Of Threats, Fear, and Courage to Change

With the latest scourge coming from the IJF, discussions are heating up, and more and more disgruntled coaches and players are ready to go in different directions.  Some are leaving Judo outright, because they are unable to comprehend that options short of quitting Judo are available.  Some are saying that they are not leaving Judo, but that Judo has left them.  Fair enough.  Thankfully, many more are discovering Freestyle Judo and realizing that FSJ offers a return to the way Judo ought to be played, and that the Judo community doesn’t revolve around the IJF.

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Background Checks

With great fanfare, the Amateur Athletic Union recently announced that it was implementing “historic child protection measures to ensure the safety of youth athletes.”  Among the measures; background checks.  Our national Judo organizations have had mandatory background checks for coaches for years.  Sadly, routine background checks every four years have not stopped inappropriate, sexual behavior between underaged children and their coaches.

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