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Is that a Kata Guruma?

This is just… IMPRESSIVE!

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That’s how I roll!

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CMIIW, it seems to be a “failed” attempt for kosoto gake which was then connected with the actual technique, kata guruma. Is it right?

Love the setup for this variation of Kata-guruma!

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We are all Mara! Last night two of my fierce female judokas missed the training and they didn’t warn me (what is not usual). It was then that another “tomcat” told me that Mara had her nose broken in school while playing handball (her sister Lia stayed at home taking care of her). Friendship is in the moral code of Judo, so we stand together in this selfie to wish Mara a quick recovery! 

Jita Kyoei!

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I never expect that GTN would draw something... normal.

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That’s a nice tomoe.

Badass little japanese judoka doing a beautiful Tomoe-nage!

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Tried something new by painting jungle camo as I did trial run for my new airbrush. Yeah, I think I’m satisfied with it. It’s from 1/144 HG IBO Geirail, by the way.

As for the paint mix that I used, its:

> 60% Mr. Hobby Green + 30% Mr. Hobby Tire Black + 10% Mr. Hobby White FS17875 > 60% Mr. Hobby Dark Yellow + 20% Mr. Hobby Tire Black + 20% Mr. Hobby White FS17875 > 100% Mr. Hobby Tire Black

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At first, I was simply curious with the technique, but now that I knew its basics and complexity, I can't help but getting intrigued.

The return of the one-handed sode

Techniques come and go – and sometimes they come around again. Judo fans around the world got their first glimpse of a breath-taking sode-tsurikomi-goshi done off just one hand when the great Japanese champion Toshihiko Koga   used it in the 1989 Belgrade World Championships. It was a technique he would go on to use with great success in two World Championships. Around 1989 is when a young Israeli named Oren Smadga started taking part in international competitions and his specialty was sode-tsurikomi-goshi done off one hand. While Koga’s one-handed sode tended to be done in one continuous motion, Smadga’s version typically involved a two-step motion and ended up looking almost like a standing kata-guruma. He would first load up his opponent onto his back using a sode movement and take hold of uke’s trouser leg with his free hand so as to get better control of uke and then dump uke flat on his back with a somersault-like move. It was very different from Koga’s but it was arguably even more impactful. The technique spread far and wide and was utilized by players in the Americas, Europe and Asia. One of the best proponents of it was Yordanis Arencibia of Cuba whose version was very similar to Smadga’s. He used it to great effect throughout his career which spanned slightly more than a decade from early 1998 to early 2009. In 2010, the IJF began introducing new rules that banned leg grabs. At first it was a partial ban that permitted leg grabs when done as a combination attack. But one-handed sode, even when done as a two-step movement the way Smadga and Arencibia did it was not considered a combination. By that time almost all exponents of the one-handed sode resorted to grabbing uke’s trouser leg with their free hand. Such a move would have resulted in hansoku-make. And so with that, the new IJF rules effectively killed the one-handed sode. While judo players are extremely innovative when it comes to circumventing the rules – the leg-grab ban did not stop players from learning how to do kata-guruma without having to grab the legs – the one-handed sode seemed impossible to do without a leg grab. Some players tried clever workarounds like dropping onto the mat and doing a forward roll instead of doing the throw as a standing technique. When done this way, it didn’t have to involve grabbing the trouser leg but it was not very effective and did not catch on. As time went by the ban on leg grabs become stricter and stricter, to the point where it was completely banned in all circumstances, and the one-handed sode all but disappeared from the judo scene. However, recently we have seen a clear revival of the one-handed sode as a competition technique. The chief exponent of this is Japan’s Soichi Hashimoto, who used it to win his triple Grand Slams in Tokyo, Paris and Ekaterinburg. As with the case of Smadga, the one-handed sode seems to be Hashimoto’s main technique, although he also does morote-seoi-nage and ippon-seoi-nage. Recently, in the 2017 Warsaw European Championships we saw two spectacular final wins involving one-handed sode. The first was by Russia’s Alan Khubetsov in the -81kg division (above). Khubetsov had gotten a penalty before, in another competition earlier, for grabbing the pants when doing his one-handed sode. By the time the European’s came along he seemed to have perfected the throw. The other spectacular final win with one-handed sode was by Elkhan Mammadov at -100kg (above). Mammadov is no newcomer to sode although his favourite version, for many years, was a cross-grip sode variation that the great Toshihiko Koga of Japan would sometimes do. Hashimoto, Khubetsov and Mammadov all do the one-handed sode as a standing version and is closer to a one-step continuous motion than a two-step version, the reason being that without the leg grab uke would have too much wiggle room to escape if it was done in two steps. Perhaps they are able to pull of this unexpected technique because a whole generation of players have emerged who didn’t have to defend against anything like it. And maybe this could be the start of a revival for the one-handed sode.

Source:     http://www.judocrazy.com

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Since everyone seems to post their account progression, I think I’ll post mine here. Ok, so here are my grid building progress after around 3 months of playing. Currently, my short term (1 - 3 months) goal would be:

1. Looking for 5 more Levi’s SSR daggers. 2. Looking for 3 more Colo’s SSR staffs. 3. Building 6 Celes Claw dark grid. 4. Building 3 Chev Gun 3 Chev Sword light grid. 5. Finishing Bahamut Dagger Nova. 6. Fully uncapping all SR Seraph Weapon.

