6th International Judo Summer Camp: Corrado Croceri deals with Hairi kata

Corrado Croceri 6th Dan (many time Italian Champion in the 1970s) knows how to engage the attendees and is applauded for his warm-up.

It’s five in the afternoon and we are all tired. Our muscles are right and we need to recharge our bodies. Along comes Judo Master Corrado Croceri, 6th Dan who starts with a series of stretching and joint mobility exercises.

The Judo Master chose some gentle gymnastics that led into the next topic of “Ne waza” which is the Judo Master’s specialisation.

And in particular the theme of “Hairi kata” or, in other words, how to gain control of the Uke during floor work. Tori, seated in front of the kneeling Uke, starts with exercises designed to break the Uke’s balance and to remove any support the Uke may have in order to turn him over on one side or the other.

The Judo Master continues with a wide range of variations on controls to immobilise Uke in “Osae waza”, or to strangle in “Shime waza” or to achieve the arm lock “Ude hishigi juji gatame”.

The interest in the teaching progression and the choice and logical sequence of events was intense and greatly appreciated by everyone.

As we always do, we ended the session with a “Randori”.