Judo roll series

Here is the iconic judo roll series where you learn to roll safely forwards and back, like a diagonal somersault. First you learn how to roll across the back, orient in space, and uncover many new ways to adapt to the floor.

TIP: Even if some of these lessons are a challenge, simply approach the movement and test it, many times. Remind yourself that some variations will be available to you right away and some won’t. That doesn’t mean you aren’t doing the lesson. Finding a curious, joyful approach to learning IS the lesson, in any case.

Here you do a lot of rolling up the spine, into one shoulder and the other. The pelvis lifts high in the air and you practice finding the line of pressure many ways.

Sitting on the floor, practice rolling backward up over the back many ways. Discover a flexible spine and how to shift the weight higher and higher up the back without extra momentum or strain. (I do this lesson all the time when my back feels stiff.)

AY9

Here you are on your hands and knees feeling the head roll and circle on the floor while NOT using the neck, but rather the spine, ribs, shoulders, elbows, hips, and pelvis help you bend, turn, and roll. The head moves safely out of the way.

AY228

In this lesson you slide the hand through the gap and start to find support through the shoulder. As you turn the face more toward the ceiling, the toes begin to pour your weight onto the flat side of the shoulder blade.

SF/Amherst training combination

More sliding the head out of the way and finding clear support in the shoulders. Lots of rolling over the spine from the back and sitting, but don’t worry, there are lots of variations so you can always progress at your own pace. Everyone will be at a different stage with these lessons.

Such a cool, cool lesson. This is a lot of rolling over the spine again, bringing the legs over the pelvis, until you reverse it and bring the pelvis over the legs. It’s easier to do it than explain it.

At the end, you swivel up to sit by putting a knee on the ground as you bring your legs overhead and slide your head. Again, easier to do than say. Just know it has a really fun move at the end where you pop up to sit.

AY79

Another fun lesson with lots of rolling backwards over a shoulder and refining the weight shift, especially the orientation in the room, which is tricky. Then, you play with rolling backwards up to sit, then forwards up to stand. The smooth, sequential use of the spine is just amazing, as is the newfound skill in counterbalance with the head, legs, shoulders, and pelvis.

Moti Nativ on Better Judo and Feldenkrais

Moti Nativ is an Israeli Feldenkrais and martial arts practitioner. He has insightful comments on martial arts and Feldenkrais.

Fifty years on the path of Martial Arts led me to the concept of Warrior’s Awareness, which has been informed by my experience, combining concepts of the Feldenkrais Method and the teachings of Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi in Bujinkan Dojo. I researched the “Synergy of Martial Arts and the Feldenkrais Method”, learning much about Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais and understanding the influence of his 30 years as an active martial artist on the development of the FM. 

The research is not theoretical—over the last 15 years I taught 300 workshops, worldwide, enabling practical experience of acting in the changing environment. This is Feldenkrais in Practice.