I don’t know what it is about Judo, but we have allowed our sport to be defined and mislabeled without much of a fight. We are partly responsible for the way we are perceived by the general public. Our actions, and more importantly our inactions, have the public believing we are something we aren’t or shouldn’t be. Case in point: we are a cheap sport.
Last week, I had a conversation with my daughter Valerie that raised my blood pressure. She was telling me about a call she had received from an adult interested in doing Judo. He’d shopped around and knew that other arts were charging $125-150 per month. After a positive talk with her prospective student, she stated that her monthly fees were $90. That was the deal breaker. He had been told that Judo was a much cheaper activity. He said he’d call back. Sure he would.
The week before I had a similar situation. A father and son came for a visit. The son had done Judo for less than a year at another Judo club. After the practice, I mentioned to the father that his son was a little lost because our teaching methodology was different from the static uchi komi model his son was used to. The father loved the drills we did and accepted the fact that his son should know more Judo than he did. As dad departed, he said he would call me the next day after he had discussed it with his son. Well, he didn’t call, but I called him several days later. Getting to the point quickly he told me that my fees ($90) were four times what he was paying at some community center. And even though he knew he was buying an inferior product, he was going to stick with it for the time being.
What makes people believe that Judo should be cheap, but that it’s OK to pay double or triple for Judo ne waza, which we call Brazilian jiujitsu? Why are so many Judo clubs still stuck on monthly dues of $20-40, when the national average for martial arts training is $130, and training in other sports can be even higher? Are we sending a message to the public that our product is so shabby that we have to mark it down in order to sell it? Keeping Judo cheap hasn’t helped us grow. We need to get into light industrial properties and malls, but we can’t do that if we are charging peanuts for our services.
Another label I don’t like is that we are the sport that teaches you how to fall. Sure we teach people how to fall, but do we want to be defined as such? A few years ago a dad who had done Judo as a child approached me about his son learning Judo. The son was already taking karate with my business partner, but dad wanted him to take Judo so he could learn to fall. Apparently, this is all that dad had gotten out of his Judo experience. I can think of a lot of reasons why people should do Judo, and a lot of benefits they derive from Judo, but falling is not in my top ten list. It says a lot- and none of it is good for our sport’s image- when a Judo-playing dad has his son in karate, but wants him to learn Judo temporarily so he can fall better.
Another label I hate is the one that pegs us as the sport that hurts because you have to take falls. This label is the one we are 100% responsible for, so it bothers me the most. It would disappear quickly if we all had better mats and a better model of instruction to handle ukemi. Many of the Brazilian jiujitsu guys I talk to in my community will admit that they would love to take Judo if it weren’t for the falls. Sadly, every time someone steps onto a hard, Judo-inadequate surface, rather than a spring-loaded platform, and comes away from the experience turned off, the sport suffers, and the label survives.
To grow Judo, we must develop a Judo industry, where coaches run successful businesses, entrepreneurs develop audio-visual materials, and participants are willing to pay good money for a great product. If we are to grow Judo in the United States, we can’t be known as the cheap sport that hurts and teaches you how to fall, or the sport you take for a few months to be a better wrestler or ground grappler.
We need to professionalize Judo. This requires better educated coaches equipped with a sound business plan to succeed as Judo entrepreneurs, and a better instructional model that allows us to compete in the ever-changing martial arts environment. Above all, we need to start listening to the way we sell ourselves and ask for compensation. We sell, albeit poorly, a million dollar product for pennies. Why?
I’ve noticed that too. Too cheap, and from my experience people are so dumb that they don’t appreciate great things even they are for free. I’m the treasurer at my club, and I run the club like a business.
Well,
With 3 kids that I’ve had in and out of different activities, I’d have to say that I understand the cheap dad approach. However, I do believe that you’re onto something. As a developing Judoka (hopefully), I’d like to think that my discipline is every bit as ‘exotic’ as the next martial art form. Unfortunately, Judo is looked upon, I believe, as a lesser form, simply because it’s seen as a more primitive form, or a base from which to work toward other goals.
I don’t believe this myself. I see Judo as an incredibly intricate and evolved martial art form (probably due to all my days as a grappler). The basis for so many things in the martial arts are here in the form of Judo, are they not?
If I were doing the marketing, I’d focus on the incredibly diverse aspect of Judo. Throws, Strangles, Locks, Grappling, and now I’m reading, Striking, though this seems to be a little more controversial.
I’m a neophyte. But if I were doing the PR, I’d find a way to emphasize how exotic Judo really is. It’s an incredibly diverse, complicated and sophisticated form of self defense, and I would market it like one.
SB
You make some excellent points. I will refine my sales pitch for judo as a result of this…thanks.
I’ve been saying this for the past 5 years!!!!! I agree with you here, To grow Judo, we must develop a Judo industry, where coaches run successful businesses, entrepreneurs develop audio-visual materials, and participants are willing to pay good money for a great product. If we are to grow Judo in the United States, we can’t be known as the cheap sport that hurts and teaches you how to fall, or the sport you take for a few months to be a better wrestler or ground grappler.
