Blog

Update Friday 14 January 2022: We will be starting back on Monday 7 February 2022, we will return to previous timetable. We are very excited to get back to running classes again and working with each of you. Dear Judo Matsu Community, I hope you are all well and excited about returning to some normality....Read More

Dear Judo Matsu Community, I hope you are all doing okay during this tough time. Yvonne and I have been keeping ourselves busy with home activities, daily exercise and sunshine. We’ve been trying to take this time as a positive change to have more time for introspection, growth and resilience. I hope you are all...Read More

Whether you’re preparing for a competition, or have a friendly rivalry with your teammate during randori, learning how to “watch” and ” read” judo is an essential skill in order to enjoy the sport and solve the puzzle of how to score ippon. The best (and most interesting) way to practice “reading” a judo fight...Read More

Once you’ve signed up to train in judo, you are investing time, energy and money. So how do you get the most benefit out of your time on the tatami as possible? Having trained in the sport for 16 years, I believe anyone regardless of age or skill level, can utilise the time spent learning...Read More

Picture this – you’re running. The street is next to you, The Weeknd is pumping in your ears. Then your right earbud starts falling out (those damn earbuds). Reaching up with your left hand, you catch it and push it back into place. There’s about 0.5 of a second as your arm crosses your face,...Read More

Judo is one of the most effective forms of self-defence, specifically for women. Let’s take the worst case scenario. In most cases, a predatory man who attacks a woman on the street will grab her. At that proximity, striking-based martial arts lose their effectiveness (they require distance and freedom of movement to kick or punch...Read More

I believe one of the primary lessons in life is that of protection. It is important to know how to protect and defend yourself. This starts with forming a strong focus of self worth. When you acknowledge your self worth, you believe you are worth protecting and have the confidence, and even the arrogance to...Read More

Judo Matsu has had a great start to the year in the competitive landscape. The Club was involved in three major competitions, including the Annual Kosen Judo Tournament, the ACT International Open; and last weekend’s, NSW International Open. The Kosen Judo Tournament – a team-based competition without weight classes and time limit on the ground....Read More

We have an odd relationship with fighting and physical contact. We remove ourselves from it, leaving it to the men and women in the UFC. What we need to understand is that there is such a thing as playful conflict or ‘Roughhousing’. Many of us have forgotten how to play fight or wrestle, grapple or...Read More