One of the biggest ironies of life is when pursuing something you love causes you so much grief. Over the years, I've seen many people involved in judo get so disillusioned by what's happening around them that they literally give up on judo. They wash their hands of it and don't want anything to do with the sport. There are also those who stay on but allow themselves to get mired in the grief that comes with judo politics.
I took up judo because I found it to be a fun sport. I stayed on in judo because I enjoy the sport so much. And I'm still pushing on, continuing to build my club and coaching players because the sport brings joy and fulfillment to me.
What I don't enjoy is the intense politicking that goes on among some people involved in judo. Apparently, this is a blight that afflicts judo people wherever they are. I speak to my judo friends in Singapore and they say there's judo politics there. I speak to my friends in Indonesia and they say the same. But it's true in faraway places too. There's judo politics in the USA, in the UK, in France, in Japan. Everywhere.
If you're not careful, it can eat you up and really ruin everything that good and enjoyable about judo. When that happens, it's really not worth it. I don't ever want that to happen to me, which is why I stay away from judo politics. I have zero interest in jockeying for positions of power or anything like that. I just want to focus on playing judo, coaching judo and building up my club. That's my interest.
Besides the politics there's also another thing that can ruin a coach's enjoyment of judo and that's when you lose sight of what made you set up a judo club in the first place. I set up a judo club for one key purpose, which is to create a place for people (including myself) to enjoy doing judo. That's it. It's as simple as that.
Of course to achieve that is not simple at all. There are many barriers and roadblocks including the cost of running such a club, the challenges of recruiting members, and many other administrative things that make it quite tough thing to do. But the goal is simple: to have a nice place to train.
When you lose sight of that and start pursuing other goals -- like trying to make a lot of money from judo -- you end up taking actions that you might not enjoy or find meaningless (but you do it cos it makes you money).
The temptation is there because money makes the world go round and you need money to run the club and make ends meet. So, yes, the temptation to go where the money is, is always there. But if doing those things don't align with what you really want to do and achieve with your club, it's not worth it.
If the only reason I'm running a judo club is to make money, I might as well hang up my judogi and do something else. Judo is one of the worst ways to make money because it's such a niche sport that's not popular at all (especially in this part of the world).
Don't get me wrong, I run my judo club as a commercial entity and it has to make money to survive and to thrive. But making money cannot and must not be the core reason for doing it. If it is, it's just not worth it.
So, I constantly remind myself by asking: Why did you set up this club in the first place? It's something you have to always bear in mind to stay true to your original goals. Then you can enjoy the judo and find great fulfillment in it.
hahaha "judo is one of the worst ways to make money". so true, so true. I find that like in most things it's a small number of people who ruin it for many - the vast majority of judoka I have ever met are super humble, kind, and just want to grow judo because they love it so much and it had a huge impact on their lives. the very small few who are more concerned about prestige, power, and money then come in and trample all over those values because they've lost sight of MUTUAL welfare and benefit and only concern themselves with personal welfare and benefit. it can be heartbreaking, but remembering that they are the minority helps.
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