Today I finally made it in to a judo class. This is the first class I’ve been to in a couple of months, and also the first class since I really started hitting the Wendler 5/3/1 and CrossFit Football stuff hard.
I have been a bit disappointed in my strength gains. However, most of this dejection and despair is based solely on my deadlift numbers, which are woefully inadequate in my own mind. After tonight though, I can definitively say that I am stronger. I may not be much stronger, but I AM stronger.
As anyone who participates in a sport knows, there is no better training for your sport than to do your sport. As John Welbourne, aka the guy behind CrossFit Football and a former NFL pro says, you get in shape for football by playing football.
Because of life and work obligations I have not been able to make it to judo class much in the last year, and only a few times in the last three or four months. Tonight, I didn’t expect much, but I was pleasantly surprised. My technique felt smooth. I was confident. I was able to throw without much difficulty, and we hit the big, hard throws: Ippon Seoi Nage, Morote Seoi Nage, Uchi Mata, and Tomoe Nage. While my technique was as good as can be expected considering how much day to day practice I’ve had, my strength gains came in handy when a uke resisted and I was able to just pick them up and complete the throw, something I would not have been able to do a few months ago.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying technique and lots and lots of practice is not important. I’m just saying that in a pinch it doesn’t hurt to be strong.
As Mark Rippetoe says “Strong people are harder to kill than weak people, and more useful in general.”
Go Tami Go 