New York, NY - Oishi Judo Club

**Tom Kagan** · Posted On: 10/01/2006 11:11am

Shiro Oishi, a Shichidan who received his black belt from the Kodokan in the late 1960s, runs a great Judo club with a relaxed atmosphere. He does this while still managing to retain a modicum of formality. Overall, the instruction is technically oriented without intruding on the sheer 'fun' factor.

Pros:
- friendly, relaxed atmosphere.
- Large variety of students from Olympians to 'soccer moms'.
- Safety is constantly stressed.
- Excellent Ne Waza (for Judo).
- Individual class sizes range from 10 to 30 students.

Cons:
- Relatively expensive (but this is NYC, after all).
- Current facility on the small side for larger classes.

NOTE: Check out the 'Blue Judogi' page on Shiro's website to get a feel for his sense of humor.

Please also note the ratings system is not indicative of my opinion of this club. This is a great club for anyone who wishes to explore Judo. In my opinion, the club deserves higher marks. However, due to the nature of Judo, it cannot receive them under this system.

**MadeOfOlives** · Posted On: 10/18/2006 8:57pm

In my opinion Oishi's has a certain quality to it available no where else. Its a combination of everyone being very happy to be there, enjoying what they are doing, and training very hard. Regardless, if you have considerd Judo for any reason, go and check this place out.

**Ming Loyalist** · Posted On: 10/19/2006 10:41am

i have heard nothing but great things about oishi sensei, and have sent several people to this club to try judo.

one note about the ratings... if there is next to no striking or weapons instruction i believe you can put n/a and that field doesn't get counted towards the total... therefore increasing the total score.

**Tom Kagan** · Posted On: 10/19/2006 10:52am

Originally Posted by Ming Loyalist

one note about the ratings... if there is next to no striking or weapons instruction i believe you can put n/a and that field doesn't get counted towards the total... therefore increasing the total score.

I am aware of this; I've done exactly this on other reviews. However, a complete Judo curriculum, as Shiro teaches, includes striking and weapons. Regardless of the weighting the art of Judo itself gives to the importance of striking and weapons, I consider it to be improper to artificially inflate a score just because the current rating system has a difference in weighting bias.

And, if you don't like what I've done, post your own rating. (You have gone to a class or two at his club yourself, haven't you? :smile:)

**Ming Loyalist** · Posted On: 10/19/2006 11:00am

sorry tom, just showing more of my ignorance of judo in assuming that there is no striking or weapons work.

actually i have never trained there... but my siifu did and my sijeh who i run my current school with did take a couple classes there. they are on the short list of places i want to train at, right behind the straight blast gym at fighthouse (which will take priority - hoping to start going there within a month.)

**Firebrand** · Posted On: 10/25/2006 6:36pm

I have actually sat in on a class there myself though it was on a David class. Pretty much what you stated. Intense warmup. If you want "alive training" especially when it comes to throws (gi), this is the place. Unfortunately, one guy got his knee busted (or so it appeared to me) during randoori but that is the flip side of alive training I guess. They have an interesting way of doing newaza. Rather than face each other on their knees, they start with their backs to each other sitting down.

**Tom Kagan** · Posted On: 10/26/2006 10:29am

Originally Posted by Firebrand

Rather than face each other on their knees, they start with their backs to each other sitting down.

This sounds as if it's just a drill to force people to work a better scramble.

One of the characteristics of a good club that I've observed is that, within a properly defined framework, there is a lot of variance in the particulars of what is worked on from day to day, week to week, month to month, and so on. One or two classes are only a microcosm within a larger macrocosm. It would be no more fair to the club to fully judge at such a "snapshot" and conclude that's the way they "do" Ne Waza than it would to judge the 10-20 people you saw that class are the only people who train there even though the club has an order of magnitude more active members than the number who show on any given day/week/month.

It's kind of like what Ming Loyalist did: Especially when viewed through a snapshot, it's kind of hard to believe Judo has striking and weapons, but it does. The art just doesn't put much importance on these aspects, and hence to see it trained is very rare.

(Whether Judo training of these matters have merit is another subject entirely. However that discussion, in part, depends on the importance you would put on these areas. :smile:)

**Fitz** · Posted On: 10/27/2006 10:53pm

Joint injuries happen periodically in Judo, particularly if you don't pay attention to your conditioning and flexibility.

I trained at this dojo for a few months in 2002. I liked it a lot and think it is probably the best overall Judo school in Manhattan if you're looking to train in a serious, competitive but cooperative fashion. The school puts a fair emphasis on ne-waza skills that are sometimes supplemented with conventional wrestling. I never made it to the saturday Jujutsu classes but Oishi mixed in a bit of it in the Judo class from time to time for those interested and it typically covered the joint locks typically barred from Randori practice and some set up ideas. You get a lot of rotation in the people training there, some with decades of experience in Judo including Olympic level and others coming from different martial arts.

If you're serious about Judo and want to train in Manhattan you'd be hard pressed to find a better school in a more convenient location.