One of the most popular beginner judo techniques is the stiff-arm:
You get a grip on the opponent’s gi and lock your arms out straight in order to hold them off of you and prevent them from entering for a throw.
Problem is, even though stiff-arming may make it somewhat harder for the other guy to enter for a throw, it just about absolutely prevents you from doing any judo either. So long as you are stiffarming, neither guy can do good judo. You might not get thrown but you’ll never throw them either. This makes it a pretty crude tactic.
It is also a beginner trick because when we first start randori, everyone comes up with the bright idea of stiff-arming. It doesn’t have to be taught, beginners just do it. Also, a lot of beginner class time is taken up trying to show folks how to get around the other guy’s stiff-arms.
It is a beginner’s mistake, but it is a really hard habit to break, Rory Miller notes, because it works:
It occurred to me this morning that when a beginner stiff-arms and blocks a throw, it is a bad habit. Poor judo. When a skilled practitioner blocks the same throw in the same way it is “good structure.”
When a white-belt stiff-arms, it’s bad judo. When a black-belt stiff-arms, it’s good structure. I’m reminded of the SNL sexual harassment training film, starring Tom Brady:
In this case, the advice to be a black-belt is not the same as the facetious advice to be handsome. The skilled grappler is using the stiff-arm to shut down an attack he didn’t quite anticipate, so he can come back with a counter or just return to square one. The unskilled grappler is using the stiff-arm to delay the inevitable — all the while, tiring himself out and learning very, very little.
Settling in for trench warfare is a terrible strategy, but taking up a fortified position is often an excellent tactic.