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This book is written Belgian -95 kg judoka Robert Van der Walle (VdW). He has the distinction of competing in five Olympic Games between the ages of 22 and 38. That should be a refute to those who think that pick-ups only work if you are strong and fast, says VdW and I agree. There is a myth in judo that one should not use strength - wrong! Judo is strength applied efficiently and VdW proved that he could do that by competing past 35 and often beating bigger players in open weight competition.
This book covers four main techniques: morote-gari (two-handed reap or double leg grab), sukui-nage (scoop throw which is kind of a catchall name the Japanese use to describe a few distinct throws that involve picking the opponent up), ura-nage (rear throw, supplex, or just think of Dan Severn against that Thai boxer in UFC IV), and kata-guruma (shoulder wheel or fireman's carry). While all of these techniques have existed in judo (and jujutsu) for a long time they are often not considered traditional throws. Ura-nage and kata-guruma are considered classical in that they are in the Nage-no-kata but they are done differently now than they are shown in the kata (but then so are most throws). Morote-gari and sukui-nage, on the other hand, are often outrightly dismissed as bad judo by traditionalists. To me, this is silly, if a technique works for someone and it is within the rules (though the rules have been narrowed to limit leg grabbing somewhat) then we should leave it at that. A leg grab technique that is polished to a high level has just as much depth as a shoulder throw for the practitioner even if it not as visually interesting for the viewer. It is this attitude that has so restricted gripping and ne-waza in judo-to make it interesting for the audience rather than the players.
In my opinion, what turns the traditionalist off about leg grabs is not that they can be done well but that they are simple enough that they can be done randomly by someone who has not practiced them yet still work because of the surprise. As VdW says: "Of course, most reasonable judo players can make a grab at the legs from time to time. But this is very different from using morote-gari as a tokui-waza-a favorite technique-and understanding all its ramifications." However, someone who does not practice, say, uchi-mata will not get lucky and randomly succeed with it in a contest. The first upsurge of interest in these techniques came about in the 1960s and 70s when Russian and East European SAMBO-oriented players first came upon the scene. Today, we have seen leg grabs and scoops used a lot in NHB so there is a lot of non-Judo interest in these techniques as they don't require a gi and can be used against punching attacks. So the book is timely to say the least.
Sorry to say, though, that the book could have been done a lot better. The information in this book is a big improvement on what was out there which is to say about nothing. It will be clearer as I go through the techniques... First up is morote-gari. Morote-gari literally means two-handed reap. To the Japanese this means it should be a light scything action that nimbly picks the opponent off his feet like a foot sweep done with the hands. To do this you want to be close the opponent and bend (at the knees not the waist, VdW shows the proper technique) and gather the legs. If the Japanese are going to respect a morote-gari they will in this form.
The other "brute force wrestling way" is to shoot more at the legs from slightly farther away and drive the opponent back with the shoulder. VdW shows two other variations. The first is his own variation which is like the traditional variation but you cut uke down to the side. A good way to avoid getting caught in the guard. The other technique is similar, you grab the legs together as the opponent is moving laterally. VdW calls this okuri-morote-gari (sliding two handed reap) because it is like the sliding foot sweep (okuri-ashi-barai) only done with the hands. To do morote-gari, it is easiest if you go before the opponent has a grip or if he only has a loose grip on one sleeve or such. So I can understand VdW not showing a lot of set ups for morote-gari but all he shows are two diversion tricks before grips are taken to get uke to raise his hands and one combination (ippon-seoi-nage into morote-gari). But that's it! What if you go for both legs and get one? What about switching to a sukui-nage? How do you deal with some of the defenses (which VdW shows)? How do you follow it up in groundwork? None of this is in here.
If you are really interested in leg grabbing I would recommend Winning Wrestling Moves which shows you all kinds of singles, doubles, and scoops with different finishes and combinations. It may take you some work to adapt it to judo rules (in judo you can't hold onto a leg after an unsuccessful attack) but you would probably get a lot more out of it. To defend against morote-gari, VdW demonstrates a turn-away onto your stomach (okay in judo) and some kind of amazing tai chi stiffening where he blocks a morote-gari by just standing there (he claims he is pressing down). He doesn't show a sprawl which is, from what I've seen, the most common and best responses (in wrestling or judo). VdW also then shows some counters for morote-gari such as uchi-mata, hikikomi-gaeshi, and tawara-gaeshi. But there is very little explanation.
