What should our Judo yellow belts know?

By the time you (adult judo students) get your yellow belt (first rank beyond white) at Mokuren Dojo, you should know the following…

• 4-5 standing techniques (throws) from the first kyo of the gokyonowaza - probably mostly small ashiwaza.  Deashibarai almost certainly has to be one of these.

• Ukemi skills  sufficient to practice the above safely

• 1-2 holds or control positions (including ukigatame) and how to transition from standing techniques through ukigatame into newaza

• 1-2 productive escape actions for each hold

• 2-3 techniques (chokes, armbars) that can be done from that control position

When I say you should “know” this material, I don’t mean that you have to be the ultimate master at all of it, but you should be able to at least mimic the motions of about 80% of it (4/5 techniques) with coaching and a compliant partner.
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Most students take 25-30 mat hours to get to a sufficient level of proficiency at this material so that they are able to play with it without feeling embarrassed about their performance, but remember, a few extra hours practice is not something to be ashamed of and a few less hours of practice is not something to be proud of.
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At least 1/3 to 1/2 of those mat hours should have been spent in randori, or free play.