Nationals training

Training sessions for the GB National Championships.

To enhance our programme for the National Championships, we added a new dimension to the players programme. Tabata is a training programme devised and developed by Izumi Tabata of the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Tokyo, Japan. Tabata compared the effects of moderate intensity of endurance training with high endurance intermittent anaerobic training and what effect it had on VO2 max Capacity.

To cut a long story short, Tabata found that over a six week period with two groups working out 5 days a week, the moderate intensity group improved their VO2 max by 10% but then had marginally or even no effect on anaerobic fitness. On the other hand the high intensity group improved VO2 max to 14% but a huge leap of 28% for the anaerobic capacity. This system was brought to my attention from one of the parents and I thought it fitted in really well with the training schedule. From start to finish the whole routine only took fifteen minutes.

Training has started well and the players are looking forward to competing at the NIA for the Heart of England. Weights are checked and looking ok, ish!! Carly, our strength and conditioning coach has it all in hand, a good nutritional diet has been sorted out for them, and it’s not too much of an issue as I know they have just returned from holiday. Still working on fundamental movements as part of the class warm up instils and builds on the foundations of judo, plus it gives them a good sweat.

Each session will try and drive the players into knowing what they are actually looking for from hajime (start fighting), along with speed of transition from standing to ne waza (ground techniques) and also controlling the space between themselves and their opponent. Some good strategies and tactics were put into place and it was good to see that the Heart of England showed some very good signs that progress was going well.
Each player knew their task was going to be hard, especially the ones going into a higher age bracket, this mainly effects last year’s top C players going into D band.

Heart of England
This was a mixed bag for the club, with some great performances and some that needed tweaking for the Nationals, but previous HofE comp’s rang in my ears when the club had been very successful there and then went on to have a disastrous Nationals. So keeping the pressure off was the key and let them use it as a gauge as to where they were as far as preparation was going for the Nationals. They looked relatively fit, so training seemed to be going well, a couple of potential throws of the day, one being Matt Kavanagh’s seoi otoshi, superb.

After the traditional warm up from Mark, the players were ready to go, without their knowledge I was implementing the Hajime-Matte model that is being rolled out by the England squad managers. I like to see plenty of movement from the players so tasks of manipulating their opponents from certain positions around the mat were given without actually throwing. Dropping their weight and using good posture and footwork to pressure their opponents backward, feeling the resistance then again, dropping their weight to bring their partners on. This proved very useful, and each player seemed to adapt very well with pressuring and feeling direction.

Working in fours with one out the front, the other three players in turn tried to tie up tori (attacker out front) with a heavy overhead powerful grip. Tori would then try to manipulate his attackers with movement, using their body weight to create movement. This was really good to see being implemented at the Heart of England, each player has good judo, so developing their tactical and mental strength is very important.

This comp does not do us any favours coming so close after the holidays, we had a couple of players that had a couple of days to prepare after returning from their hols, but hey ho, all clubs have this problem I suppose. The youngsters moving up to D band had a mixed day, Richard, returning from his holidays was still there I think  well, in mind anyway. Matthew however was looking good, and arguably had the throw of the day, going on to win a bronze medal, a great achievement for Matt in his first Comp in that category. Maddy fighting in the Senior event looked very sharp, this being her first comps since her shoulder injury in March, taking a 5th place, just running out of steam and composure.

DJ was on form and showed a marked improvement in closing the gap when attacking, nothing like hard work to get improvements, it was good to see the difference in his attacks, positioning played a big part, much better on his behalf!! Although a weak attack in the final let his opponent in with some good transition work to hold DJ for the 25 second ippon (ten point win)

Charlie was a star on the day, seems to be getting better and better, again some self belief would go a long way in his development. Lots of movement and a lot of directional changes see Chaz dominating his space. This was a different player from last year, a bit more training, but he knows that, a good 5th place from Chaz. Some flashes of brilliance came from young James, but I do hold my hands up and forget he has only just come up from A band. Definitely a star of the future, he is getting faster and his technique is coming on and is strong as an Ox, a 5th place from James was well earned. Duncan probably had the least training time out of all the players, being a talented Rugby player and playing at a high standard robbed him of the right preparation for the HofE and the Nationals, but he accepted that and enjoyed the day.

