On Saturday February 16th our club traveled to Annandale, Virginia to compete in the 2013 Virginia State Judo Championships.  While this is a state tournament it is also open to schools from any state.  Over 250 competitors were registered from across [...]]]>  

Wall 2 Wall Martial Arts
2013 Virginia State Judo Champions!

On Saturday February 16th our club traveled to Annandale, Virginia to compete in the 2013 Virginia State Judo Championships.  While this is a state tournament it is also open to schools from any state.  Over 250 competitors were registered from across Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and even New York.

Our Junior competitors took to the mats in a dominating fashion with strong offensive Judo.  Many of our matches were finished with full point (Ippons) throws that ended the matches instantly.

When the points were tallied up the Wall 2 Wall Judo Team had the most points and claimed the title of State Champions!  Congratulations to all that competed.

Proving once again the quality of instruction, the hard work our of students and the commitment of our parents.  W2WMA continues to demonstrate why we are the only place for Judo in the Fredericksburg area.

In high schools around America, the most popular sports among students are football, baseball, or basketball.  In most other countries however, these are not the favored sports among students.  One sport surely to be found in schools around the world is judo.  “Judo is the second most [...]]]> By Sydney Anne Wall – Judo Brown Belt

In high schools around America, the most popular sports among students are football, baseball, or basketball.  In most other countries however, these are not the favored sports among students.  One sport surely to be found in schools around the world is judo.  “Judo is the second most practiced sport worldwide next to soccer” (“Black” 3).  Many schools around America have already introduced judo to their school programs and have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm demonstrated by kids (“British” 1).  Judo should be a sport offered in all American public schools because it reduces bullying, promotes physical education and teaches mental well-being.

Judo was developed in Japan by Dr. Jigoro Kano in 1882 from the ancient samurai martial art of jujitsu.  From a young age Jigoro was bullied by his peers because of his small size.  He practiced jujitsu to learn self-defense but found it to be too violent, which is why he developed judo, which translates from Japanese to “Gentle Way”.  Afterwards, Jigoro spent most of his life actively engaged in promoting athletic activities all over Japan (Watson 97).

Since its inclusion in the 1964 Olympic Games, judo has become the world’s most popular combat sport (“British” 1).  Judo can be considered more a sport than a martial art because it does not involve any kicking, punching or striking.  Because of its defensive nature, judo is one of the two sports approved by the Boy Scouts of America (“Black” 2).  It is an ideal sport for all ages, genders, as well as a wide variety of disability groups.

Judo has taken a firmer stance in American society as a way to improve the lives of Americans (Brouss 107) over the past decade.  In Los Angeles, Jigoro Kano himself introduced judo to the area on one of his numerous trips around the world to disseminate his sport.  For a sport like judo to remain popular in a country, it has to correspond to the mentalities, times and culture of the host country.  Many famous Americans such as actor James Cagney and actress Hillary Wolf, who is a 1996 Olympian, practiced judo.  Even president Theodore Roosevelt became a brown belt during his administration (“Black” 3).

In the year 2012, the national sport and martial art of judo will become compulsory in Japanese schools (Judo 1). However, this is not exciting news for the Japanese students because “between 1983 and 2009, there have been 108 fatalities in Japanese school judo” (“Judo” 1).  The deaths in school judo classes are five times higher than any other sport (“Judo” 2.).  Now with judo being mandatory rather than an option, many parents are concerned for their children’s safety.

However, there is a significant difference in serious brain injury in the youth between the United States and Japan.  The USA Judo’s Sports Medicine Committee points out there have been no traumatic brain injury deaths attributed to judo for all participants under the age of 18 (“Judo” 2).  “According to the British Judo Association, there have been no deaths or serious brain injuries in judo in the British Judo Association” (“Judo” 2).  Even ringside boxing doctors are astonished by the amount of injuries that have been taking place (“Judo” 1).  Based on these results, one can conclude it is not the sport causing the injuries itself, but the way it is being taught and performed by teachers and students.

