Amputee Judoka

Hello all,

I am writing with the permission of and on behalf of a very good friend and outstanding judoka who has lived and breathed judo for the last 13 years, and is also the senpai of our dojo.

After fighting worsening circulation in his foot for the last four years, he has now reached the point of getting an amputation.

Over the last while, folks from our dojo have compiled quite a bit of evidence of other judoka walking the same path, which has eased his mind quite a bit, as his primary concern was not being able to practice judo afterwards.

The thing is, none of us at the dojo have much (or any) understanding relating to what it means to practice judo on one foot.

My request to those reading is this:  If you have known anyone in such circumstances and have any insight/cool stories to share, they would be greatly appreciated.

If you are one such judoka, or know one who would be willing to talk to or exchange a few emails with him to give him a better idea of what to expect, could you PM me your contact info?

Many thanks in advance!

A great Australian Judoka by the name of Henry Lewiston was an Amputee and this minor setback never stopped him from teaching or throwing anybody around.

Joe Walters from NJ has one leg and is a great judoka! He has shared many stories (and beers) with me over the years!

My favorite is that he had practiced and competed for years and his only competition ippon was at the Kodokan! He said it was the most satisfying throw he had ever done!

His son wrote a book about him. I'll find the title and post!

heikojr

Strength in Numbers is the name of Joe Walters' son's book!

heikojr

Not a judoka, but a grappler who's had tremendous success despite only one leg.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthony_Robles

In the US anyway, you're going to find more experience with wrestling and amputation. However, you can take a lot of the basic principles of wrestling and amputation and apply them to judo.

Part of the question is how much of the limb gets amputated as a BK amputation results in very different center of gravity as opposed to AK, and BKs tend to use their knee a lot.

With the shift away from allowing leg grabs, it becomes essential to work on balance, and balance when in contact with your partner. After that, it's just a matter of modifying technique to work with your body. It takes a ton of work to modify and get everything as smooth as you remember doing it with two legs, but he'll get there. Try to avoid frustration, but frustration will come. When it does come, roll with it.

I really suggest working newaza first as it translates easier and isn't as frustrating.

The amputee I worked with "socked" his stump. He'll have to adjust his pant leg if more than the foot is taken as that flappy bit of pant leg can really get in the way - like having a ponytail attached to the bottom of your leg. If it's AK, he can fold and tuck it into the waist of his pants, though my friend said that was a bit like wearing weird footie pjs that didn't move as much as he liked. So, a "sock" and plenty of tape. He'll really have to monitor his stump for mat burns, and take a lot of care of it - it can easily get injured, and depending on how much feeling he has, he might never know it.

As an experienced judoka, he'll just have to teach himself. If he gets stuck on something, video can help him look at things like debana, kuzushi, and where his COG is. It's very do-able, especially if he loves judo and is flexible in his thinking - just a new set of problems to solve. Further, he may be able to recruit other amputees as he goes through the rehab after surgery. He can also talk with his physical therapist and prosthetist for help, exercises to regain his sense of balance, and for contacts in other grappling sports locally.

I recommend the Walters book.

Hey all,
A belated thanks to everyone who took the time to post here!  As a follow-up, I thought I'd share this video from a week ago.  If I got my dates right, this is about 5 months post amputation, and Johny K is working his way back through the throws, figuring out how to make them work with one leg.  He's been doing newaza since about 2.5 months after surgery, but as far as stand up goes, his goal is to be back to randori in January.  I should also mention that he is blind (no vision at all).  The guy is a real leader in the dojo and I really consider it a privilege to train with him.  Anyway, without further ado, here is John Kuchinski throwing a drop seoi nage.

You should get in touch with Scott and Heidi Moore over at Denver Judo (http://www.denverjudo.com/) I know they're always involved in outreach and development for paralympic judo. As a blind athlete, those are the people to know.

He looks pretty good, though you can really see when he hits and commits v. when he's a bit off or doesn't fully commit. Glad he's being flexible about figuring out how throws work. Even happier to know that he's participating as fully as he can as he heals up. Tell your student he's got a fan in MA. Can't wait to see what he looks like a year on, and assume that he'll have a couple of shiai under his belt by then, plus a couple of real, go to throws. Also think he's going to be a monster on the ground with people his size.

I can't help but wonder - is he going to develop a sort of hunched over fighting style? Or, can he use the start position and hop further/deeper into his partner and really send him flying?

WashYourGi wrote:Hey all,
A belated thanks to everyone who took the time to post here!  As a follow-up, I thought I'd share this video from a week ago.  If I got my dates right, this is about 5 months post amputation, and Johny K is working his way back through the throws, figuring out how to make them work with one leg.  He's been doing newaza since about 2.5 months after surgery, but as far as stand up goes, his goal is to be back to randori in January.  I should also mention that he is blind (no vision at all).  The guy is a real leader in the dojo and I really consider it a privilege to train with him.  Anyway, without further ado, here is John Kuchinski throwing a drop seoi nage.

Jesus! He's blind and is an amputee? That's impressive. I guess I'll stop bitching about my Randori frustrations right about now!

Here's an event solely for disabled grapplers:
http://grapplersheart.com/