Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from April, 2006

Any News is Good News for Judo

Ronda Rousey was named USA Today's Athlete of the week after winning gold at the Birmingham World Cup in the UK. On the list of popular US sports, Judo isn't all that high, but hopefully Rousey's (and her current US teammates) success might change all of that. How do we change that - publicity. Yes there are Judo websites out there, and the web is full of English-speaking sites with news from all-around the world, but it is the exposure in the mainstream press that will bring parents and kids into dojos wanting to be the next Ronda Rousey, Mike Swain, or Jimmy Pedro. I just hope that this publicity will continue for Ronda and USA Judo, so that Judo grows in the US.

Progress (or lack thereof)

Yesterday, a commenter on this blog made a good point - that he's noticed (presumably by the content in my posts and by their frequency of late) a waning of interest on my part. This got me thinking - have I lost my commitment to Judo? Have I lost my desire to play? My desire to learn and progress? Personally, I consider myself a recreational Judoka, and I think that for adults, attendance becomes a struggle. Each of my dojomates has their challenges in terms of attendance. And we all seem to make it there. Of course, of late, I have not been making it as much. There is a promotional tournament that I want to attend in about 8 weeks, and if I have any chance of making my next grade I need to practice. Which means I will need to negotiate with my wife on coming to class. I want to win, I want to succeed, but I need (as my anonymous guest put it) to show commitment and desire. At my last shiai about 6-7 months ago, one of my senseis gave me the best advice about my technique. "Y