Fortunately, mesures are being taken to prevent these injuries from continuing.  The Japan Judo Accident Victims Association has founded a clear mission to stop the accidents from happening (“Judo” 2).  Mikihiro Mukai, the head of the instruction department at the Kodokan Judo Institute, made the clear statement that “if there is even a single death or severe injury, that meathod is inadequate” (“Judo” 2).

Just as in any school, there are always problems that arise among the student population.  One of the the most significant issues facing most schools today is bullying.  Judo however, has been proven to decrease violent behaviors such as bullying and bad attitudes.  It teaches valuable lessons about self disipline, anger management and respect for ones self and others.

In schools all over the world, judo has been taught to help students manage conflict and tension between one another (Brouss and Matsumoto 148).  The ethics of respect that judo teaches fit perfectly with any antibullying strategy (“British” 1).  In doing judo children learn the essential empathy that helps to prevent violent behavior and bullying (Lance 1).

The controlled and disiplined training halls, known as dojos, remove bullies from their position of power in schools.  Judo coaches emphasize that what students learn in class should only be used in the dojo and not to be used on someone for anything other than self defense.  The conviction that social values and behavior patterns can be taught through physical activity is what makes judo a revolutionary sport (Brouss and Matsumoto 119).

The objective of judo is to provide children with an enjoyable physical experience that will encourage them to continue on to a healthy active lifestyle.  In schools, the method of approach to taching judo is based on the development of the student, rather than judo solely as a sport (Webber and Collins 16).  Its place in schools is justified on the grounds that it is a way of providing a balance between competitive and non-competitive activities (Webber and Collins).  “Judo was developed as a way of improving the person both physically and emotionally” (Lance 1).  It has made multiple contributions to the health, well-being and quality of life to many people.  “According to the American College of Sports Medicine, Judo is the safest contyact sport for children” (“Black” 2).

Initially, many children turn to judo as a form of exercise, but then fall in love with the sport and stick with it.  Judo helps one to lose weight, get in shape and learn self defense (“Black” 2).  The physical training aspect of judo focuses on improving ones posture and agility (Watson 97).  However, Jigoro Kano stated that the object of physical training in judo is not only to develop the body but to enable a man or woman to have perfect control over the mind and body, and to make him or her ready to meet an emergency, whether it is a pure accident or an attack by others (Webber and Collins 120).

Jigoro Kano saw judo as a way to improve society by improving the members of it (Lance 1).  The intellectual, moral and physical educational motives and goals of judo go well outside the sport itself.  “Judo can be a way of life” (Brouss and Matsumoto 147).  The ulimate goal of judo is to always strive for perfection as to be able to contribute something of value to the world (“Black” 1).

Judo has a strict code of ethics and a humanitiarian philosophy to its system (“British” 2).  The goals and philosophy of judo can be used as a basis for self improvement, social change and social contribution (Brouss and Matsumoto 146).  Judo’s two major priciples are mutual benefit for all and maximum efficiency with minimum effort.  These principles can be applied to everyday life and can be seen from the respect shown between rival opponents.

Judo strengthens the students mind, self confidence and benefits a childs growth as a person (“Judo in the world today” 2).  Jigoro’s approach to educating and training students was to instill self confidence (Watson 94).  The lesson that students learn about working hard to get promoted translates well into general life (Lance 1).  These traits of respect, confidence and being hard workers can be seen in any judo player around the world.  The admiration and compassion they have towards one another, even encouraging rival competators, is nothing short of amazing.  “Judo players are citizens of the world and behave as such” (Brouss and Matsumoto 136).

Judo should be a sport offered in American public schools because of its proven ability to  reduce bullying, promote safe physical education and teach mental well-being to all of its pupils.  Over the past 131 years that judo has been around, it was evolved into one of the worlds most popular sports.  Putting judo into public schools would not only benefit the students, but also give it the foothold it needs to become one of the most popular sports in our nation.  The benefits of judo on its students has already been proven, now all it needs is the chance to get started.

