Black Belt: Judo Skills and Techniques
Reference Young Adult Non-Fiction Sports Instruction Martial Arts Self-Defense Judo Fitness & Training
Black Belt: Judo Skills and Techniques is the 2006 hard-cover classic that judoka worldwide still hunt for on the used market. Neil Ohlenkamp—10th-degree black belt and U.S. National Team coach—condenses 40 years of mat experience into 160 large-format pages packed with step-by-step photographs. Every throw, pin, choke and arm-lock is shown from two angles so you can mirror the footwork, grip breaks and finishing details exactly as they’re taught at the Kodokan. Because the book is printed on oversized 280 mm pages, the sequences are life-size, making it easy to place the book on the dojo floor and check your form between reps.
Collectors value this first-edition for its durability: a sewn, library-grade binding that lies flat for quick reference and survives years of being tossed into kit bags. The gloss-laminated boards resist moisture better than later paperbacks, and the generous margins give you room to pencil in competition notes without obscuring the photos. While this copy shows honest shelf wear on the jacket and light edge rubs from dojo life, the interior remains crisp—no highlighting, no dog-eared pages, no ex-library stamps—so it still presents nicely on a martial-arts shelf or as a graduation gift for a newly promoted shodan.
Beyond technique, Ohlenkamp weaves in mental-training drills, injury-prevention protocols and competition rule quirks that separate modern Olympic judo from self-defense applications. Young adults preparing for rank exams will appreciate the “key points” boxes that summarize kuzushi, tsukuri and kake in plain English, while adult returnees can jump straight to the master-class sections on transition to groundwork and counter-strategies against common tournament grips. With judo now back in the Olympic spotlight and dojo membership surging, this out-of-print hardcover is the fastest way to accelerate from white belt to black without paying monthly streaming fees or sifting through inconsistent YouTube clips.
Refer to our eBay listing for a full condition report and many more high-quality pictures of this item.
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