I think for mid term (3 - 6 months) goal, I would like it to be:

1. Finishing 1 SSR Seraph Weapon, perhaps either Raphi Ring or Uriel Gauntlet. 2. MLB-ing avatar grids. 3. Unlocking 4th class job, perhaps either Chaos Ruler or Bandit Tycoon. 4. Sparkling.

Hmmm... I guess that’s all for now. For next GBF related post, I think I will put on my reflection on what my mistakes as a noob. This might - to some degree - become a guide for another noob. Think of it as, “Don’t follow my mistakes” sort of thing.

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A good old Ura Nage is a must for every romantic relationship.

Facts of life…

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Review: Granblue Fantasy

Hello there. It’s been a while since last time I posted on my page. While work and real-life hurdles play part, I can’t deny that me being immersed in trying various new activities has distracted me from taking care of this page of mine. Among those activities is this mobile game that has been popular for a while but I’ve just recently been interested in playing, “Granblue Fantasy” – or GBF in short.

The game were being advertised as being created to emulate classic turn based RPGs like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, et cetera. It surely did. The battle system is much like those old school RPGs where you input commands like attacking, using items, casting skills, and even summoning while your enemy does the same in their turn.

If you’re the type who judge a game by its music, you won’t be disappointed by GBF. Have you ever heard of Nobuo Uematsu? Oh, sorry for the silly question, of course you have. Yes, he composed 11 tracks for this game, while Tsutomu Narita – who is also known for his work for Final Fantasy series – wrote 9. Additionally, the game has several epic vocal BGM such as Dark Silver Wings and Sanbagarasu Otoko no Uta which are just as epic as the orchestral BGM.

Story wise, the game tells you a story in a way that makes you interested in knowing what plot twist will unfold next. The main story is basically of a young Skyfarer named Gran/Djeeta (you can change your MC’s name AND sex, of course) with his friend lizard dragon journeying to Estalucia – the home of the Astrals located beyond the sky – while facing the threat of an evil empire. Along their way, our heroes befriend a girl named Lyria who has the power to control powerful beings called “Primal Beast” and met various companion.

Like other RPGs, of course, aside from main story line, it offers you many side stories and event stories to distract you from completing the main quest enjoy. These includes mini quests, character’s “Fate Episodes,” and event exclusive stories. Recently, they’ve added a new section called “Side Stories” where you can enjoy various event stories that has been finished in the past. What make GBF different from other similar games that I’ve played is that some event stories are actually part of a bigger arc that connects with another event. One of such is Defender’s Oath – currently available in Side Stories – which is the first of an arc consisted of 3 events called The Dragon Knights story arc.

Another thing that differs GBF from other mobile game is that cash is not necessarily needed to survive until end game, i.e., an entirely cashless build is totally feasible even as you reach High Level contents. While this is arguable, since some gacha based builds are evidently stronger than free build, free players can still compete with people who were blessed with gacha luck. This free build, however, still requires you to have a decent luck to have the valuable SSR weapon to drop from a boss raid.

You might spotted that I’ve mentioned gacha. Yes, that despicable mechanism exists in this game. I can even say that it’s a rather integral part of the game as while you can get SR (and recently, SSR) character from events, it still takes a while to gather a full team for all 6 elements if you rely on it alone. However, the dev is rather generous in this regard, as from time to time, you will be granted a free daily premium draw. Also, every 5 days of consecutive logins, you will be given one yolo gacha ticket (you should save this one though). Additionally, every end of the month or so, the dev usually held an event – colloquially called “legfest” – where the chance to get SSR draw doubles. Regardless, one might argue that these SSR characters are not that important until late game, as – for example – one could manage to single handedly clear a raid boss using an entirely free SR team once he had decent weapon build (which is also free).

All in all, GBF is a decent mobile game which allows you to immerse in a classic RPG environment. With interesting plot and character development to offer, this game is quite remarkable when similar games often fall back to generic story lines. While gacha is still an integral part of the game, an entirely gacha free build is – to some degree – feasible. If you are a fan of RPGs, this game is worth trying.

Beware though, as Granblue Fantasy is dubbed by some fan as Grindblue Fantasy for a good reason.

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Birth of A Fujo

From this...

to this...

Damn... Vert is scary...

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This is certainly not the development I expected.

MonGirl 4koma 96 - Harpy Support us at Patreon for more comics in future! https://www.patreon.com/collateralds

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God created Adam and Eve, not Adam and Ship.

A certain KC player.

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. by @dailymail This very relaxed, seven-month-old baby orangutan was rescued from wildlife smugglers in Borneo Taken to an animal rescue centre in Indonesia, the orangutan was quickly nursed back to health by volunteers. Smugglers poach the endangered species as infants for the profitable exotic pet trade, or to be slaughtered and used for traditional medicine. Photo credit: Jefta Images/Barcroft Images #indonesia #borneo #orangutan #cute #BabyOrangutan #wildlife #rescue #dailymail

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How about watching another despair inducing series, like the recent Adventure Tri? :3

Me, now that Danganronpa 3 is over:

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Lesson from my MD internship

One sentence: “Don’t be a person whose death is greeted by cheers and joy.”