Judo literally means 'the gentle way'. But when you are gripped in a choke hold, struggling to move and breathe, you have little left to do other than ponder the irony of the English translation.

Any sport where the first thing they teach is how to fall doesn't bode well, but beginners often spend several sessions learning not to hurt themselves while the other guy is hurting them.

"The key to being thrown is to relax your body," said Team GB trainer Billy Cusack. "It's the people who are too tense that hurt themselves when they hit the mat."

So, in other words, while the other guy is trying to force you into submission, relax. Except the guy I am fighting is a woman. More accurately, 30-year-old half-middleweight and British Olympian Sarah Clark, from Edinburgh.

"Aged nine, I was the only girl in my judo class for ages and my sister came along and did it for a bit," she says.

"My mum and dad knew straight away I liked it and that I was probably quite good at it. So I progressed through the grades, competitions, areas and nationals. It was pretty tough - I used to get a bit of a beating sometimes but I just kept going because you had to go to get picked for nationals."

At 5ft 8in compared to my 6ft 7in, I have a considerable reach advantage but that is about it.

"Height is a strength and a weakness - it depends if you have the skill to use it," she says, knowing I didn't.

Ostensibly, the object is to pin your opponent on the ground principally on their back or force them to submit in a choke, strangle, or armlock that lasts around 25 seconds.

This results in an ippon, which immediately wins the match. But judo is not about raw aggression - control is the key. Developed from the ancient art of Jujitsu, the martial art became an Olympic sport for men in 1964 but women had to wait until 1992.

"It's a discipline as well as a sport - its a way of life," Clark says.

"There are things you learn in judo that isn't just sport, about discipline and respect. It's also interesting to watch because there are never two fights the same. At the Olympics, you'll see a lot of spectacular throws, armlocks and strangles, and where a lot of the moves in the Ultimate Fighting Championship come from.

"You'll see how passionate the fighters are and then at the end they'll shake hands and that's it. There's no swearing, if you are rude to the referee, you are out of the match.

"It's a great sport for children because they can fight in a controlled manner without getting injured and really get their hands on each other."

Then Clark displays great strength in showing me a variety of quite painful holds.

"Come on, she's only a girl - you must be able to overpower her," says Cusack gleefully.

I find myself straining muscles I didn't know I had in trying to repel attacks from all sides - yet all the while I'm supposed to be finding a way to counter-attack - and the result is, at least, a thorough workout.

"Judo is better than the gym for fitness," says Clark. In my panting state, I am not in a position to disagree.

"Every morning we are on the mat doing technique work for an hour and a half. In the night-time, we have Randori sessions which are basically fighting and sparring. And then we supplement that with a gym session every day."

All of which is of course aimed at the ultimate goal: a medal in Beijing.

"I am just looking to perform to the best I know I can - if I can string my best fights together, I am sure I can come away with a medal but I am trying to be philosophical about it," she adds.

Perhaps Clark could draw inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi: "In a gentle way, you can shake the world."

Here's hoping she can.

• View videos, podcasts and diary entries from Sarah Clark and follow her journey to the Olympics at www.teamgb.com