Works Cited

Black Belt School of Judo. 2009. 31 October 2012 <http://blackbeltschoolofjudo.net/about_us>.

Brouss, Michel and David Matsumoto. Judo in the US. Berekley: North Atlantic Books, 2009.

Excellence, The British School of Judo. Schools Judo. n.d. 31 October 2012 <http://www.judoexcellence.co.uk/index.php>.

Judo in Japanese Schools-Is it doing more harm than good? 2008. 31 October 2012 <http://themartialartsreporter.com/judo-in-japanese-schools-is-it-doing-more-harm-than-good/>.

Judo in the world today. July 2008. 31 October 2012 <http://www.judo-ch.jp/english/world/us>.

W, Lance. Judo in Schools, the Benefits. 9 March 2009. 31 October 2012 <http://judo4parents.com/2009/03/judo-in-schools-the-benefits/>.

Watson, Brian. The Father of Judo: A Biography of Jigoro Kano. New York: Kodansha America Inc., 2000.

Webber, Ken and Malcolm Collins. Creative Judo Teaching. London: Kyudan Books, 2005.

On December 8 2012 Wall 2 Wall Martial Arts hosted the biggest clinic of year, judo players young and old converged from across Virginia, Maryland and other nearby areas.  They came to show their respect to one of the best male judo players the United States has ever produced.  Many had seen Travis’s battle in [...]]]>

On December 8 2012 Wall 2 Wall Martial Arts hosted the biggest clinic of year, judo players young and old converged from across Virginia, Maryland and other nearby areas.  They came to show their respect to one of the best male judo players the United States has ever produced.  Many had seen Travis’s battle in 2012 London Games when he fought Ole Bischof (Germany) the reigning 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist in the most intense battle of the games.

On this day however we were there to celebrate and share Judo with Travis, he started the clinic off in the traditional way by lining all the students up and bowing in.  As you can see from the size of the line the turnout was exceptional.  This was follow up by some unorthodox warm-up exercises that Travis uses with the U.S. Team.

Throughout the course of the day Travis shared many of his winning techniques, as a Brown Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu under Renzo Gracie Travis is considered one of the best ground fighters in the world.  He began the lesson with several versions of front headlocks and chokes that anyone can use in randori or tournaments.

After a short lunch break Travis continued with his strongest standing techniques demonstrating throws like Uchimata, Morote Seionage, and more.  We can’t wait to have Travis back at our dojo again, he is not only a World Class Competitor he’s also an excellent instructor.

Check out some of the pictures from this event here

The venue was [...]]]> On November 10th I traveled to Miami, Florida with the intention of competing at the 2012 World Judo Masters. This would be the second time I competed in the awesome tournament. The tournament was supposed to be in Brazil but six months before the event it was moved to the United States.

The venue was at Trump’s Doral Resort and Spa and hosted by USA Judo. The turnout included over 900 competitors from 30 countries including Russia, France, Germany, Mongolia, Italy, Brazil, Argentina and of course the United States with 178 entrants including myself.

For the past few months I had been training and preparing myself, I knew that the level of competition would be high. My weight was right on and I would be competing at 73kg (160.5lbs), over the past year I had lost almost 40 pounds. The last time I competed at this tournament I fought at 81kgs (177.5lbs) and had 55 competitors in my category. When I got to Miami and weighed-in I was anxious to see how many competitors I would have this year. The final count was 28 competitors in the M3 73kg category. In order to compete in this tournament you must be at least a Black Belt and over the age of 30, categories are divided every 5 years, M1=30-34, M2=35-39, M3=40-44 and so on.

I wasn’t scheduled to compete until the next day so I enjoyed the day watching other compete. Day 1 included men and women from around the globe, the quality of technique was high. I found a seat and watched judoka over the age 60 and even 70 years old fighting. Just goes to show that age is not a limiting factor, not only can you practice judo at any age you can compete at any age.