Kelly was back on form, training was going well and she went in with a positive attitude. Reaching the final with relative ease, Kelly fought a controlled final to win the gold medal. All in all not a bad comp, but more than that gave everyone a clear prospective of where they were with their training.
It’s getting darker earlier now and the Tabata training may have to be cut a couple of weeks short of the Nationals, just for safety reasons. Don’t want an ankle twisting in a rut out on the field, a little more intense training on the mat with Mark should keep their fitness.

We decided it was best Chloe didn’t do the HofE as her shoulder was not 100%, a few more weeks should do the trick. Things are looking good, the players are looking fit and fast, it will all be in their and the referee’s hands. The last few weeks are handed over to the players, they know best how each of their rivals fight and feel, they pin point the problems they have and then we devise our game plans. It was good to see their confidence grow. Pressure training in these situations worked well, and the players looked happy with the sessions. It is not always possible to get the ideal grip and I believe a lot of opportunities are lost because the player has only 1 aim, to get his grip for their pattern of throws, but players are so adept at keeping grips off that it would destroy any judo you had. So, back up techniques, sode tsuri komi goshi, uki goshi and eri seoi nage are ideal techniques to use.
Following the Nationals I asked the players to give some anonymous feedback to me on how they felt training had gone leading up to the Nationals.

“I felt the sessions leading up to Nationals has been well thought out. I liked the fact we did lots of fitness exercises and randori a long time before the Nationals with different grip fighting and randori situations to get us ready to fight anyone. Then the last few lessons we got to work on the techniques and different situations we wanted to do that we knew we’d come across at Nationals so we were prepared”

“I think the training leading up to the Nationals has helped me with my judo. It has helped me to know what I want in a fight and not to go out there with nothing in your head. It has also helped me to deal with situations when I’m not in control so I can get in control. The training has also helped me to learn to protect the training has also me learn to protect from certain moves on the ground. The training also helped me see different ways to attack my opponent”

All in all not a bad Nationals as far as performance's go!!!

Bushido Class Master Easter Competition, Tonbridge

Ford judo clubs youngster travelled to Bushido's Easter Competition held in Tonbridge, Kent the weekend.
Following in the footsteps of their more experienced club mates the 8 players ranging from the ages of 8 to 11 were competiing alongside 300 other competitors from around the south and south east took part in the event.

The inexperienced team see some exceptional performance especially from Dolce Jones. Dolce, 8, was taking part in her first competition. In a pool of 5 players Dolce won 3 of her 4 fights with maximum 10 point wins, giving her 30 point total. A great performance and a gold medal for Dolce.
The day started well for the Ford players with the first 4 players winning gold medals, they were Dolce, Isaac Gauld-Monseguz, Bret Jones and Joseph Kelly all producing fine performances to take the top spot.

Lewis Fong and Martia Medaglia both produced some good judo to win Silver medals, with Thomas Medaglia and Connor Schaffer both winning fights to take home bronze medals.

This is a great development competition for the Ford players, and all performed well gaining valuable experience to take back to the club giving inspiration to their club mates.

Well Done Everybody

Bill...

North West

Saturday:- Charlie Jackson -42kg, flashes of brilliance from Charlie after a disastrous start, after losing his first fight Charlie went on to look impressive in his next 2 bouts. Controlling and maintaining good posture Charlie showed some mature judo winning both fights in good style. His 4th was hard fought but Charlie lost out on dubious decision from the 3 flags of the referees.

