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. "Your technique for Tai Otoshi is good, and your attack timing is good - but the real reason why you didn't land your throw is because you were not committed."

Although he was talking about throwing, the same would apply to practice and training too.

Comments

Kyle Kindjerski said…

i also find myself struggling to get to classes with school and work to deal with...even after that i am kinda tired...but the thing that keeps me going is the pride...when i compete and win or lose i am spreading the word of a great cause JUDO

4/14/2006

The Catch-all Post for April

So I haven't posted anything in six weeks, and yet I still hope I have some loyal readers left. April has proven to be a busy month for me - I am about to switch jobs, and I took a two-week vacation as well. April was also a great month in Judo for me, as my Son passed his Yellow belt test. He also executed a picture perfect ippon seoinage in a 'Mock Shiai'. My wife, who seldom comes to practice, was very impressed. Although he'll be playing some baseball over the next few weeks, he will be coming back to Judo soon, and is excited about working towards his orange belt. The other day, we were at a family get-together, and one of his cousins was bullying him a bit, hitting him a couple of times. Mitch stepped in and was about to throw the kid with O-Uchi Gari just as my wife, the kids' mom, and I intervened. At first, I scolded him. But when I realized he was defending himself, I apologized, and told him that if that happens again, throw the kid, pin him and call fo

1000 Words

They say that a picture is worth a 1000 words. The picture above (albeit a little blurry - I need a new phone) is of my brand new black belt. Nearly 26 years ago, I registered for a college Karate class to fulfill my Physical Education requirement. The class didn't get enough people to register, and the Assistant AD asked if I'd try Judo instead, and the rest is history. I want to start off by thanking my 3 senseis - who helped train and educate me, and help me love this sport/art - Maureen Braziel, Shiro Oishi, and Katsuo Watanabe. I also want to thank the dozens of dojomates over the years. My teammates at Polytechnic U, my afternoon class dojo mates at Oishi's (where seemingly I was only one of a few non-law enforcement officers), and my family for more than the last decade at Watanabe's including all of the WCC students who have passed through our doors. I want to thank all of my virtual judo buddies - from the Judo Forum, Facebook, and Reddit,

2019 Paris GS Round Up and bits from Viszer's Q and A

The Paris Grand Slam was held last weekend, and as the first Grand Slam event of the year, it didn't disappoint (at least for the people who won medals), and as an added bonus, IJF President Marius Vizer hosted a twitter Q and A. Because we're talking about Paris, and France, we need to start with the French Team - or should I say the French Women. According to an article on the IJF site, this is the First time since 1971 that a French male Judoka hasn't gotten a podium spot at the Paris GS. But you know who did get a Podium spot - Clarisse Abegnounou. The hometown star won her fifth Paris GS title in spectacularly dramatic fashion - by beating Tina Trestenjak of Slovenia 3 minutes deep into Golden Score, and throwing out her shoulder in the process (you can watch her moment of glory in the video below) I also want to give a shout out to both Devin Waldenburg (-60) and Ebony Drysdale Daley (-70) who became the first Jamaicans to compete in an IJF World Tour event

The Road to Nidan

Search This Blog