AAU Rules to the Rescue

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Two days ago, I hosted my first in-house tournament of the year. Before the event started, I made my usual announcements regarding its format. When I said that we would be using the old rules, the spectators applauded, giving credence to my opinion that not many people appreciate the new rules, which penalize players even more than before. We often market Judo as the second most popular sport in the world, but maybe we should be known as the most penalized sport in the world.

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Promotions Run Amok

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It’s no secret that high dan promotions have been spiraling out of control for decades in the United States. Formerly, the USJA was pretty much the sole culprit when it came to issuing unmerited high dan promotions. Recently, however, I have noticed some questionable promotions made by the USJF and USA Judo that make me think that the floodgates are now wide open on all fronts.

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Submissions for Kids?

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To follow up on my last blog entry, I created two new polls dealing with submission skills for children. I hope you will take time to vote, and encourage your Judo friends and students to do likewise. I am convinced that the results will show that it’s time to rethink our policy vis à vis submissions for children. An attitude adjustment may help us stay more relevant in the grappling world.

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The Sissification of Judo

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Let’s be honest. In an attempt to overprotect participants and redefine the aesthetics of Judo, we are witnessing as never before the sissification of Judo. We have removed and penalized so many things that we are left with a sanitized version, a shell, of what used to be one of the most comprehensive forms of grappling. For those of us in areas where Brazilian jiujitsu and mixed martial arts are popular, today’s sport Judo is not helping our cause one bit.

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What’s Up With The USJA?

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AnnMaria De Mars and Jim Pedro, respectively the president and vice-president of the USJA, resigned a few weeks ago. Pedro did so during a conference call meeting of the USJA Board of Directors, and De Mars resigned the following day.

Emotions are running high. Some USJA members are threatening to pull out of the USJA and join USA Judo.  Makes sense to me- NOT.  If there was ever a dysfunctional, worthless group to join, it would have to be USA Judo. So guys, knock yourselves out and join USA Judo if you think it’s going to care more about your opinions and welfare.

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Youth Technical Director

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“Player development continues to be the core of what we do. By its very nature it’s a long-term process, so it may not be as sexy as announcing a national team competition or coach or winning medals, but it’s actually probably the most important thing we do.”

Wouldn’t it be nice if this were coming from USA Judo? Well, it didn’t come from USA Judo. It came from U.S. Soccer’s president, when he introduced the federation’s newly appointed youth technical director.

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