Josh Katz represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in the -60kg category.
He is one of the youngest ever Judoka from Australia to compete at the Olympic Games.
Amongst his other accomplishments, Josh is 4 time Senior Oceania Champion, 3 time Senior Australian National Champion and medalist at numerous World and European Cup events, including Gold in the Oceania Open.
During our conversation, we discuss his interesting journey to the 2016 Olympic Games, juggling school and qualification events, what it’s like to be an athlete in 2021, how the Olympic qualification process is different this time around and what his plans for the future in the sport are.
*Since the time of recording Josh Katz won a Bronze medal at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.*
Nathan Katz represented Australia at the 2016 and 2020 Olympic Games in the -66kg category.
Nathan won a Bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Amongst his other accomplishments, Nathan is a 3 time Senior Oceania Champion, 2 time Senior Australian National Champion and medalist at numerous World Cup events.
During our conversation, we discuss his journey to the 2016 Olympic Games, what it’s like to be an athlete in 2021, how the Olympic qualification process is different this time around and his work with Australian Charity Life Line.
*This episode was recorded and uploaded April 2021, before Nathan had competed in the Tokyo Olympic Games or the 2022 Commonwealth Games*
Danny Harper hails from the world renowned Kendal Judo Club where he learnt his craft as a High Performance Judo Athlete and then later as a Judo Coach.
Danny is a former Great Britain Team representative, winning numerous National and International titles.
Following his competitive career, Danny set up the incredibly successful Craven Judo Academy (https://cravenjudo.co.uk) in the North West of England and is currently the North West of England Area Manager and a coach for the England Judo Team.
During our conversation, we discuss his journey from athlete to coach, the joys of making weight for competitions, what it takes to run a highly successful Judo for Schools business and the new skills required for a Judo coach in 2021.
Abigail Paduch is an Australian Judoka, how won a Bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Abigail was the 2019 Junior -78kg Asian Champion. She has won multiple Australian National Championships and Oceania Champions Golds, has numerous Junior European Cup medal’s and at the time of recording this episode, is ranked number 2 in the World for her age and weight.
During our conversation, we discuss her training program, aspirations of competing at the Commonwealth and Olympic Games and her mental preparations on the day of a competition.
*This episode was recorded and uploaded in March 2021. Since then, Abigail has overcome injuries and fought her way to a Commonwealth Games 3rd Place in the +78kg category at the 2022 Birmingham Games*
Michael Horley represented the Great Britain Judo Team for a number of years, with career highlights including competing at the 2010 Tokyo World Championships, ranking number 1 on the European Ranking list in 2013 and winning numerous European Cup medals, including the prestigious German Open.
Following his competitive career, Michael transitioned into coaching Judo athletes.
Initially at Judo Scotland, were he worked as part of their High Performance Programming, working closely with the Cadet (U18) and Junior (U21) athletes.
Michael now lives in Canada where he works as a High Performance Coach for Judo Saskatchewan.
During the conversation we discuss his competitive Judo career highlights, how he prepared mentally for competitions and how this has helped him be a better High Performance Judo Coach.
After initially gripping both of your opponents sleeves, as if you were going to throw them with Sode Tsurikomi Goshi, perform a “Twitch” movement, as if you were going to throw with Sode Tsurikomi Goshi, to get your opponent to react.
Once your opponent has reacted, change direction and throw them backwards with Osoto Gari instead, maintaining a grip of both sleeves.
What is a “Twitch”?
A Twitch, Switch or Faint, depending on where in the world you are, is the name given to the action of pretending to do a certain throw to elicit a reaction from your opponent and then throwing them, usually in a different direction, with a completely different throw.
As the name(s) suggest, the action is only a partial movement, a twitch of the hands, feet, head and/or body and not a complete entry and usually performed with no physical contact, to allow for the quick change of direction into a different throw.
How to do Sode Tsurikomi Goshi.
If you are not familiar with Sode Tsurikomi Goshi, I recently uploaded an article that explains how to execute this throw.
There is an accompanying coaching video that will give you all the information you need to learn and integrate this throw into your arsenal.
Osoto Gari (Large Outer Reap) is an Ashi Waza (Foot/Leg Technique) that is usually executed by gripping your opponents sleeve and lapel, stepping to the outside and bringing your other leg through and behind your opponents leg and reaping it back, driving through the lapel to throw them directly backwards.
There are many different competition variations of Osoto Gari, using alternative grips and entry points.
How to do a Sode Tsurikomi Goshi “Twitch” into Osoto Gary.
Once you have your Sode Tsurikomi Goshi and Osoto Gari dialled in, it’s time to bring them together in a saucy fashion. After taking hold of both sleeves, you proceed to execute your well timed “Twitch/Switch/Faint” causing your opponent to react, typically by bringing their inside leg forward to block.
As this is beginning to happen, you change the direction of your attack, bringing you leg and body across for the Osoto Gari, whilst pushing one arm across and pulling the other towards you, causing the arms to cross.
Some Final Thoughts on a Sode Tsurikomi Goshi “Twitch” into Osoto Gari.
Before attempting this style of combination, it is very important that you first learn how to do Sode Tsurikomi Goshi and Osoto Gari and then also learn how to apply them proficiently.
This is essential so that you can “sell the lie”.
If you are unable to execute a convincing Sode Tsurikomi Goshi and therefore create a “threat” for your opponent to react to, the chances of them reacting to allow the change of direction for the Osoto Gari diminish.
Your opponent must really believe that you will throw them with the Sode Tsurikomi Goshi to get the reaction that you need.
It is vitally important to maintain tension through both sleeve grips, keeping your opponent’s arms crossed over, as you drive through with the leg for the Osoto Gari.
In Judo, specifically during randori training and/or in competitions, being able to create movement and open your opponent up is essential and using this style of entry is great way of achieving this.
Have fun playing around with these techniques and also this style of entry.
