Craig Fallon Black Dog Judo Seminar Review 12th Nov 17

Craig Fallon showed us how to make the
teachniques work for us.

Craig Fallon offered a top notch seminar coming back from Austria to blitz judoka with dominant grips. What the participants discovered was how to take the back from standing, or re-engage the sleeve lapel at their choosing.

Craig Fallon came in from Austria and taught a kids and adults session at Black Dog Judo. The cost for the adult session was only £8, too good to be missed.

It was refreshing to come to a seminar where the sleeve lapel grip was almost non-existent. Of course, as a U60kg competitor Craig Fallon had speed and agility on his side, but all too often the sleeve lapel grip is where things end, not begin. This was not going to happen as Craig guided us through gripping sequences that let to taking the back from standing, or re-engaging in a snappy foot sweep or uchi mata.

A large amount of high grades and beginners mingled and I got to work with a coach, so there was little wasted time debating the techniques that sometimes goes on if you’re with another beginner. Working on movement was the first exercise, then came dummy foot sweeps and eventually the real thing. The kuzushi I learned was really helpful, and the best part was following it through to the ground and ending in a dominant position. It is very easy to lose the battle in the transition. In fact in a competion I had just done, I won two matches by osaekomi by reversing things on the ground.

Any good judoka has six people's blood on their white gi.

After working on grips for position, kuzushi and take downs we demoed ken ken uchi matas along the floor. It was great that Colin went to people and showed them how things worked. It wasn’t a case of micromanaging every step but demonstrating the alignment required to move people. Demonstrating the forearm position for ouchi gari Craig made me lose my balance quite easily and that was just from hand positioning. The congruent alignment from foot to hand was amazing, and it really goes to show kuzushi is a subject that has to be covered before throws.

Moving into ground work Craig showed us how to pass half guard and explained he had witnessed too many people stumble here in competition. He’s seen many people recently scoring waza ari, only to be held back and losing the match later. If you can pass the legs as soon as possible you will win right there by osaekomi or submission. When someone can move like a mongoose perhaps it is easier said than done, but the passing technique was good and is available on Youtube at a Gent seminar (see end for details).

After this we did a lapel strangle from when someone rolls over flat or pancakes from turtle. It can be a very stubborn position to crack. Making space and feeding the lapel through for a strangle will definitely induce people to move even if they don’t give in to the submission. It was a similar technique to a strangle Kashiwazaki demonstrated in one of his videos but instead of a kata te jime the lapel skirt takes the place of the collar grip.

What came next was both hard and very useful. Craig has great balance and we were about to learn how to develop ours. He showed us the position he wanted us to do randori in next. It was what many people know as an Asian squat. From our haunches we had to engage in tachi waza (throws and sweeps) and duck walk into the engagement. I’m not going to lie, it was incredibly hard not to stand up or put a knee down. “No, that’s not what we’re doing this isn’t ne waza” stated Craig. After a few partner changes I think most people were feeling the burn. I would recommend this to people and coaches as a great exercise for both beginners and players in a rut. Not only does it make a beginner build up endurance, balance and confidence in throws (surely it is hard to get injured from such a low height), it can also highlight anybody who may have let their fitness lag. It won’t be suitable for sufferers of certain injuries, but if it doesn’t increase balance and stamina I don’t know what will.

Video of the Gent seminar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptKDpj9AuWQ