I've long said that competition is an integral part of the judo experience. Yes, you can learn judo without ever competing but you would be missing out on a whole lot of experiences and life lessons without it.
Winning and losing is part of life. And nothing makes you confront the fear of losing like a judo competition. Judo not only forces you to deal with fears and anxiety but it also teaches you how to bounce back from setbacks.
Our team is a young one. As a competition team we have been together for less than a year. But in this short time, and over the course of the few competitions we've been to so far, I've seen our players grow.
One of our younger players used to say, "Why do you all get so nervous before your match, win or lose, it doesn't matter". This time around, this player said, "I'm so nervous," right before the fight, which shows that now, this person cares about winning.
Winning isn't everything but it's important to strive to win. If you don't care about whether you win or lose, that's not a good thing -- in judo or in life. We should all strive to win and be champions in whatever we do in life.
One of our players was so disappointed after losing a chance to get win the gold that this player wept after the fight. I told the player: You still have a chance at getting a medal because you are in a round robin situation. So go in there and win, ideally by ippon. And this player did just that.
The ability to pull yourself up and get on with the business at hand is an important quality, as much in life as in judo. In the course of our daily lives, we are bound to encounter some setbacks and disappointments but that doesn't mean we should wallow in self-pity. Rather, we must bounce back with the fighting spirit of judo to salvage what we can of the situation and make the most of it. This is what judo teaches you.
So, yes, there were some tears shed (I can tell you that more than one player cried and that's not necessarily a bad thing), a lot of good wins achieved, and plenty of joy and laughter that rang through the hotel, restaurants, competition hall and Grab cars. In fact, one of the best things about competition trips is the camaraderie and bonding that players experience. And we had a lot of that this time.
Winning and losing is part of life. And nothing makes you confront the fear of losing like a judo competition. Judo not only forces you to deal with fears and anxiety but it also teaches you how to bounce back from setbacks.
Our team is a young one. As a competition team we have been together for less than a year. But in this short time, and over the course of the few competitions we've been to so far, I've seen our players grow.
One of our younger players used to say, "Why do you all get so nervous before your match, win or lose, it doesn't matter". This time around, this player said, "I'm so nervous," right before the fight, which shows that now, this person cares about winning.
Winning isn't everything but it's important to strive to win. If you don't care about whether you win or lose, that's not a good thing -- in judo or in life. We should all strive to win and be champions in whatever we do in life.
One of our players was so disappointed after losing a chance to get win the gold that this player wept after the fight. I told the player: You still have a chance at getting a medal because you are in a round robin situation. So go in there and win, ideally by ippon. And this player did just that.
The ability to pull yourself up and get on with the business at hand is an important quality, as much in life as in judo. In the course of our daily lives, we are bound to encounter some setbacks and disappointments but that doesn't mean we should wallow in self-pity. Rather, we must bounce back with the fighting spirit of judo to salvage what we can of the situation and make the most of it. This is what judo teaches you.
So, yes, there were some tears shed (I can tell you that more than one player cried and that's not necessarily a bad thing), a lot of good wins achieved, and plenty of joy and laughter that rang through the hotel, restaurants, competition hall and Grab cars. In fact, one of the best things about competition trips is the camaraderie and bonding that players experience. And we had a lot of that this time.
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