)

I'm still very new to the art, though, plenty of time to learn it better, just not before this upcoming comp, where my "ukemi" strategy will be to hold onto the dude and try to make his life suck for trying throwing me. . .