Testimonials
Customer testimonials For Judo Jaime: Your Training Uke and Fundamental Directional Judo Mat and Online Judo Class
It has been my pleasure to meet and work out ( via Zoom) with Sensei Destinee Tartuffe, the creator of Judo Jamie and a specialized judo training mat. I learned of them in an article by Gary Goltz, previously head of the USJA. I ordered Judo Jaime, and got much more than I paid for. Judo Jaime is an elegant creation made of plastic piping, and covered with a lightweight gi material. It has only one leg, which is perfect for practicing foot sweeps from either side. Jaime is lightweight but very durable, and perfect for allowing beginning students to practice moves which might prove difficult with a heavy opponent. Perhaps even more important, it encourages use of finesse and good posture, as well as maintaining correct spacing of the arms and the body. Sensei Destinee is very good at showing techniques for correct posture when entering for throws, and Jamie makes performing much easier for new student. Jamie comes with a judo belt which wraps around the mid section, making gripping easy. I did find that his "gi" slipped a bit, but this was easily fixed with a dab of glue.
Sensei Tartuffe also makes a mat for teaching correct movement which makes it much easier for beginning students to understand the sometimes complex movement patterns for entry into judo throws.
I started judo in 1968 and am currently a 4th dan. I have won medals at World Masters, Pan Am Masters, and Nationals. I am delighted to see the innovative approach taken by Sensei Tartuffe to making judo more understandable and easier to practice for beginning students. If you get a chance, try her Zoom class as well. You will learn a great deal about how to teach judo.
Neil Alex MD
Student testimonials using the Fundamental Directional Movement Mat and Judo Jaime: Your Training Uke.
The Fundamental Directional Movement Mat took me a minute to fully understand the footwork. The lines and the angles are really helpful, especially when practicing the Joshi-goshin-ho and the Physical Fitness Katas.
The Fundamental Directional Movement Mat has several different markings that helped me to understand the movement patterns for application of techniques. For me foot placement is a hard thing to visualize, but thanks to the mats I’m able to match my actions much closer to the instructor’s movements. Additionally the angles that are marked on the mat have been especially helpful during the katas and learning certain techniques to make sure that my body is facing the correct direction and allows me to easily double check by simply glancing down
The Judo Jamie and the mat has allowed us to safely practice the fundamentals of Judo, prevent injury, and avoid developing bad techniques from forming early on in our training. It’s a great way for us to get comfortable with grips and body awareness before practicing with our classmates.
In the class I have found the training tools to be very helpful. The Judo Jamie is a great way to practice leg reaps and throws while staying safe and perfecting the technique before switching to actual physical partners. The dummies also have no resistance and move in a predictable manner, which makes them much easier to throw than any human ‘uke’. The only challenge is adjusting to the one leg, which can make it a little tricky to visualize some of the throws. However, with some instruction on the principles and practice using the device the immediate benefits are evident.