Second Term Kicks Off in Pukekohe

Judo started for the second term in Pukekohe this week. This week has been awesome.  We are all very happy to see the kids back on the mat and re-structuring our classes is working well.

 In Pukekohe we now have four classes with three levels of ability. Starting with beginners building up to the kids that are starting to compete. Check out these cool photo!

Little Kids and Beginners

From 5.15 to 6pm on Tuesday  Tracey takes a little class for beginners and the smaller kids.  She teaches the basic and the small class size lets her work really closely with the kids,

Bigger Kids

On Tuesdays and Fridays at 6pm we run classes for the bigger more experienced kids.Tracey and Ben share the instruction. On Friday's at 7pm we run a competition class for the kids that are going into competition.

A nice group of well-behaved kids learning Judo. 

Big Judo is a Kosen Judo School so we always start with ground fighting and put a strong emphasis on this aspect of grappling. Here are the kids lined up ready to go.

Into it!

A great sight heaps of kids enjoying themselves doing Judo.

Wouldn't be Judo though if we didn't practice getting the other guy (or girl)  down on the ground.  

Big Judo - Judo for Rugby

Last photo of the team at Kings. I'm hidden away in the middle and Tracey is at the side.  A great group of people to work with. The team were mature, responsible and really got stuck into the programme.  The coaching staff were also really friendly and supportive.  

Bottom-line - We had a great time working with this team and wish them the best of luck this season.  

Big Judo Puke - More and More Kids Keep Joining

The kids classes at Pukekohe keep on growing. We now have two sessions and are getting more than twenty on the mat most nights. Keeps the instructors busy!

In fact soon we may have to start splitting the classes!

The team warming up.

Sticking to our Kosen Judo heritage ground fighting is a key component of our training. 

The thing we like the best though is that we are starting to get some of the Dads on the mat both helping with the kids and training with our Senior Class.  Tracey is also talking to some of the Mums about doing a Women's Class.  Like we tell everybody Judo is a great sport for the whole family!

Big Impact - Judo for Rugby

Big Judo's 'Big Impact' Judo for Rugby programme with the Kings College First XV is going great.  We are now in the fifth week and are really enjoying delivering the programme.

'Big Impact' started back in November 2013 when we sat down with the coaching staff discussed what they wanted to achieve and how we could use Judo techniques to deliver a programme that would meet their requirements.

The fact that we are experienced playing Rugby and League as well as Judo and have access to good technical advice on Rugby rules meant that we were able to develop a pretty specific programme designed to meet the coaches objectives.

'Big Impact - Judo for Rugby' will continue to evolve. When we finish the programme we work with the coaching staff to assess the effectiveness of the training,  So the next time we deliver this programme it will be even better.

The guys on the mat.  We are doing some skills instruction. Judo features a range of body movement skills that help players especially in the tackle, standing in the ruck or maul, turning an opponent in the tackle or moving them on the ground.  When we work with a rugby team we talk to the coaching staff and develop the programme specifically to meet their training needs.

Drilling movements off the mat while the rest of the team is wrestling on the mat.  'Big Impact - Rugby for Judo' uses a lot of supervised wrestling because it provides a great learning environment in which to practice the body movement skills we teach and to condition the players.  If the mat area is too small for all the squad to wrestle at once we split them and drill movements and strengthening exercises.  A key objective is to maximise the benefits of each session. 

Ground wrestling.  Safety is paramount and we always start our wrestling programme on the ground with players fighting from the kneeling position.  This allows the players to assimilate skills without the risk of big falls.  When we are confident about their ability to fall we include standing wrestling. The crash pads at the side allow the players to practice very dynamic 'turning' in the tackle movements with less risk of injury.

If you are interested in 'Big Impact - Judo for Rugby' drop me an email - ben@benstallworthy.com

Big Judo Kids Going Great Guns

Kids Judo is going 'great guns' we are in the third week of our first term and both Pukekohe and Central are getting awesome numbers and are having some really good classes.

Check out these photos and see what a great time the kids are having doing Judo.

'Mr Big' at Puke

A recent photo of the Puke Class lined up ready to bow off the mat.  Big Judo sticks to traditional protocols and we place a lot of emphasis of good behaviour and discipline on the mat.

The Big Judo instructors at Puke. Geoff, Ben, Karen and Tracey.  Tracey normally leads the kids classes but we all like to help out.  We also have a nice group of little brothers and sisters that come along. 

Central is going well too. This is some of the kids from our Beginners Class practicing fight on the ground. When they get a bit bigger we will move them up to our Big Kids Class.

Another shot of the beginners.

Here are Jordan and Ben with the Big Kids Class. At this stage the kids are starting to get graded and to compete in contests so the instruction gets a bit more technical. 

A nice shot of some good ground control being displayed by one of our big kids. 

Pukekohe Judo

Kids classes have started for 2014 in Pukekohe. We now have two nights Tuesdays and Fridays and the classes are going well. Tracey is leading the instruction and we have even got a few new members! 

Judo for Rugby - Big Impact - Judo for Rugby

Judo is an awesome option for rugby pre-season training. Grappling combat sports like Judo, Wrestling and Jiu Jitsu have been used by rugby teams as a pre-season training option for a long-time both in New Zealand and around the world.

This year Big Judo is pleased to be working with the King's College First Fifteen delivering our 'Big Impact - Judo for Rugby' training package.

Pre-season training in Judo and other grappling combat sports is a safe and effective option for conditioning and teaches rugby players new skills for maneuvering opponents in the tackle, ruck and maul.

Keep checking the website because we'll put up some photos and videos of the training.

If you are interested in 'Big Impact - Judo for Rugby' either email me at ben@benstallworthy.com or call me anytime on 021 688 289.