Stuff I have to work on
It's almost three years since my return to judo. On the one hand, progress has been very slow. On the other hand, the overall trend has been consistently positive, and that is good news.
The thing I'm happiest about now is that my body is starting to remember morote-seoinage. Never mind that it's nowhere close to working in randori. It feels great just to do it again, to drop into that squat while holding on with both hands.
Here's a small sample of things I have to work on.
- General fitness and health:
- Cross-train (weights, calisthenics, running, stretching, balance exercises)
- Remember to ice the knee (I only tend to remember about 10% of the time, and it should really be 100%)
- Watch my diet — I weigh too much for my height and frame
- Stay hydrated
- Improve sleep habits
- Judo-specific stuff:
- Do more uchikomi, including more lifting
- Do moving uchikomi
- Practice combinations
- Practice timing of ashiwaza
- Pull when I do seoinage (I think uchikomi with a rubber tube should help with this)
- Stay on my toes
- Relax my shoulders
- Study books, web sites, and videos
- Get to class on time (which means getting out of work earlier, which is related to the sleep habits mentioned above)
The list goes on, but basically it can be summed up as: everything. I think working on my fitness, which is still terrible, would go a long way toward helping with the rest.