EL MUSEO DEL FERROCARRIL DE MADRID (MFM)
Capítulo 6. Histórico de grupos de educación formal en el MFM
6.1 Histórico de grupos en el MFM
6.1.2 Análisis de las visitas de educación formal 1998-2014
by Charles S. Brocato and Kathryn E. King • Photos courtesy of Charles S.
Brocato • April 1988
T
he object of a judo throwing technique is to throw your opponent without being thrown yourself. Many practitioners, however, succeed only in throwing themselves because they haven’t been taught what to do if their opponent departs from the expected response.Too many judoka think there is only one correct way to perform a throw, so they study and teach this method and ignore any alternatives. In reality, judo is a dynamic art that’s meant to be experimented with and adapted to different positions, heights and strengths, and to varying personal styles.
This article will examine three related throws, along with training meth-ods and attitudes that will help the student make these throws a part of his
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To perform uchimata (inner thigh throw), the judoka should grab (1) the back of his opponent’s collar and pull his adversary forward by the sleeve. The judoka then back-pivots into his foe, bringing (2) his right leg up between his opponent’s legs. The judoka bends over (3) and raises his reaping leg in unison with the body, lifting the opponent into the air while maintaining his grip on his adversary. The fi nal step (4) is to catapult the opponent into the throw by thrusting the body and leg forward.
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To perform hanegoshi (springing hip throw), the judoka should step (1) in such a way that his back is to the opponent’s front and his leg is off-center to the leg he is going to reap. The judoka then raises (2) his reaping leg and pulls strongly on the opponent’s sleeve and belt (or collar), lifting his foe into the air.
The opponent is locked into a throwing position (3), and the judoka simply needs to twist his body and catapult (4) his adversary forward.
mind and body. Once the student understands the principles underlying these techniques, he is more capable of adapting them to any situation.
Haraigoshi, hane-goshi and uchimata are grouped in tachi waza, or throws done from a standing position. Haraigoshi and hanegoshi are koshi waza (hip or loin techniques), while uchimata is an ashi waza (foot or leg technique). Although they belong to two separate groups, these three techniques can be conveniently taught together because the body dynamics are from similar positions.
The following training tips will help you master these throws.
As you enter the mat area, think about the force in your body when you pull your partner hard with your arms. Contemplate the “lift-pull” and raising your partner’s leg from the mat as you drive in for the throw. Judo practitioners benefi t from spending time moving each other in tai-sabaki (turning action), a smooth, circular motion, not jerky. Practice this until
you experience the “lift” created by centrifugal force, which will occur when you create a null vector. Creating a null vector means you have canceled the force of your opponent’s motion by helping him travel in the direction he was moving in, only faster than he expected.
The creators of judo realized that a smaller, weaker person could use the movement of a larger, stronger opponent to gain an advantage. By going with and moving faster than the opponent, the smaller person could cancel out the opponent’s strength. Even the largest, toughest adversary feels intimidated when he suddenly fi nds himself toppled hard onto his backside.
The early judo masters knew nothing about vectors, but they learned through practice that certain ways of directing body movements brought about certain results.
Hanegoshi, haraigoshi and uchimata all depend on the student’s willing-ness to turn his back—a vulnerable position—and use his leg, while at the same time applying a powerful pull to unbalance and set up the opponent.
This is the hardest lesson to teach and to receive in judo. Students may never quite lose that initial fear of turning their backs on their adversary.
In judo, you must learn to let go in order to achieve. By paying strict attention to the precepts of judo, one can learn a lot about life—he learns to let go of fear.
Practice turning your back and applying a powerful pull on your partner at every opportunity, and drive forward with all the technique at your com-mand. Losing the fear of turning your back does you no good if you wind up getting thrown every time because your technique is poor.
Some students think they can bypass technique by utilizing brute strength. This can be done, if you are strong enough, but it ignores the principles of judo and, hence, makes you work a lot harder than necessary.
The perfect combination is technique and power.
A student may believe he has learned to turn his back yet wonder why he still can’t achieve a smooth uchimata. All too often, his instructor can’t understand it, either, and he may berate the student when the problem actu-ally lies with the instructor. This type of instructor often hasn’t emphasized strongly enough, by word and demonstration, that the student must be the player, not the spectator.
You cannot play two parts while you are engaged in randori (judo spar-ring). You can’t be both player and spectator at the same time. When you turn your back and drive forward for uchimata, you can’t be looking back at your opponent. Don’t watch your throw to see how it is going. Instead, look where you are going to throw your opponent, not from whence you
came. Your opponent will tend to follow the line of action if your technique is executed correctly. If you look back, you tend to split your forces.
Too many instructors and students foster the idea that it is bad to be thrown. Consequently, the students guard against being thrown in class.
They must let go of the fear of being thrown, the fear of losing, the fear of embarrassment. This will set one free for the bigger contest—life. By
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5 Haraigoshi (sweeping hip throw) is performed by
stepping in (1) whereby your buttocks straddles (2) the thigh you intend to sweep. Pull the opponent hard into your body, lean forward (3) and use your right foot to reap (4) the opponent to the outside of his leg that is parallel to your buttocks. Continue with the leg in an upward fashion and topple him (5) over your hip by twisting your body.
being thrown, you learn, in a unique way, that specifi c throw every inch of the way down, teaching you awareness in its fi nest form. Teaching caution is good—but it should be communicated as awareness, not as fear of defeat.
Little by little, one learns to let go and develop the true technical aspect of judo. At the same time, its spirit comes through to serve him in good stead in everything in life. Possessing discipline without an understanding of what and how this discipline is being achieved serves only to undo the student. He can become extremely disciplined, but without understanding, he can become self-aggrandizing in that discipline.
Approach the mat with an attitude of calmness. First study the pattern of the throw, work the throw. Then, in order to learn how to feel the force of the throw, you must learn not to think of the throw as you attempt to do it. You must become the throw. This builds fl uidity of motion, balance and confi dence without ego involvement.
You must never enter the mat thinking, as some are taught, “I must demolish this opponent. I hate this man.” This type of thinking leads to exhaustion physically as well as psychologically. This negative energy comes from the spirit, goes to the mind and manifests through the physical. If the mind is stressed with a particular ideal or pattern, this energy cannot fl ow smoothly and generate the best pattern, because the mind is the builder.
Another way of looking at it: Spirit, mind and body must function as one in order to produce the fi nest judo. This concept is seldom taught any-more. The fi lm Star Wars pointed out this principle very succinctly. When Luke Skywalker was advised near the end of the movie to “Let go. Use the force,” he was able to switch off the targeting computer he was depending on and believe in his own abilities. Through this belief and expectancy, he functioned as one unit. The physical wasn’t fi ghting the mind, and the mind wasn’t fi ghting the spirit.
This is what judo or any martial art is all about. The same concept may be applied to anything in life. However, all too often we see that the judoka is possessed by the throw because his approach to it is primarily physical in nature. To become a true judoist, one must possess the throw and not allow the throw to possess him.