Judo Self Defense Kata

Yes indeed. Check the Kodokan book by Kano!

easier said than done in kata format. do you expand on the kata? meaning rather than grabbing you and waiting for you to do your technique, he's trying to kick you in the balls or something?

Kata is a pre-arranged demo. Randori and shiai are spontaneous and comprise a major part of judo training.

yes but do you ever practice the self defense material in a lively fashion? or just in kata?

Not really. Your idea is worth consideration...thanks.

cool. i only ask because i always thought that randori was really what makes judo so damn tough. of course some of the wrist locks and things are too easy to break to do completely "live" but it's that resistance that makes judo guys so hard to beat.

That's exactly right. However, if we allowed strikes to the groin and other forms of combat used in real self-defense we would risk injuring each other more often than we do currently. Judo prepares a person for a real fight better than any system short of MMA.

Judo has more to it then tournaments. So it really depends on the level of the instructor and the level of the students.

hmm correct me if I'm wrong  but don't most judo dojos fail to teach you how to dodge deflect counter strikes and blows because you won't need them in any tournament ?

I have had auttistic students, ones with ADD, and ones that were blind. Judo has helped them all.