For example, there is a photo sequence of Sugai doing uchi-mata against morote-gari and you can clearly see his uke is coming in way high on him allowing him to do this move. Nothing wrong with that as many people come in too high on morote-gari but VdW should explain that He tries to let the picture be worth a 1,000 words and it just isn't there sometimes (on the other hand, Mike Swain's Ashiwaza II manages to communicate ideas with a minimum of text superbly well).
Throughout the book, a lot of the stuff is just like: "do this move against that move" without any explanation. Next we come to sukui-nage. As I said before, this technique has quite a few distinct variations. The first is the classical variation, seldom seen anymore, which is really like a kind of reverse double leg grab (Kano was originally going to put this in the Nage-no-kata but chose kata-guruma instead). The more modern variation, which is often called te-guruma (hand wheel) is kind of like a head under the arm high single leg grab with one hand and a grip around the far shoulder with the other. It is most often a counter to a turning throw (to make it easier to get your head under the arm) or a leg reap (to get a hold of the leg). VdW goes through the classical version just to show it but then moves on to the modern variation where he shows three variation of sukui-nage as a direct attack (you need to bump his arm up and get under it which is hard to do) and one variation as a counter attack. The photos here are quite detailed and show some of the intermediate positions quite well. One of the keys that VdW mentions is turning 90 degrees as you are picking him up which adds momentum and makes it easier to lift. He then shows two finishing movements which incorporate sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi and nidan-ko-soto-gari on the free leg. But the biggest problem is that, for a counter technique he only shows it once almost ignoring the fact that there are big difference in doing sukui-nage against o-soto-gari, uchi-mata, and harai-goshi.
Actually, he does try to explain these things in a short blurb of text under the photos but it doesn't really make sense when you didn't see it. And again, no follow-ups into groundwork. One of VdW's points is that morote-gari and sukui-nage can be ippon scorers (they are often regarded as being only good for minor scores, morote-gari especially) but it would be helpful to show what types of positions you end up on the ground after doing these throws and what is possible from there. To finish off, VdW shows uchi-mata and Khabarelli counters to sukui-nage and a couple of blocks against the lifting action. The ura-nage and kata-guruma sections are a little better. Probably because these throws have less variation than morote-gari and sukui-nage so they fit in better with VdW's Spartan explanation. Ura-nage is shown in its classical kata form, a direct attack form, and as a counter. He then shows a belly-to-belly ura-nage (serious bravery sold separately), the lifting knee action used by many specialists, ko-soto-gari into ura-nage, and a fake sumi-gaeshi set-up.
Unfortunately, nothing about ura-nage into yoko-guruma, no counters, and no groundwork follow-ups. Kata-guruma comes last, and in this instance I won't fault VdW for not showing too much. The fact is, this move is incredibly hard to do above lightweight and few people really bother specializing in it. VdW just shows the traditional, modern, and cross-grip forms. He then shows the Drop Knee variation which is the one seen most often in contest. One thing perhaps he could have shown is drop knee seoi-nage into kneeling kata-guruma.
The book finishes off with some miscellaneous pick-ups such as a front-entry sukui-nage (I would have loved to see more of this), Khabarelli and Side Khabarelli (you have to see it), Hikoki-nage (Airplane Throw-kind of like a power slam in Pro Wrestling), and Ashi-tori-o-uchi-gari (Leg Grab Major Inner Reaping-as I said before I would have liked to see this integrated into the morote-gari and sukui-nage sections). And VdW also shows ushiro-goshi (reverse hip-a kind of tame ura-nage) and utsuri-goshi (changing hip throw). And finally some photos of pick-ups in competition.
One final good thing I can say about this book is that it makes you eager to go out there and try some of the stuff. That is where a lot of pick-ups came from - experimentation.
Pick-ups definitely lacks combinations, explanations, and groundwork follow-ups. I think a better idea would have been for VdW to have written a book on just morote-gari and sukui-nage (and other variations on leg grabbing) as these were his techniques. Get more explanation and more variations. And then find some Russian player to write a book about ura-nage, kata-guruma, and the Khabarelli (these techniques seem to go together).
Thus, despite the low rating, I do have to commend the book. It is a big step to have a book written solely about these techniques in the conservative world of judo.
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Last updated
07/23/04
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