Having an endorphin rush and a headache from vascular constriction at the same time is crazy. I don't need drugs, I've got my blood vessels. On an entirely different note, judo throws are funny to me, at this moment in my training. In one sense, they are technically very interesting, especially in their requiring of higher-order skills in taking balance and using momentum; also, they are myriad. The things is, a huge many of them definitely require some sort of uniform to provide easy grips. When you're just down to, say, shorts and tank top, or less, most of the judo throws are impossible without major changes, and then they often just aren't anywhere near as effective (a sweaty arm or torso most definitely does provide the handholds some nice, thick fabric does). Furthermore, when strikes (as atemi or for power shots) are mixed in, the dynamic entirely changes - by-the-moment tactics take precedence over balance-taking longer strategy. I start to see the reason for the difference between traditional jujitsu and judo, where jujitsu uses strikes and hooking (using a conditioned grip to gouge or otherwise cause pain, for example), and judo uses yanks and more movement. In the same token, that makes it that much cooler to see a judo stylist throw someone around in an MMA fight - they really, really have to know their stuff.

Pascal Renoux - photos