A few days ago I emailed  my newsletter list asking them to write down one or two sentences about some of the things you want me to cover in the future. One of the biggest things that came back to me (about 60 emails) was the fact that many Judoka need a help devising a game plan for both training and competition Judo.
A game plan is crucial for Judo success and the clearer your game plan is the more chances you have of securing some wins, or at least know what you are doing against your training partners.
There are a stack of great websites that can help you develop game plans but I found that mind maps are the best way for me (and my students) to develop game plans. Unfortunately game plans can get pretty messy as everything is interlinked simply due to the fact Judo is so complex. In the game plan below I have just filled out a mind map that looks at my game plans against lef and right Judoka.
Against the left Judoka I have 2 avenues of Judo. The first is controlling the inside lapel and the other is a game plan where I am not on the inside lapel.
The other aspect of this mind map is my fighting a right hander. Once again there are 2 avenues of my Judo. Controlling the power hand (being lapel and sleeve) or posting in my opponents right shoulder with my left hand.
Other aspects you can include are:
– stiff armed Judoka
– extreme stances
– bent over stances
– 2 on 1 grips
– double sleeve grips
After looking at my mind map below I suggest you do the same using the free online mind map tool at www.bubbl.us
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As well as a tachiwaza game plan you need to have a newaza game plan. Below is my game plan for competition newaza. You may notice that the game plan below is quite simple, this is simply because you don’t have much time on the ground in Competition Judo and you want to make sure you know what you are doing.
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I really encourage you to meet up with your Judo coach and start putting together your own Judo game plan. Over time your plan will alter and change as your skills and techniques improve or as your interests wander but this is what makes Judo so awesome.
Out of interest here is my game plan from guard when I do jiujitsu:
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and here is what I do when I am in side control in jiujitsu:
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