The true meaning of fighting spirit

Kudos go out to Nazrul, who despite having a busted lip (requiring 5 stitches), showed up for class, helped with the beginners and shot video footage during randori and shiai.

Ditto for Asni, who has been showing up for class despite having a stubbed toe. Even when she couldn't randori, she helped to "jaga" the players. Our mat area is small so we always need people to stand in between the pairs who are sparring to prevent them from crashing into each other.

Thomas has also been coming for training despite a (self-inflicted) ankle injury. When he can't fight, he helps by keeping time and jaga-ing the players during randori.

All three of them consistently arrive well before class starts to help roll out the mats. Injured or not, they are always there for the bow in and they stay throughout the whole session to help out until class is over.

This is the right attitude. A lot of people think "the fighting spirit of judo" means fighting hard against your opponent and never say die. That is indeed part of what "fighting spirit" means but in judo it is much more than that.

Firstly, even if you literally cannot fight due to injury (busted lip, stubbed toe, sprained ankle), there are other things you can do to learn and improve your own judo. In the two or three hours that you are on the mat, there are bound to be some things you can take part in. Maybe not the resistance drills but you can probably do some light uchikomi. Observing what others do will also help improve your judo. Not just watching the coach give instructions but watching the others spar during randori and seeing how the more experienced players grip fight are lessons in themselves.  So, fighting spirit in this sense means striving to to continue to learn in spite of injury.

Secondly, fighting spirit must never be just about yourself. The club which you are a part of always needs extra help here and there. You can help to jaga the players during randori. You can help keep time during shiai. You can help take photos and videos. So, fighting spirit in this sense means fighting for the betterment of the club.

Thirdly, aside from the things you can learn and the things you can do to help the club, there are also your teammates whom you can give moral support to by cheering them on in randori and especially in shiai. Anyone who was there during Annabel and Alex's match on Sunday will know what I am talking about. It was a tense match and the entire club was cheering both players as they fought on well into Golden Score. This is what the fighting spirit of judo is all about. Giving your teammates the moral support and courage to fight on even when they are literally in tears.

In adopting the "fighting spirit of judo", you will learn not just how to overcome adversity to improve yourself but also how to contribute to society.