DJ Irving -38kg was in fine form and looked totally in control using excellent ne-waza to win his first 2 fight in quick time. In a extremely hard category DJ worked his way to the final. This was to be against the National Champion, it turned out an exciting bout with opportunities from both sides to score but good defence from both kept the scores at bay until his opponent caught DJ for ippon. A very well earned silver for DJ

Duncan Ward -60kg could not find his form from the Midlands. Carrying injuries into a competition at this level is difficult but Duncan showed his fighting spirit by fighting hard and with determination. It is always good to reflect after each performance and I know Duncan has done this and is more positive for the future.

James O'shea -55 A band, continues to show his promise for the future by giving another strong performance. Its clear James has a good judo brain and learns from each mistake that is made which will strengthen his judo ability for the future, a well earned silver from James.

Sunday. Richard Jackson also was under par for this competition. A bug picked up seemed to have drained Richard of the endless energy he had at the Midlands, an important comp for Richard as it was selections towards the Cadet Europeans. A 7th place for Richard which I know he will be disappointed with but hopefully it will make him stronger.

Matt Kavanagh -73kg Seems to be settling into his new weight category very well. 2 competitions and 2 medals, a bronze medal to go with his Silver from the Midlands. Matthew still has a few KG's to spare and this will enhance his performance in the future. Again Matt has been reflecting and has targets for the Cadet European trials which should get him peaking for the event.

Kelly Staddon -52kg, Kelly took part in a new weight category for her and did not look out of place in this weight. Winning her way to the final with ease. The final came to an abrupt end when Kelly was strangled, a little in experienced showed when the defence to the strangle was omitted. A good performance from Kelly, bodes well for the future for her and gave her important ranking points for the forth coming trials. Silver for Kelly.

Tom Williams -81kg, Tom looked in unstoppable form, winning his weigh with great control and technique. Tom through his fulltime training at Camberley is maturing into a top class player. This is an important year for the 18 year old as he is looking at being the number 1 ranked player to be picked for the Junior World and Junior Championships to be held later this year. Gold for Tom

Chloe Jackson -52kg, a complement for Chloe as she is making all the other girls in the weight raise their game. Still on form showed her fitness and speed by providing a barrage of attacks on her opponents. The final see Chloe against her rival from almost every competition she has competed in, changing her tactics to allow consideration for the new leg grab rules, Chloe dominated to take the gold by all 3 flags after the fight went to decision.

Maddy Chapman -57kg, this was a learning curve for myself and Maddy, although I had coached Maddy on previous occasions over the last few years, never for Ford. A strong performance from Maddy which will stand her in good stead for the future, after another dubious decision from the referee's Maddy was penalised out in golden score in the semi finals. A strong performance gained Maddy the bronze medal.

10 competed 2 gold, 3 silver and 2 bronze.... good result.....

Happy New Year to you All

Well its been a little while so I thought I would fill you in on what has been happening. I have finally finished working for BT after 23 years of service to start a new venture. I am using my 45 years of judo experience to take judo into the local schools of Havering on a self employed basis. Unfortunately the schools I should have started this week are closed due to the weather conditions.
It has been a hectic time these last few months and I know that will continue for a while longer while I get established and show the benefits of judo in the local education system....

Ford Judo Club is going from strength to strength gaining more new members every week, its getting full to bursting. Some great little players look like they may come through, all looking good for the future squad players...

I will endevour to find time to keep my blog up to date this year.
I hope its a good one for you all, my best wishies for 2010 go out to you all...

Bill...

Flanders International Belgium

5 players represented Ford judo club in Belgium the weekend with mixed results, from under performing to rising to the challenge and giving personal best performances.
Kelly Stadden competing in the -48kg was under par losing 2 of her fights then withdrawing from the 3rd due to a knee injury. Tom Williams -81kg competed in the under 20 section and the 18 year old looked impressive. Dominating his first fight and winning comfortably. His second was against an opponent he had met previously. His low wrestling style of judo spoilt William's upright judo this and took him out of his rhythm, a low leg grab from Williams opponent gained a minor score which he could not recover from, new rule changes due in 2010 will prohibit this style of judo which will bode well for the pure judoist. Tom won his next 2 fight convincingly but unfortunately came up against the same opponent he had lost to earlier, although a much better fought fight, the outcome was the same.

Sunday had 3 members fighting, Matthew Kavanagh - 66kg, Richard Jackson - 55kg and Chloe Jackson -52kg. Matthew beat the strongest 2 players in his pool but seemed to run out of steam in his 3rd just losing out on a minor score. His next fight which he needed to win to progress was over to soon when he was caught with a throw gaining maximum points to knock Matthew out of the competition. The 2 players he had beat progressed out of the pool and on to compete for medals.

Richard Jackson was on fine form, looking fit and fast and carried a positive attitude throughout his bouts. He won his first fight controlling his opponents with his grips and using forceful attacks to win by points, he then battled well on his next but lost to the eventual winner. This was a particular hard competition with 15 countries competing and the task was made harder as only one bronze medal was being contested for when normally there are 2. Jackson won his next 3 fights which would normally have given him 3rd position but not this time, the two 3rd place players had to fight off, a small mistake and a loss of control gave his opponent the upper hand and a small knock down resulted in Jackson getting pinned to lose the fight, but this was a solid performance from Jackson and produced one of the throws of the day.

No relation But Chloe Jackson was running on high from her recent National Championship title, Jackson won her first fight in 7 seconds with a lightning fast throw, this put her against one of 2 strong French players, this was closely contested, both giving their all. No score in normal time see Golden Score time added, first to score wins, this was to go against Jackson which only left a possible bronze medal to contend for. Winning her next fight meant she had to meet the other French player who had seemed to be the better of the 2 French girls. Knowing this was for the bronze medal and the last fight of the day, all eyes were on her mat. Finding her form once again she hit the French Player with very strong attacks, one of which gained Jackson 7 points, from here she pinned her opponent to finish the fight and gain maximum points. Her medal was presented by Neil Adams MBE, 2 times World Champion and 2 times Olympic Silver medallist.


The K2 Venue at Crawley hosted an Orange belt and under competition which gave the clubs less experienced players a chance to take part in a grade restricted tournament of Orange belt and under.

First up for was Thomas Medaglia, who again put in a good performance and although he lost both of his contests, fought some high graded fighters and gained some invaluable experience. James Allen was next up, competing well and displaying some great judo also showed that he has learnt from his last couple of competitions by eradicating a couple of technical issues, and in his second fight, was leading well until being caught by a very debatable ten point score which ended his progress. Next it was the girls turn with Martia Medaglia. Despite just about moving up to the next weight she showed great determination and fought against much more experienced girls, and took home a well deserved Bronze medal. Then Alana Stephenson fought amazingly well. Winning her first fight by maximum ten points in under ten seconds, and then her second fight with a 7 point throw, following the girl down to hold her to complete the maximum score. In the final, she faced a girl who beat her a couple of weeks ago. Alana fought extremely well, and took the fight to her opponent, but unfortunately lost by a small point in golden score, a fantastic performance by her. Finally, Sarah Allen took the gold medal in her merged category, fighting some girls a lot bigger than her, the highlight being her 1st fight showing real grit to dig deep and throw a much taller girl for two 7 point scores which gave her the outright win, and once again showed that when she is determined she can produce the results that we know she is capable of.

A great effort by all the kids.

Bill...

National Championships Sheffield

Ford Judo Club have 3 new National Champions after they gave fantastic performances at the weekend at Sheffield. The 3 Havering youngsters showed their class beating all their opponents. The Olympic Combat Sport requires fitness, strength, speed and flexibility to overcome their opponents and all 3 of the Ford players demonstrated these elements to win all their bouts. Matthew Kavanagh 15, was fighting in the -66kg division, winning his first 4 fights, winning his first fight in an amazing 8 seconds throwing his opponent for a maximum ten points, this earned a place in the final, which was to be a repeat of the Heart of England final which was held at the NIA Birmingham which Matthew had won. The final was hard fought and Matthew went down a score halfway through the fight, but kept his composure to throw his opponent for a greater score with 20 seconds to go to take the National title.

