Tag Archives: IJF rules

Rumblings in Las Vegas, Part I

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Gerald Lafon

This past weekend I was in Las Vegas attending the All Women’s Judo Championships, a USJA board meeting, and the USJA National Coaches Conference. Here are my thoughts on what I saw and heard. When I was informed about the … Continue reading →

Posted in Judo Competition, Judo Rules | Tagged , | 8 Comments

Where’s Judo’s Futsal?

Posted on November 3, 2009 by Gerald Lafon

Three recently published books- Outliers: The Story of Success, Talent is Overrated, and The Talent Code- have dealt with a common theme: ten thousands hours of deep, deliberate practice over ten years are required to achieve mastery in any field. … Continue reading →

Posted in Judo Coaching, Judo Competition, Judo Rules | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments

An Attempt to Save Judo in San Diego

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Gerald Lafon

San Diego County used to have a vibrant Judo community in the 1970s when I first started my coaching career. We had over twenty-five active Judo clubs. Our members participated in monthly clinics, and tournaments, which would attract 250-300+ players. … Continue reading →

Posted in Judo Coaching, Judo Politics, Judo Rules | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Notes from the 2009 U.S. Open, Part 2

Posted on October 7, 2009 by Gerald Lafon

The U.S. Open is always a good tournament for me to go to because in addition to the Judo, there’s the Judo politics too. I had the opportunity during the 2009 U.S. Open to sit down and talk to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Judo Competition, Judo Politics, Judo Rules | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Coaches, Speak Up!

Posted on September 7, 2009 by Gerald Lafon

The other day, I came across some surprising comments from Coach X, a national team coach, who had been to the recent Rotterdam World Championships. The gist of his comments was that while he had no problem discussing the latest … Continue reading →

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Nobody Wants to See the Losers?

Posted on September 1, 2009 by Gerald Lafon

One of the latest ill-conceived changes to Judo competition was a tweaking of the repechage system.  In the past, everyone who lost to the winners of the four pools was pulled back into competition, and given a second chance at … Continue reading →

Posted in Judo Rules | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments