Category: Technique

Judo Grip and Domination Camp – June 13-14 with Toni Lettner and Jenn Badertscher

Posted on by Brett Lewis

Hi Judo Family,

Ready to own every exchange from the very first grip? Join powerhouse coach Toni Lettner in beautiful Athol, Idaho (Home of the Northwest’s Largest Theme Park – Silverwood!) for two action-packed days dedicated to grip domination, big throws, and seamless Ne-Waza transitions.

Why you can’t miss this camp

· Master same side vs. opposite-side gripping, with tricks to out-grip even stronger opponents.

· Unlock new takedowns: modified Te-Guruma, Sumi-Gaeshi and Foot Sweeps.

· Elevate your own Tokui-Waza game from various grip positions.

· Tons of randori to pressure test every skill you learn.

Seminar Plan

Friday June 13

Time

Group

Focus

2 pm – 4 pm

Ages < 13

Grip basics (kumikata fundamentals), footwork games, and intro to modified Te-Guruma

5 pm – 7 pm

Ages 13 +

Advanced same-side & opposite-side gripping chains, Sumi-Gaeshi setups, transitions to quick holds & armlocks

Saturday June 14

Time

Group

Focus

10 am – 12 pm

Ages < 13

Grip reaction drills, breaking strong collars, throws to hold-down flow

1 pm – 3 pm

Ages 13 +

Dominant first-contact strategies, linking grips to your Tokui-waza, fast ne-waza finishes

3:30 pm – 5:30 pm

OPEN MAT (all ages)

Randori gauntlet & live situational rounds, apply everything you learned!

Quick Facts

· Dates: Friday–Saturday, June 13-14, 2025

· Venue: Athol Elementary School 6333 Menser Ave, Athol, Idaho 83801

Lodging: Camping at Farragut State and Ravenwood RV Resort are great

options. Airbnb and Hotels can be found in Athol, Spirit Lake, and

Coeur d’Alene.

· Eligibility: Current USJF, USJA, and USA Judo members, all belts, ages 6

(sessions split by age)

Lock in your spot now

Registration opens today and will cap quickly. Click below, grab your teammates, and get ready to dominate the grip battle:

https://usjf.smoothcomp.com/en/event/20389

Questions? email t.lettner74@gmail.com or Lakelandjudoclub@gmail.com and we’ll help you out.

Can’t wait to see you on the mats in Idaho’s lake country, let’s make every grip count!

See you soon,

Jenn Badertscher & Toni Lettner
Judo Grip and Domination Camp 2025

Practicing to win is an error

Posted on by Brett Lewis

Judo Info site is an excellent resource for information about all aspects of judo.

Judo Training Methods by Kazuzo Kudo has some good advice on important elements of judo practice. Sensei Anna Marie found this article and asked me to post it.
Specifically, she highlighted:

“Practice for practice sake is the basic element of progress. To repeat, practice for its own sake is the key to progress. Rather than thinking of throwing
or downing your opponent, think that he is actually being good enough to become the model on which you can both polish up the techniques you are good in
and learn many new techniques. Pay no attention if your opponent throws you or turns your own attack against you. Practice with the single idea of learning
the body movements and the techniques themselves. In practice sessions use as many right techniques, left techniques, and counter attacks as you can. Naturally,
with all this activity one of these practice bouts can only last two or three minutes. That is all right, but remember, work out, rest a moment, work out
again, rest again, and keep this process going throughout the entire practice session.”

The rest of the article is definitely worth reading too. I think all the advice he gives is good to keep in mind. We need to stop focusing on winning/beating our partner and instead improving our own technique.

Practicing to win is an error

Posted on by Brett Lewis

Judo Info site is an excellent resource for information about all aspects of judo.

Judo Training Methods by Kazuzo Kudo has some good advice on important elements of judo practice. Sensei Anna Marie found this article and asked me to post it.
Specifically, she highlighted:

“Practice for practice sake is the basic element of progress. To repeat, practice for its own sake is the key to progress. Rather than thinking of throwing
or downing your opponent, think that he is actually being good enough to become the model on which you can both polish up the techniques you are good in
and learn many new techniques. Pay no attention if your opponent throws you or turns your own attack against you. Practice with the single idea of learning
the body movements and the techniques themselves. In practice sessions use as many right techniques, left techniques, and counter attacks as you can. Naturally,
with all this activity one of these practice bouts can only last two or three minutes. That is all right, but remember, work out, rest a moment, work out
again, rest again, and keep this process going throughout the entire practice session.”

The rest of the article is definitely worth reading too. I think all the advice he gives is good to keep in mind. We need to stop focusing on winning/beating our partner and instead improving our own technique.

Judo Counters & Combinations

Posted on by Brett Lewis

On Thursday, I was going on about the need to make all our attacks a sequence of throws. A setup attack, a main attack, a follow up attack and so on. During competition is the wrong time to improvise a series of attacks, you need to practice the series then in rendori you will do the series. As a starting point for some sequences of setup/attack/followups , take a look at: list of combinations.