We need to professionalize Judo. This requires better educated coaches equipped with a sound business plan to succeed as Judo entrepreneurs, and a better instructional model that allows us to compete in the ever-changing martial arts environment. Above all, we need to start listening to the way we sell ourselves and ask for compensation. We sell, albeit poorly, a million dollar product for pennies.”
YOU ARE CORRECT!
You are exactly right, and judo needs to change it’s business structure to be seen as a viable training option in today’s diverse martial arts market. Perception of a $25 monthly fee is often seen as “you get what you pay for”, and many times hurts the value people put on your service.
Also, judo in the US needs to re evaluate itself. We are at an all time low as far as memberships, and what we have is not working. Many people talk about team sports, and other social distractions, but it doesn’t help that most people go to a tournament and leave with a bad feeling, whether it be because they accidentally walked in front of a judge, or saw their kid get chewed out for wearing a colored t shirt under their gi, or even worse, lose a match because their gi doesn’t fit right or they made ONE mistake which violated a single rule that has no safety issues. I am seriously looking at moving to AAU judo and freestyle judo as more and more people are looking for no gi options, and are tired of being restricted by ever changing rules. Hey, it’s worth a try…by the way, I will be hosting my first freestyle judo tournament in OKC on May 8th, the SW Regional Grand Slam, which is planned to be an outside tournament at a popular lake area. 2 tatami areas under a canopy cover. I am sure this will violate all kinds of traditional rules as well…
Oh bravo, bravo! This is the best blog post you’ve ever made. This is the reason judo is not popular… it’s because people tend to treat it like a charity or a religion. Until we get judo out of that mind set, it will never become popular.
It’s human nature, people value things more when they cost more!
You should see how much I pay for my daughter’s gymnastic classes. And.. we pay a coaching fee. Judo is about the only sport where you don’t pay a coach for their time. When my daughter rode horses, we paid $80 to her trainer to coach her at the show. Iceskating.. even more!
this was written by a true american, so what if judo is labeled as a cheap sport. Does it really matter how much you make from teaching it? from what i have learnt in my many years of learning and teaching judo, is that if you want to teach a club you should do it for the love of judo not to make money. Most of the clubs up in Canada are all not for profit organizations, every sensei does it for the love of the sport, this shows that they are really the great teachers because they DO NOT want to get payed for something they LOVE to do.
I really hope that judo does not become like taekwondo or karate and i hope even more that no McDojo for judo makes its way up to Canada because that is what is going to ruin the name of judo.
Your response epitomizes what’s wrong with Judo in the U.S. and apparently in Canada. Nobody has mentioned turning Judo into McDojos. What has been said is that we have to become more professional. We are educators for heaven’s sake! This “teach for the love of Judo” merits a whole blog by itself.
Point in fact, Judo has NEVER been a cheap sport. The origins of American Judo was that of the Affluent (Doctors, Lawyers, Politicians).
As you all are well aware of, in order to advance ones skills requires great financial ability to attend the higher level tournaments. Let’s look at the Senior Nationals, with airfare, entry form, hotel rooms we are at a grand.
What if we are ready to travel abroad?
This country is in a Recession, many people don’t have the money to do Judo. Pay for instruction; The national average for classes is around $ 50.00 per month, the hidden fees are the problem.
While I agree that Judo gets the bum wrap, let’s face the facts that if 10 kids start Judo at the same time, 1 will remain after 2 years. After 20 years?
I’m going to have to disagree with almost everything you say here. Judo developed in the community centers, then YMCAs, which are well known for being inexpensive. Read Getting a Grip by Joseph Svinth to get an idea of the start of Judo in the U.S. Compared to other organized sports Judo has always been cheaper, and today that remains the case. We have been discussing the cost of participation in grassroots sports, not elite participation. Across the board it’s very expensive to compete internationally. The fees for advanced coaching in other sports tend to be higher than in Judo, unless they are supported by higher education institutions. See what Bela Karolyi or some of the professional ice skating coaches charge and you will see the difference.
I couldn’t agree more! I have been saying exactly the same for years, and am slowly trying to make a change. I would be interested in discussing this with you in more detail, if you would be interested?
Simon, I’d love to discuss this issue further. Feel free to contact me at glafon@judoamerica.com.
I’m sorry. I strongly disagree with the position you are taking. Judo is a superior MA for many reasons. One of the most important reasons is that instructors/coaches typically volunteer time out of a desire to become a better person through service to the axiom of Mutual Welfare and Benefit. Remuneration would destroy an aspect of Judo that allows higher ranking Judoka to continue to progress and demonstrate character.
Further, Judo is indeed a rougher sport with more risks *and* more reward. The tough nature of the sport is undeniable. Even the best tatami and springboard floor does not mitigate the concept of learning through being Uke. Giving oneself to the mat is a challenge that never gets easy for some people.
Membership dues at a not-for-profit Judo club are inclusive, inviting, and reflect the nature of the MA/sport of Judo. Judo is as popular as it needs to be…it is very popular with my family! 🙂