The focus of this level is to build awareness of basic positions, attacks and defensive techniques for self-defence situations and to prepare you for more advanced training.
Don’t rush your coloured belts. It’s better to an excellent white belt than a sub-par yellow belt. To get a stripes on your white belt, you’ll need to be able to demonstrate knowledge of the criteria. In order to be ready for yellow belt, you should be skilled enough with criteria to teach it to a newer student.
Stripe 1
Basic strikes (Kihon geiko) from ready position (kamae)
- Jab punch (kizamitsuki)
- Cross punch (gyakutsuki)
- Hook punch (mawashiuchi)
- Uppercut punch (tsukiage)
- Elbows (hiji)
- Knees (hizageri)
- Front kick (maegeri)
- Side kick (yokogeri)
- Back kick (ushirogeri)
- Round kick (mawashigeri)
- Hook kick (ushiromawashigeri)
- Axe kick (kakatootoshi)
Off-balancing
Without balance, you cannot effectively attack or defend. Alternate pushes and pulls to off-balance an opponent in all directions. Start by gently moving the opponent in the opposite direction to where you want to move them, then strongly move them in that direction. So, a small push to a big pull, or vice versa. Later we will add throws for each direction.
Break-falls (Ukemi waza)
- Back fall with no hand stand up
- Side fall with safe stand up
- Front fall (sprawl) with switch out stand up
- Back roll
- Front roll to escape
- Front roll turn and fight
Self-defence stages
- Avoid
- Escape
- Negotiate to escape
- Fight to escape
When the fight gets serious, we have the following exit strategies:
- Get out
- Knock out*
- Choke out*
- Control
*seniors only
Simple tegumi flow drills
These drills are designed to help you quickly identify and respond to common attacks. They also condition the arms.
- Hook clinching (kakie)
- Cross punching
- Hook punching
- Elbows
- Backfist
- Uppercut
- Hammerfist.
Basic blocks
- Upper (ageuke)
- Lower (gedan barai)
- Inside (uchiuke)
- Outside (sotouke)
- Hooking (kakeuke)
- Chopping (shutouke).
Stripe 2
Footwork
Switching, stepping and sliding forward, backward, sideways and circling.
Judo set 1
Learn at least two throws from the first set of Judo Gokyo:
- Exposed leg sweep (deashibarai)
- Knee wheel (hizaguruma)
- Supporting lifting leg (sasaetsurikomiashi)
- Floating hip (ukigoshi)
- Large outside reap (osotogari)
- Large hip (ogoshi)
- Large inside reap (ouchigari)
- Shoulder throw (seoinage).
Ground movement
These movements are essential for effective grappling. Master them in solo drills before testing against a resisting opponent.
- Rolling
- Bridging
- Shrimping
- Reverse shrimping
- Arm drag sit out (optional).
Pre-emptive combination
Drill one select combination hundreds of times that you can use as a go-to technique should you need to fight to escape a violent confrontation. Your combination may include a spear (ageuke) or helmet defence movement.
Ensure that the combination you chose is appropriate for your body type, psyche and the kind of situations you might find yourself in – responses may differ significantly between bully, DV, kidnap, mugging, and law enforcement situations.
Basic blocks with footwork
- Upper (ageuke) stepping outward diagonally forward
- Lower (gedan barai) stepping outward diagonally forward
- Inside (uchiuke) stepping outward diagonally forward
- Outside (sotouke) stepping inward diagonally forward
- Hooking (kakeuke) stepping backwards
- Chopping (shutouke) stepping outward diagonally forward.
Kick drill (Tachi keri waza futari geiko)
This two-person drill teaches balance, precision and power generation. Remember to keep your guard high and your knee up between kicks. Your partner will block head kicks, but absorb body kicks. Don’t kick your partner hard, place the kick and apply pressure for mutual conditioning.
- Hold right hands for balance (you can release later) and use your front (right leg) to front kick (maegeri) your partner’s solar plexus
- Round kick (mawashigeri) to head
- Side kick (yokogeri) to ribs
- Hook kick (ushiromawashigeri) to head
- Stomp kick (fumikomi) to knee (seniors) or osotogari (juniors).
Stripe 3
At least one defence against each basic strike, examples below:
- Jab punch – parry with rear hand
- Cross punch – parry with front hand
- Hook punch – duck and weave
- Uppercut punch – catch and trap
- Elbows – catch
- Knees – lower block
- Front kick – lower block with footwork
- Side kick – lower block with footwork
- Back kick – catch kick
- Round kick – catch kick
- Hook kick – catch kick
- Axe kick – upper block.
Clinch strikes
Strikes with various body parts including head, hands, shoulders, biceps, elbows, knees and feet while holding the opponent or their clothing. Clinches include:
- Judo clinch (sleeve and lapel)
- Collar & elbow clinch
- Over under clinch
- Neck clinch
- Double under-hooks
- Rear bear hug.
Ground positions
Learn the basic ground positions and some of important control mechanisms, particularly how to wedge the opponent’s body and utilise weight distribution.
- Back control
- Top mount
- Side control
- Knee ride
- Scarf hold
- North-south
- Closed guard
- Open guard
- Half guard.
Verbal de-escalation tactics
A study on the ‘negotiate to escape’ stage of the self-defence matrix. Tactics include the 4Ds of distracting (oh look, my friends just arrived), deceiving (I am going to vomit in your car), de-escalation (yes, I can be an idiot, can I buy you a drink to apologise?) and dialogue (ask disarming questions).
Punch drill
- Jab
- Cross
- Hook
- Weave under right hook
- Four uppercuts starting with the right hand
- Parry finger strike to throat with gedanbarai
- Uppercut elbow
- Horizontal elbow
- Diagonal elbow
- Clear arms
- Clinch, left knee, right knee while off-balancing
- Left bicep bump
- Right elbow
- Roll left hand inside to trap hands
- Push away using entire body and without extending arms.
Heian shodan
This is the first solo kata, or form. Kata builds body awareness and coordination, and reminds us of applications for techniques taught in class. See the video for detail.
Yellow belt test
Once you know all grading criteria well enough to teach, you are ready for your yellow belt. Don’t worry, we are aiming for progression, not perfection. We normally have grading tests around the middle and end of the year.
Sobukan Dojo 