Why we livestream

We try to livestream our sessions as much as possible.

There are many things that differentiate us from other judo clubs -- from the way we train, to our use of music, to our heavy emphasis on randori -- but one thing that really gets a lot of local and international attention is our videos.

We post highlight clips with a lot of fast action and music, so it's not surprising that these are very popular. What has been surprising is that our livestreams are as popular as they are. Livestream are not edited and the volume is muted so there's no sound. Yet, we regularly get over 100 views per livestream. That might not be a huge number but it's a big deal to us because it means there are over 100 people out there interested in what we are doing.

I've gotten to know a lot of international people because of our livestreams. They say they like watching our sessions because our training modules are really quite different from what they are used to. So there is a lot of interest and curiosity about what we are doing.

A very common question people ask about our livestreams is how come I am not worried about other clubs learning our techniques.

First and foremost, what I teach are not "our techniques". The techniques we work on are moves made famous by international judo champions. So these techniques are not "secrets" by any stretch of the imagination.

I've also been asked if someone can watch our livestream for free, wouldn't that eliminate the need for them to join our club?" The simple answer is no.

To understand why, you must realize that the value added that I give to my players is the personal guidance they get. I help to correct their mistakes and give them tips on how they can overcome certain difficulties with the techniques they are learning.

So, yes, someone could watch the videos and theoretically learn what is being taught. But without that personal, hands-on guidance it would be very hard (though not impossible) for them to learn those techniques. Even with personal guidance it is not easy to pick up complex moves. Imagine trying to do so by simply watching a livestream! If someone really wants to learn the stuff I show, they should join our club.

Another very common question: "If others can see what your players are learning, won't that give away what their tokui-waza (favorite techniques)?"

Yes, but so what? Our players wouldn't be very good if the only way they can win is if their opponents have no idea what their techniques are.

A good judoka is not bothered if their tokui waza is known to all and sundry.

Take for example Hifumi Abe of Japan. Who doesn't know that he likes to do morote-seoi-nage and sode-tsurikomi-goshi? The question isn't what techniques he will use but whether you can stop them.

So, as you can see, there really aren't any significant downsides to livestreaming but there are many good reasons to do so.

We want people to see what training sessions at KL Judo are like. Livestreaming is the best way to do this.

If you have an attractive dojo; innovative lessons; and enthusiastic players, why would you not want to livestream your sessions?