We had a full turnout of our women coaches and mainly higher graded girls and young women who all made the most of the day, practising with energy and application.
Megan arrived with clear idea of what she would cover, knowing who would be on the mat. It was great that people registered in advance so that we had the opportunity to provide a plan that was of most use to them. The first half of the day was dedicated to gripping strategies and application to the Tsukuri stage of throwing. Megan described this as getting your grip or breaking her grip and having an impact so that you can take advantage of your work. * Gripping strategies and skills are central to competition success for adults. Megan set all this work up right from the warm ups with exercises and movements linked to the main body of the class. They were fun, appropriate, seamless and linking all the work in the session.
After lunch it was time for ne waza and Megan brought her world class moves to the group. “Excellent” said one of our youngest players. She married them up with situations from tachi waza, taking advantage of the transitions that occur. She developed all this in a methodical manner, showing how drills can work through all the possibilities and avoid fumbling opportunities that occur at this stage of a match.
And what a lovely atmosphere she generated, enthusiastic and clear in all that was done. No-one was left out, there was lots of coaching help and she constantly checked in that people were still engaged in the activities. As this is not a training squad session Megan worked the technical aspect in to free form practice, stopping short of randori, being mindful of those heading to tournaments soon.
There was plenty for the coaches there to reflect on, everyone was treated to an Olympian standard of judo delivered in a World class way.
We thank Megan for spending her time with our women and girls and no doubt she is an inspiration and a role model of the best kind. We look forward to having her here again.
