Common theme, new twist for me at least.

Visited a local Judo class last night. Exploring a class for my teen aged boys. Very small group but in general liked most of what I saw. Attentive, friendly, focused. Not militant, yet nobody lounging around. To quote children's storys "...it was jusssssssst right..."

Want to do a quick background check on the senior teacher. The internet seaches showed almost literally nothing about the gentleman. The single grain of information I found, (if right) should make him pretty prominant within North Eastern US Judo circles...


I want to be careful before committing more time, more effort or certainly any money. Where do you look for confirmation re: background on Judo teachers when you are confirming their claims of training and rank(ing)?

Where do you look specifically for this re: the art of the "Gentle Way"???




Jeff

Hey Jeff, just stumbled across your posting. If it was "Attentive, friendly, focused. Not militant, yet nobody lounging around" then sounds like it might be good - regardless of his background, perhaps he is very humble and doesnt make to much noise about himself. If you liked it and the techniques were good and they are knowledgable then might be worth spending more time with them.

Check if he is a member of a judo org, like:

http://www.usjudo.org/

http://www.usja-judo.org/

http://www.usjf.com/

Ask him what org he is with next time you see him. Could be an independent, but it is unlikely.

Obviously you can contact the org to find out more once you know!

Hello Matt:

Appreciate the link, any clue how this game gets played (sic given there are so many organizations listed)?

Yeah Hi, I'm not a member, you don't know me either, but hey is "Mr. X" a real Judo sensei ?

He's 72 and been a Judoka for 50 years +/-. That list of "American 50 Year Judoka" has got to be a pretty short one I would think.

But the fact I can find literally nothing on him given his experience level makes me suspect I guess. I cannot assess his techique base, in that I am unfamiliar with Judo technique.

Jeff

Hello Prizewriter:

Thank you as well for helping. He has no "advertisement" on the walls (another positive sign in some respects). Yet I would love to know where he studied, with whom which certificates would likely show

The school website has NO teacher bios of any kind. Fairly prominant school in the area, primarily Karate, Judo is definately a very small subgroup.

Visted the class twice at this point and there are some... issues I wanted to ask about.

Is it common for Judo tournaments to be the sole standard of/for rank promotion? It is this guys standard and while "fine" (I guess) yet I also thought it pretty odd too in some respects?

As a technical matter is it standard for totally beginner students to participate in rendori <sp.?>? Is that open practice standard proceedure at the end of most Judo classes?
It seemed odd to me and potentially dangerous to throw raw beginners straight into the proverbial meat grinder, having zero technique to draw upon. Primal response not technique based occurs... IMHV.

One other thing I witnessed which seemed odd I guess was the serious weight difference between the students. Very small group (less than 8 people) 2 were high school kids, the rest were adults. Of the adults 3 were at minimum 275 likely far far more, and 5'6" maybe 5' 8" in height.

The instructor appeared to have trouble controlling their weight doing various throws yet given he was at least 40 years older than they, and at bare minimum at least a hundred and twenty five pounds minimum less weight

Controlled them, sure, but it was not as... "prestine" as "perfect" as I might have hoped in the ideal world.

Any thoughts about these issues?

Jeff

Hello Prizewriter:

PS, He spoke of recently getting a new copy of his last ranking from his old Judo instructor at the Kodokan when he very recently visited there.

Does the Kodokan have a "background check" depertment for us gaijin confirming the background of ones local teachers?

Jeff

The official Kodokan website has an e-mail address, phone and fax number listed:

http://www.kodokan.org/e_basic/contacts.html#phone

It should just be a matter of calling, faxing or e-mailing them about the instructor in question.

Yes, Jeff, that is exactly how you do it. Just ask them.

Hi Ronin

Sorry for the delay. RE the Kodokan, I wouldn't know (most national orgs are part of the IJF, which is technically seperate from the Kodokan). Deadlyknuckles seems to have some solid advice.

Re Beginners starting Randori, that happens in every Judo club I have been to and heard about. It is part of the training. Generally it may start from the ground (ne-waza) or may be "koka" randori (where even the most minor score results in the randori finishing), but it is a common feature. It is part of the appeal for some people (i.e. getting stuck in straight away). Some basic tips from Judo noobs would be to match up with the high ranks (they usually have no ego and are happy to let you try and throw them), stay with people the same weight at the start, and avoid people who have lack of control/esteem problems on the mat (the kind of person who tries hard to slam you to make themselves feel better). The more work they do on breakfalls the better.

It really depends on the group though.

Overall the early exposure to Randori can be a good thing. It lets would-be judokas feel how very hard it is to throw someone who doesn't want to thrown, and to move someone who doesn't want to be moved. Talk to the instructor about this to see how he approaches randori and beginners.

I would be slightly worried that a Judo coach has a lot of problems moving someone heavier than themselves, especially when doing waza or kata. During Randori is a different story, but if they are experienced then there shouldn't be THAT much trouble.

Re grading/promotion... most Judo schools do it this way. Theory is tested by asking some technical questions, and the student is usually asked to display some movement (throw, hold, pin, armlock etc...). The randori session usually determines how slow/fast a student progresses though. In modern Judo, I have heard of people getting a 1st Dan in 2 years, while I have met a guy who after 8 years of grading randori still hasn't got his Shodan. It can go both ways.

In fact, this is the way the Kodokan do it. They hold monthly promotional tourneys:

http://judoforum.com/index.php?showtopic=30169&hl=black

This method (grade determined by victory in shiai) is known as Batsugan.

For most mortals, grading this way it usually takes 3-6 years. There are exceptional circumstances though. In Japan, a student can to A LOT of Judo in week (due to quality dojo availability and judo being a big part of PE in the school/uni system).

Personally, I don't see anything wrong the this method. Some people can bluff through grades for a while, but the wheat gets seperated from the chaff in the end. If you know your Judo, are committed to training, have passion for it and can perform Judo well, you shouldn't have to wait a certain amout of time just to get a belt. If you know Judo in your mind, and you know it in your body and on the mat there and then, you deserve your rank. Alternatively, if you are going through the motions or are a hobbyist, it may take a while longer.

To paraphrase Jirgo Kano "Where there is effort, there is achievement"