Congratulations to all Oishi players who competed in the 43rd East Coast Judo Championship on September 19. In addition to those listed below, Patrick Younan and Mike P also competed, and Arthur Zolotarevsky was on the sidelines shooting video.
Men Brown Belt
-161 2nd Place JEAN-EZRA YEUNG
-220 3rd Place DANIEL W
Men Black Belt
+220 3rd Place JOHNNY FAULKNER
MASTER (A)
-200 2nd Place MILTON CHACON
Here's Milton coming out of the turtle position to get osae-komi:
Unfortunately, I missed a big throw for ippon that Milton did. I was watching the wrong mat and didn't realize he was playing until I saw the throw out of the corner of my eye, just too late to catch it on video. Hate when that happens.
The 2009 East Coast is on the weekend of September 19-20. The Cranford Invitational is October 11. Application forms available at the Hudson Judo site or the Cranford JKC site.
I posted this on Facebook a while back but neglected to post it here. This was taken on Hisato's last day at the dojo before moving back to Japan. Nice smooth technique. (Hisato — a belated Happy Birthday! I hope you're doing well!)
The reason there's no sound is that I was shooting at 210 frames per second, and my camera doesn't capture audio in that mode. Although it's cool to be able to shoot that fast, in the future I'd probably prefer to shoot at normal speed and slow it down in software. Not only would I get sound, but the video would be less grainy.
I'm still alive and kicking. Unfortunately I've been neglecting exercise for the last two months. In particular, I haven't been rehabbing my knee properly, and I don't want to return to judo until it's reasonably strong.
A few days ago I started a "30 for 30," which is a thing Rhadi Ferguson started. Here's the Facebook blurb:
Please commit to join Dr. Rhadi Ferguson for 30 Minutes of Cardio for 30 days which is called the 30 for 30 challenge. If you are "in" your only requirement is to check in daily and report what it is that you did for the day.
I've been trying to use variety to keep it interesting. Here's what I've done so far:
Day 1: 75-minute walk.
Day 2: 70-minute brisk walk, including a detour into the 53rd St. subway station to go up and down the stairs twice.
Day 3: Mixed jogging and walking (mostly walking) for 35 minutes.
Day 4: Jogged to the gym, did 34 minutes of exercises using a step platform, a rubber band, and the floor.
Day 5: Skipped rope at the gym, alternating one minute on and one minute off, for 31 minutes (16 sets). Followed this with some non-cardio exercises.
On the down side, my strength is practically nil. It's embarrassing the basic exercises I'm struggling to do.
On the plus side, the weather in the evenings has been great. I did Rhadi's previous 30 for 30 back in April, not long after my meniscus surgery, and all my work then was in the gym. Getting outdoors has been a refreshing change. Also my lungs are holding up well. Breathing hard is strenuous but it doesn't grind me to a halt like it's done in the past (my theory is that I had a lingering low-grade infection). If I can breathe hard then I can make progress.
For extra motivation, I got a gadget called the Nike Plus that slips into a special hole in my Nike running shoes. It's basically a pedometer that sends data wirelessly to my iPhone. The iPhone talks to me at various intervals during the walk or run to tell me my progress. It lowers the music volume temporarily and restores the volume when it's done speaking. When I get home and connect the iPhone to the computer, the data is uploaded to a web site where I can review my history and get bits of encouragement, like congratulations on doing 10 total miles.
I've read complaints about the calibration of the Nike Plus, but I don't care as much about accuracy as general trends. So far, having used it three times, I've found it fun and motivational, and it appeals to the geek in me. We'll see whether the novelty wears off over time.
So that, plus watching what I eat, is what I've been up to fitness-wise. Hope to see you folks in the dojo in a few weeks.
Paul Virtue pointed me to this. It's an episode of an old educational cartoon called The Funny Company. I recommend skipping the introductory cartoon-y stuff and jumping to the 3-minute mark.
The YouTube caption says:
The Funny Company,originally commissioned by Mattel Toys, featured mini educational films, cleverly sandwiched within each animated story, to help illustrate the theme of the cartoon. This innovative 1963 series was developed by producer Ken Snyder (Roger Ramjet, Skyhawks, Hot Wheels) in response to a 1961 speech by the FCC chairman urging more cultural and educational children's programming.
Oishi Judo had a good turnout for the Hudson Promotionals on Saturday. Arthur, Zaid, Karim, Mike P, and Jon Faulkner competed, as did one fellow from the day class whose name I'll have to get. No batsugans but a few nice throws. I made a playlist on YouTube where you can see all the matches I managed to get on video. Here are the highlights, complete with slo-mo replays:
P.S. The throwers are Zaid, Jon, Jon again, Karim, and Ken.