The intuitive and simplistic answer would be to train up for competition someday. That's because I come from a competition background and I believe that competition is an essential part of the judo experience. A judo player's journey is just not complete if they never compete. However, I do realize that competition must never be the be-all and end-all of judo. A judo player who only trains to compete is also not getting the full judo experience.
The new member's question made me think long and hard about what exactly that full experience should consist of.
Perfect your technical base
Although there are many different standing and groundwork techniques in judo, it's actually possible to do well in competition by mastering a small handful of techniques and just doing those few techniques over and over again. We all know of players who aren't very versatile at all and can only do one or two techniques that they rely on all the time.
That's one of the reasons I feel competition must not be the be-all and end-all of judo. A player who is only interested in competition and only interested in winning medals might discover that they can get by with just a very limited range of judo techniques. These people will usually not bother to learn a broader range of techniques and will show obvious disinterest whenever new techniques are being introduced. Such players are missing out on the wide breadth of what judo has to offer.
In working life, it makes sense to specialize in something but to also be versatile enough to do many other things. Take journalism, for example. It's a good career strategy to specialize in a particular subject so that you can be the best in your field for a particular topic. But you must at the same time be able to cover other topics if need be. Let's say you are a political or business writer. If your editor were to send you to cover a lifestyle or entertainment event, you should be able to do it. And so it is with judo. You should have a few tokui waza (favourite techniques) which you specialize in but you must also be versatile enough to at least demonstrate other techniques.
Judo is a very technical sport. There's really a lot that goes into the successful execution of a judo throw. You need to have the right stance and grips as well as the seamless coordination of both arms and legs, done with perfect timing, in order to successfully execute a throw. And it's just as complex when it comes to groundwork. It requires the use of your entire body weight and the use of both arms and legs in concert to pull off a successful groundwork move.
Mastering a judo technique is really not easy at all but that's what makes judo fascinating and fulfilling. The instance a technique starts working for you is a moment of pure magic and bliss.
I believe every judo player should set out to eventually master all the main techniques of judo. That doesn't mean specializing in every single techniques -- that would be impossible to do. A person can only specialize in a few moves. But they should have a sound grasp of all the techniques to the point that they would be able to competently teach the principles behind those techniques to a beginner.
At KL Judo Centre we focus a lot on technique and we have a very methodological approach to teaching both tachi-waza and newaza.
Get fighting fit
Whether you plan to compete or not, you should get yourself into fighting fit shape. What that means is you are able to keep up with the training and do the randori sessions without giving up halfway. The single best way to get fighting fit for judo is to push yourself to get through the sessions even if you are very tired. Or perhaps I should say, especially when you are very tired.
It's very tempting to just give up and request for a break whenever you are worn out. But your fitness and your judo won't improve if you make a habit of stopping every time you feel tired. Judo is an intense and tiring sport. Remember, everybody else is the dojo is going through the same thing that you are. They are just as tired as you are. But some will push on while others give up. If you want to get fighting fit, you must push on.
When you are fit and able to fight properly, that's when judo starts becoming enjoyable. If you're always tired during drills and randori, you'll find you can't do anything and will eventually have to ask to sit out the session. That defeats the whole point of training, which is all about participation. The good news is you can get fit. Everybody can. Those who are fit are so because they had pushed themselves beyond their comfort zones.
Learn some valuable life lessons through judo
It's often said that sports teaches you a lot of lessons that apply to everyday life. That's certainly very true for judo. As such it would be a shame if all you gain from judo are the physical benefits.
One of the key tenets of judo is respect. It's sometimes very easy to lose sight of that when you are doing a full-contact combat sport. But it's important to remember that judo is not an activity that you can do alone. You need training partners to do judo. If you don't treat them with respect or if you train in a dangerous way, pretty soon you'll find that no one wants to train with you. So, it's always important to check your ego at the door when you come in for judo training. Always treat everyone else in the dojo with respect.
The other thing that judo is really good for is teaching perseverance. There's a lot of frustration in judo, especially for beginners. Sometimes, it might seem like there's no progress happening. Despite all your efforts for many months, you might still not be able to overcome your teammates. But that might not be because you are not improving. It's probably because your teammates are improving as well. If they were already a few steps ahead of you in terms of experience and knowledge, unless you have some very special natural talent, they are likely to continue to stay a few steps ahead of you. Of course in time it's possible to overtake even those who started earlier than you, by training harder and more consistently than they do. But it will take some time for that to happen. Those without perseverance will drop out. Those who stay on are the ones who eventually become black belts.
Fighting spirit is something very important in judo. Fighting spirit can manifest itself in many ways. It could be pushing yourself to carry on even when you are exhausted. It could mean never giving up and until the moment the buzzer goes off. It could mean telling yourself that despite some setbacks (e.g. a defeat in a competition or a failure to pass a belt grading), you will succeed the next time around. Or it could mean something as basic as giving it your all during training. Fighting spirit is a crucial quality that all judo players must have. Without it, you are no judoka. Some people are born with a strong fighting spirit. But for some, it requires building up. As with all other things in judo, the key to acquiring a strong fighting spirit is to always carry on and to never give up. Whatever challenges you face in judo -- whether it's your fitness level or skill level -- you've got to fight on until you achieve a breakthrough. If you persist long enough, you will develop a strong fighting spirit. And that will help you as much in life as on the judo mat.
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