Judo... getting stronger

Hey, haven't posted in a while. Just had the U of M tournament this weekend. Only had two fights, and came up on top, but I know I have a lot to work on. Yesterday, during the practice, I had the chance to work with Nakamura... well, more like be tossed around by him, but still, very educational. I was always told I need to move more, and up til now, I thought I needed to move my body around more. Now I see that it's the space between me and my partner that has to be moving. I have to push, then go in. If I want to go back, I need to go forward, then back. Or up and down. It's totally the action/reaction concept, so simple and basic, but somehow, I missed in my training. Or if I have a notion of it, I'm just not doing it decisely enough. Like Nakamura was like shoving me back then dropping under me like a bullet, so fast that you're landing on the ground w/out a clue of what hit you. That's the kind of judo I'm talking about, and that's the kind of judo I want to be doing. So I'm going to work hard on that for many practices until I get it. I'm not that far, I just need to not hesitate... because each time I'd push, I would not go in because it felt uncomfortable. I need to wait for that reaction, when they push on me. Also gotta watch more videos.

My mental confidence is building again. I haven't lost anything. In fact, I now have a better idea of what I need to improve on, compared to before. My body is still strong and fast, and my mind is sharp, I just need to keep practicing, keep pushing myself, and keep improving my judo. My next goals are:

- move! (using grip, pushing/pulling to open)
- work on taitoshi (improve speed, entry, combinations, setups)
- keep strengthening my knees (jump squats, goalies)
- watch more videos
- improve my ashiwaza (sweep papers, watch fighters who do ashiwaza)

Coming up: a week-long national training camp in Montréal and 3 day clinic with Gella Vandecaveye, a tournament in Belgium, and possibly a training camp at Tokai University, Japan.