Category Archives: Judo Development

Youth Development: From Losers to World Cup Champions

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A few weeks ago, Japan’s women’s soccer team won the World Cup beating the favorite American team in a penalty shootout after twice coming from behind.  Along the way, Japan had eliminated another favorite team: Germany, the host of the 2011 World Cup and winner of the last two Cups.  What’s remarkable is that just twelve years ago, Japan was routinely losing to the U.S. by scores of 9-0 and 7-0.  So how did the Japanese close the gap so quickly with only 25,000 females playing the sport, while 7 million do so in the Unites States?  That’s a story that should be of interest to American Judo.

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USJA: getting back to our pioneering spirit

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My mom used to take a wooden coat hanger or her high heel shoe to beat my little butt when I misbehaved.  Why the behavior modification tools?  Her excuse was that when she used her hand, she’d break blood vessels and would become black and blue.  From time to time she’d remind me that the only reason she beat me was because she loved me.  Well, I’ve been beating up on the USJA, and I do so, just like my mom did with me, because I love the USJA.  More precisely I love the USJA that I joined back in 1975.  Unfortunately, I hate seeing what it has become.

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Judo gets no respect!?

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One of my favorite comedians was Rodney Dangerfield.   His classical catchphrase was “I don’t get no respect.”  The first half of his autobiography’s title is It’s Not Easy Bein’ Me: A Lifetime of No Respect.  If Judo were a person and could scream at the top of his lungs, I’m sure he’d be yelling “It’s not easy bein’ me. I get no respect.”  Since Judo is not a person, we judoplayers must step up to the plate and do the screaming.

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More IJF and Modern Kata

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The IJF has struck once more.  To placate the Japanese who have complained that their fighters are not seen often enough in a white gi- a crime for sure!- the top seeds will now wear white and be listed on top of each match, thus making sure they remain in white as long as they win.  Scoreboards and match sheets will have to be changed to reflect the change.  At present, I don’t know if that also means that white is now to the right of the referee or whether the placement of white and blue on the mat remains unchanged.  As always, while the IJF claims that this flip-flop is only for major IJF events, will national organization also make the change to stay “current?”  How much will this needless change cost the Judo community?

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What Other Sports Can Teach Us

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We just aren’t very good right now!  Countless reasons have been put forth to explain our repeated failure at international tournaments, so here’s another one- a lack of intelligence!  The previous sentences were gleaned from two different articles.  You might guess they were talking about American Judo, but in reality the first comment is about U.S. tennis, and the second is about British football or soccer.  If these two powerhouses are having trouble, what can we expect from American Judo, which has never been a big medal winner?

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Tiger Mothers, Pussy Cat Moms

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A Chinese mother is talking to her child: “What grade did you make on your reading test today in school? 93? If you had studied harder you would have been able to make 94.” The child returns after the next week’s test. “You made 94. You can do better than 94,” suggests the mother. “Just spend a little more time at your studies.” Finally, after weeks of study, the child proudly reports that her grade on this week’s test was 100. “But will you be able to keep it up?” inquires the mother.  From The Learning Gap by Harold Stevenson and James W. Stigler

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