Chloe Jackson - 52kg was on great form, looking fit and fast. Chloe worked her way through her first 3 opponents, dominating each fight with great control. Her speed and strength along with her technical ability gave her 3 victories to take her into the final. This was to be a repeat of the final from last year against the same opponent where Chloe had to withdraw in the early stages of the fight with a broken arm. Chloe put this out of her mind and concentrated on the task ahead. The fight was to go into golden score as neither player had a score at the end of normal time so 2 minutes of sudden death judo was to come, after a barrage of attacks from Chloe she threw her opponent for a 5 point score to take the title. Both Chloe and Matthew work with Carly Green, a strength and conditioning coach at David Lloyds, this really paid off for them.

Tom Williams fighting in the -81kg looked in great shape, the 18 year old moves a step closer to be in number one position for next years Junior World Championships. Tom won his first 2 fights convincingly then met the number one Scottish player, this was to be a great fight with Tom picking up a score against him. Keeping focused he lifted his game throwing his opponent for maximum score. His next fight was to be the semi finals against an old adversary, these are usually great battles that could go either way, but it went Tom's way with Tom throwing him for maximum score in the early stages of the bout. The final was a repeat of the UK School Games final in August which Tom also won. Totally dominating the fight it looked very one sided with Tom's constant attack, although his opponent avoided being thrown for a score, picked up enough penalties to make Tom National Champion. Tom is at Camberley Judo Centre training full time in preparation for the Junior World Championships and setting his sights of an Olympic place.

Brandon Tutthill -55kg, Brandon who is part of the England Talent Squad found himself in a new age category which did not cater for his former weight which was -50kg so had to fight up a class. Brandon's first fight was against the final winner, although giving away a lot of weight Brandon gave a great performance. The lose put Brandon in the knockout section, here he showed the confidence he had gained from the previous fight and went on to win his next 2 bouts with excellent performances. His forth fight was against the Scottish number 1, a mistake from Brandon was capitalised by his opponent who pinned Brandon to take the points, a great performance for Brandon.

Kelly Staddon -48kg and Richard Jackson -55kg Narrowly missed out on medals taking 5th places, both players missed out loosing their semi final matches by referee's decision as no score was gained in their fights the referee awarded the fights to their opponents. Also Danny Irving -38kg and Charlie Jackson -42kg both showed improvement in their contest judo gaining much needed experience in large events. Both players came away with a win under their belts and are eager to use this experience to further their competition judo.

The club members now join James O'shea who won the A Band Nationals the week before. Four National Champions, a great performance and hopefully will give encouragement to their club mates who are training hard along side the Champions..

Bill Taylor

Didn't You All Do Well

Another National Champion for Ford Judo Club, James O'Shea gave an impressive performance at the Goresbrook Sports Centre where the age banded National Judo Championships were being held. 11 year old James beat all 4 of his opponents by maximum score to take the over 46kg title. James who weighed in at 50kg was giving away 10kg in the final but produced a fantastic throw in the early stages of the fight to take the title, hopefully this bodes well for his club mates who are participating in the older age bands this weekend at the English Institute of Sport, Sheffield. Also taking part were James Allen and James Cliff, both gave very good performances in what were very high calibre weight categories, and are sure to be contenders for the future.

Also The National Masters Championships were being held at Goresbrook on the Saturday, Good performance came from George Madrick, Kenny Wickens and Mike Allen who was placed 5th in the -100kg division, which was a good result as Mike usually contested the -90kg division.

Nicky Jackson who is training for her UKCC level 1 Coaching award was competing in her first veteran competition and although picking up a elbow injury in her last fight had done enough to secure the bronze medal position, a good result for Nicky which should secure her place on the Masters National Squad.

Tom Williams continues his International success winning a Bronze medal in Alicante, Spain. Tom is showing his potential for 2012 competing in a Senior event and medalling even though he is still classed as a Junior Player, just turning 18. Tom will be favourite to win his place in the -81kg division to compete in next years Junior World Championships.

Bill...