By Nik Fairbrother, 8th Dan, Koka Kids editor.
I’m a great believer of learning as many judo techniques as you can, especially when you are younger.
It’s how my Sensei Don Werner taught us all at Pinewood. Each session, we would cycle through all the main waza in The Gokyo – seoi-nage, tai-otoshi, o-uchi-gari, ko-uchi-gari, uchi-mata, okuri-ashi-barai, osoto-gari, sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi… the list goes on.
The beauty of Don’s approach was in its repetition. We’d spend just a couple of minutes on each waza – enough to ingrain the movement. This constant rotation through the techniques, every session, created muscle memory that stayed with me for decades. It wasn’t about mastering everything at once; it was about planting seeds that would grow over time.
If you’re interested in exploring more judo techniques yourself, head over to Judo Throws – a completely free resource created for the judo community where you can see all 40 throws of the Gokyo no waza.
For more about Don Werner >> go here
Learning the complete Gokyo is about building strong foundations.