The next day when I arrived at the tournament I saw that I would be the second fight so I started stretching and warming up. My fist competitor would be from French Polynesia and I had no idea what to expect. But once I was on the mat I just let my training and instincts take over. We began gripping and moving around the mat, my competitor was strong but felt stronger and faster. I attacked with shoulder throw and scored a yuko, I followed him to the mat and captured him in a judo pin holding him for the 25 seconds and win.

I would only have a short time before next fight against an even stronger fighter from Brazil. As we stood in line waiting to be called out we shook hands, gave each other a quick hug and wished each other good luck. On the mat our grip fighting was intense! I attacked with foot sweeps to disrupt his balance I attacked with various techniques but his balance and defense was tough. Unfortunately for him he was penalized for not attacking himself, when we re-gripped I was able to get a high lapel grip just as he attacked with a low shoulder throw. I quickly avoided the throw and followed him to ground. With my lapel grip I was able immediately lock in a tight choke under his chin. I secured the choke and began to apply pressure, he tried to defend but it was too late, he tapped and submitted.

After my first two wins I was still feeling great, I looked at the board to see how my next opponent would be. I saw that I would next be facing another tough judoka from Russia this time. Once again when the action started the grip fighting was intense and difficult. He was able to gain the advantage on the grip fighting and grabbed both of my sleeves very low at the wrist then quickly attacked with a drop shoulder throw. I new immediately that I was in trouble and started to defend the attack. Because he could not throw me forward he adjusted and took me to the side instead. There was nothing I could do this time to avoid the throw and landed on the tip of my shoulder. As I hit the mat I felt the excruciating pain as my shoulder exploded separating my AC joint. I knew my day was over, I would have to resign from the rest of the tournament.

At the emergency room they took the x-rays and put my arm in a sling and secured it to my body. The diagnosis was a class 3 AC joint separation. I returned to the tournament to watch my friends, Dimitri, Adel, Sugi, and Sebastian compete.

At the end of week I was able to fight three world class competitors and beat two of them decisively, I enjoyed every moment of the tournament as a spectator and competitor. I shoulder will heal and I will be back on the mat teaching and training within weeks.

One the things I love most about judo is opportunity to meet and fight with people from all over the world. There is no doubt in my mind that Judo is the greatest sport and martial art. I can’t imagine life without Judo which is why I share what I know everyday with my students. It does not matter if you are 5 years old 50 years old its never too early or two late to learn. Judo has something for everyone! This is the philosophy we go by at Wall 2 Wall Martial Arts.

For a complete list of results and statistics, see www.ippon.org or on the IJF Veterans facebook page

Competitor Profile

It has been way too long since our last promotion period and that is unfair to those of you that continue your training on a regular basis and work hard to improve your Judo.  Therefore, I have decided to conduct the next belt promotion on Saturday on October [...]]]>

Fall Judo Belt Promotions
Saturday October 13th

It has been way too long since our last promotion period and that is unfair to those of you that continue your training on a regular basis and work hard to improve your Judo.  Therefore, I have decided to conduct the next belt promotion on Saturday on October 13th at 12:00pm.  We will celebrate all belt promotions for kids and adults on this day at the same time.  I would also like to take a club photograph that will include all students of all ages.  We have never tried to do this before so I am cautious and excited to have everyone at the club at the same time.  In order to be in the picture you must be wearing a Judo Gi.  If you haven’t been on the mat or back in a while then this is your perfect opportunity to do so.  Let’s see how many people we can have showing.

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Two Years at W2WMA!!!!

At the end of this month it will have been one entire year at Eagle Village.  The Fredericksburg Judo Club has existed since 2005 and many of you have actually been around to remember that.  As we enter into the second year at W2WMA I am happy and proud of the school that we have built.  But this is a journey and we are far from our destination.  My goal has been to build a Martial Arts Dojo (School) where people young and old can come together to learn and share in the benefits of Martial Arts like Judo, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and now we even have Shotokan Karate, taught be Dan Santillo.

