Uto

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Sensei has been having us do a few minutes of ju no kata from time to time, as a way to warm us down at the end of class, and as part of our general judo education.

Ju no kata reminds me of tai chi in the way it teaches balance via a series of slow, deliberate exercises. It reminds of both fight choreography and ballroom dancing in the way it requires timing and communication between partners. The balance, timing, and communication are all good things for me to work on.

As Yonah Wolf observed, YouTube can be a great resource for studying kata. For the ju no kata, I found a very clear series of five instructional videos (from the Kodokan, I think) with detailed explanations in English. I put them on my iPhone so I can study them any time, and hopefully not flounder so much when we practice the kata in class. I also found a demo by Kano himself.

In the first technique in the ju no kata, uke aims his hand like a knife at a spot between tori's eyebrows. Sensei told us the word for that spot is "uto," which struck me as a great little word. I Googled for it when I got home and learned that the anatomical term for it is "glabella."

"Uto" is more fun to say, though.

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