Trees on a judo mountain

“Looking at the poems of Basho (one of the most famous Japanese poets), one finds that the concepts of Immutability and Change are very much at the centre of his thought.

The immutable backbone of Judo is the aim of human perfection through judo training, the ideal being the peak of universal morality.

In judo this high ideal is accepted as the aim, but in the practice of the technique (jutsu) itself it is made clear that the ideal is always to be kept before the mind, and this I think is the immutable aspect of Kodokan Judo.”

Kano, R., 1953. Immutability and Change. Judo Quarterly Bulletin, July, IX(2), pp. 14-15.

These are some of the words of Resei Kano. The former President of the Kodokan and the International Judo Federation, written in April 1953, in the Kodokan magazine, Judo. (The reference is for the English Translation in the Budokwai Quarterly Bulletin).

That took me to research a little more about Basho. Born in 1644, near Ueno, now part of Tokyo, he is famous as a writer of haiku poetry. Then I came across this haiku by Shoji Kumano. It seemed rather topical at the moment;

Enjoying three bowls of zoni 
At the New Year's breakfast;
Millionaire as he is!

三椀の　雑煮かゆるや　長者ぶり  (Sanwan no　zoni　kayuru ya　chojya buri)

 (http://www.hokuoto77.com/buson00.html#new year's day)

Background: 'Zoni' is a soup containing mochi (rice cakes), vegetables and other ingredients. To cook zoni was very expensive for the common people in the Edo period(1603-1868). 

Earlier in my career, I was lucky enough to be employed as a manager by Syd Hoare. Syd is a legendary judoka, who competed in the Tokyo Olympic Games. His company was called Yamagi Ltd. Hi told me that the company name was drawn from a traditional poem about a secret principle of judo;

The trees on Mount Tsukuba are extremely thick but from time to time a moonbeam penetrates.

(Tsukubayama ha yamashige yamashige keredo
Konoma konoma ni tsukikage zo moru)

This is article 171 in Syd’s book “Judo Strategies”.

Earlier this month I had the privilege of giving a lecture at Tsukuba University. It was formerly known as Tokyo Higher Normal College, and the Principal for 25 years was Professor Jigoro Kano.

I was talking to around 200 undergraduates. Discussing matters related to violence and bullying in sport.  I reminded them that they are the generation to deliver the legacy of Tokyo 2020, and that one legacy could be the eradication of violence from the Japanese sporting society, far more lasting than any bricks and mortar.

Hopefully some of you reading this will have athletes with aspirations to compete with distinction at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Judo Competition. As they eat like millionaires to celebrate this new year, they will dedicate themselves to another year of hardship and hard work. They are trying to create a personal legacy.

I have chosen to dedicate the rest of my career to supporting the athletes, coaches and federations who choose that journey of hardship and hard work. I founded Judospace Ltd, so named as S.P.A.C.E. (supporting player and coach education). I work with a remarkable team of people, committed particularly to helping coaches transform their athletes into judoka.

As we step into another year, another step along the way, we would like to thank everyone that we have worked with in 2013, and re-commit ourselves to having even greater impact in the coming 12 months.

Happy New Year.

A dream for judo

While the IJF 2013 World Senior Judo Championships were thrilling the audience in Rio de Janeiro, the free world celebrated the 50^th Anniversary of the civil rights march to Washington DC, and the famous “I have a dream” speech of the visionary Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

http://www.archives.gov/press/exhibits/dream-speech.pdf

Recently there was a discussion on social media about coaching and the development of a judo system. One post referred to the speech and said that his dream for judo is “'- that every town, borough or city will have a permanent dojo with quality facilities.”

The comment got me thinking, about what my dream is for judo.

I have a dream that those dojos in every town and city of the world will be based in a place of learning. That every school, college and university, will have a dojo, and that judo will be synonymous with education. That the values of judo will be taught in the classroom, and the values of the classroom will be taught in the dojo.

I have a dream that those dojos are led by great coaches. That those dojos are led by educated coaches. Are led by coaches who have devoted their own time to the study of how to make their dojo better, the pupils better, their athletes better. Coaches who have studied diligently about how to change lives through judo.

Without great coaches, dojos are empty, sometimes intimidating, sometimes scary, and sometimes dangerous. Without great coaches that embrace the values of judo, dojos can encourage arrogance, deceitfulness, even bullying.

Great coaches, educated coaches, encourage the development of the whole person. They encourage hard training, technical excellence, respect for others, seiryoku-zenyo and jita kyoei.

At Judospace we are committed to helping coaches become great. Recently we have teamed up with KokaKids to create more opportunities to link judo and education.

http://www.judospace.com/news/koka-kids-and-judospace-educatio/

http://www.kokakids.co.uk/benefits-of-judo-for-school-children-guest-blog

To find out more about our work visit www.judospace.com

or follow us on facebook https://www.facebook.com/Judospace

Judo Coaching: great coaches make great players

If you are a judo coach you have a very important role. If you are paid as a judo coach, then you have a very important job.

Why is it an important job?

You have a responsibility to your judoka, the athletes that trust you. The trust is often built on respect. Your judoka respect you, your behaviours and your opinions. They value your knowledge, they learn through the way that you communicate that knowledge.

When you share knowledge effectively, it can be utilised by the judoka to win a match. The judoka understands that the win is because of the knowledge that you shared with them. This reinforces their belief in you, and the knowledge that you have, and your ability to communicate it effectively.

Sometimes your knowledge is found wanting. You are not really sure how to deal with a certain opponent, or a certain kumi-kata situation. You are embarrassed at your limited knowledge in a certain area. You try to hide it. Maybe you convince yourself that you think you know the answer. Your judoka trusts you. They try their best, but they don’t succeed. Your limited knowledge let them down. There is a small chink in their respect for you. They are not sure to fully believe you the next time. Gradually the relationship breaks down. The trust and communication that you had together starts to fall apart. Each thinks the other is to blame.

How can we avoid this? Certainly you cannot hope to win all the matches, your relationship cannot be built on only winning.

If we think about a judo competition, in each round, half the players win their matches, and half the players lose their matches. That’s the sobering thing about judo. You either win or lose. If you keep a record of the matches of all your judoka, if the win record is better than 50% you are doing better than average.

If your judoka can see that you are constantly trying to improve your knowledge, they will see that you are investing your time to help them. They will see that you are studying for mutual welfare and benefit. They will have greater confidence that the suggestions that you make are based on reflection, on evidence, on research.

Research, evidence and reflection can help the judo coach to make better decisions, to offer better advice, to have access to a wider range of ideas. Study into communication methods and techniques can help the decisions, advice and ideas be understood and applied more effectively and more efficiently. Maximum efficiency with minimum effort.

Study hard, don’t expect it to be easy, and your players will benefit. They may even win more matches. The harder you work, the luckier they get.

Good luck to all your judoka.