In the past I have not done very much advertising, I have primarily relied on you, the students, parents and friends to tell others about our school and we have had great success.  Judo, being near and dear to my heart is not an easy art to learn.  I personally feel that Judo is the MOST demanding Martial Art today, the standing aspects of Judo are extremely challenging, they require physical strength, agility, balance, speed, coordination and is very cardiovascularly exhausting.  The abuse that your body takes by being repeatedly thrown to the ground is not easy for many people even when you start to learn how to take a perfect fall.  The ground work these days is a battle in of itself constantly moving and evolving, attacking and defending against chokes, armbars and other attacks.  BUT it is so much fun, it is exciting, it is rewarding and for many of us it starts to become who we are.  When you start to find yourself thinking about Judo at work, or at school or even in your dreams you know you are hooked, you are a Judo Addict!

Even parents can become addicted to Judo, it’s not hard to sit there and watch your son or daughter improve week after week and year after year.  We want to encourage our kids and every student for that matter to continue to succeed.  There are many ways to succeed in Judo because there are so many aspects of training.  For some people Judo is simply a recreation that you enjoy performing several times a week.  For others it can be more competitive, once you get the bug bite for competition it changes the way you approach your training.  Of course you really can’t think about Judo without considering where it came from and its Self-Defense benefits.  I don’t typically teach Judo as a self-defense but often you will hear me and others mention how a particular technique could be used in a way to protect yourself.  Whatever aspect of Judo you find rewarding and motivating I applaud you and hope that you will share that with others.

So getting back to advertising for a moment.  Starting on September 21st I signed an agreement with Muvico, located behind the Spotsylvania Mall, to run a 15 second spot on every screen before every movie.  If you are a movie lover and you are going there, make sure that you get there early enough to see the ad and cheer loudly when it runs.

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Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Classes on Tuesday Nights With Joe Cunningham
Joe Cunningham is a Black Belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) under the Yamasaki family.  Joe has been coming to our school every Tuesday for the past month teaching his style of techniques.  This is something that we have been working for some time.  There are not many true BJJ Black Belts in the area and to have someone of Joe’s caliber is truly a blessing.  He is an experience competitor in gi and no-gi having competed and won Nationally and Internationally.  When you combine the knowledge and training of BJJ with the Judo you have a perfect mix of two arts.  I believe that too many Judo clubs focus only on standing throws and too many BJJ schools only teach ground work.  Our schools stands out like few others providing our students with a very unique opportunity to get the VERY best instruction in both arts.  Don’t miss these classes you will be sorry when someone who was at the class “taps you out”!

  

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Travis Stevens Clinic December 8th at W2WMA
If you watched any of the Judo during the Olympics this summer you probably got to watch Travis Stevens represent our country.  Travis competed at 81kg (188.5lbs) and made it to the semi-finals before facing Ole Bischof of Germany.  Ole was the reigning 2008 Olympic Gold Medalist and World Champion, he and Travis had met twice before each with a win over the other.  Their match became one of the most watched battles of the Olympic Games.  For five minutes each man tried to throw the other but neither could.  Ole is one of the most physical competitors around and twice he caught Travis in the face cutting him.  Since neither person was able to score at the end of five minutes they would have to fight for another three minutes, first score would win and guarantee the winner a medal.  But no one would score during the 8 minutes of fighting, therefore the rules of Judo state the judges would decide who should win and they awarded the win to Ole as the crowd showed they disappointment.

  

But we are not disappointed we are proud and excited to host Travis at our club. He will be the eighth Olympian to grace our mats and I’m certain that this event will well attended and sold out.  In addition to being a great Judo fighter Travis is also a Brown Belt and BJJ making his ground game extremely dangerous.
Watch the Travis and Ole battle right now

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Steve Matias moves back to New Jersey
Just when we thought we had Steve back on the mats with us again he’s gone.  Steve made the difficult decision to return home to New Jersey to be closer to his young boys.  We are sad to see him go and we will all miss his instruction and presence but we also recognize the difficulty it is to be away from family.  We hope that upon his return to NJ that he will continue his training and instruction and perhaps some day we will have a Wall 2 Wall Martial Arts in Virginia and New Jersey.  Feel free to contact Steve anytime and thank him for all he has given to us at maceit85@yahoo.com

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Monthly Payment System
If you are not aware, we utilize a member management system called Zen Planner at our school. This system helps us to track who is coming to classes and what they are learning, how they are progressing and more.  However, it is important that you stop at the desk and sign in before each class.
This system also helps us by managing the payments that you make each month and we HIGHLY encourage every to sign up for the automated payments.  They are safe and secure, the more people that we have enrolled the more we are actually able to keep are rates lower than any other school in the area.  If you have any questions or concerns about this please feel free to ask me, if you are not enrolled please talk to me about getting signed up before next month.

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Have you borrowed a Judo Gi?
The stash of Judo gi’s that I keep on the back shelf has shrunk dramatically.  If you have borrowed one and are now ready to purchase one for yourself I will have a new order arriving next week.  If you borrowed one and it’s just sitting at your house I would kindly ask that you drop it by the club so that we can let others use it.  There’s no hard feelings we just need all those uniforms back so that others can have an opportunity as well.

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Kickboxing and MMA @ W2WMA
Our kickboxing and MMA classes have really started to take off in part to the great success that some of our instructors and fighters have been having recently.  Many people don’t know what to expect when they walk into a striking class like kickboxing.  They don’t know how to throw a proper punch or kick, they’re afraid to get hit. But our students quickly come to learn that training can be a lot of fun.  Troy Wittman is the primary kickboxing instructor and he works with every student to help them improve in both areas.  Troy is one of the most postive and motivating individuals I have ever met and loves to see people reach their goals.

In addition to teaching Troy is also an Amateur Mixed Martial Arts Fighter (MMA) and holds the 155lb Championship Belt for the Fredericksburg based Barbarian Fight Club.  Very recently he and fellow W2WMA figher J.P. St. Louis won their fights in dramatic fashion.  J.P. extended his unbeaten record with an incredible 1st round knockout in just 12 seconds.  Troy was the main fight and defended his 155lb belt with a second round TKO.

   

Most recently Hunter () won his first MMA fight by rear naked choke after putting on a boxing lesson with stiff jabs and hard strikes until [...]]]> Wall 2 Wall Martial Arts’ MMA Fighters from Team Striking Unrivaled are on a huge win streak.  All three of our last fights all ended in first round wins!

Most recently Hunter () won his first MMA fight by rear naked choke after putting on a boxing lesson with stiff jabs and hard strikes until he slammed his opponent to the ground with a double leg take down.  After escaping a poor attempt at a guillotine choke Hunter took a mounted position and began pounding his opponent until he was forced rolled to his stomach giving up his back.  Hunter immediately slipped in the rear naked choke and quickly finished the fight, what a great way to complete out his MMA debut.

Only a few weeks ago our own Kickboxing Instructor, Troy Whitman defended his Barbarian Fight Club 155 Championship Belt.  He too came out of his corner prepared to do some damage and immediately began landing fist after fist.  Realizing that he was outmatched his opponent started defending his head and covering up.  Troy then let loss with leg strikes, high and low that caused his opponent to drop his hands.

Troy took advantage of the opportunity and returned to his hands, backing his opponent into the cage until he dropped the ground trying to protect himself.  Troy followed and continued pounding his opponent until the referee stopped the match.

J.P. St. Louis began his MMA debut in the most devastating fashion, finishing his opponent with a 1st round TKO after landing brutal kicks and punches that caused the opposing team to throw in the towel to save their fighter from additional abuse.

There’s no doubt that Wall 2 Wall Martial Arts is producing some of the area’s best fighters. Whether you want to learn standing or ground, throwing people or punches we can make you the best you can be.  Stop putting it off and wasting money at want-a-be Martial Arts Schools that don’t have the professional reputation to back them up.