As a judo coach, of course I feel proud when my players do well in competition. But as we judo people like to say, judo is more than sport. There's another aspect of judo which is just as important and it's the ethos of judo. And I always feel proud when I see some of my players embracing and embodying that ethos.
In some sports, trash-talking and insulting the opponent is somehow acceptable. Judo, in contrast, has a strong moral code that guides how judo players are supposed to behave. Some people mistakenly believe this covers only behaviour on the mat -- such as playing fair, being respectful of your opponent, and being a gracious winner/good loser. But judo ethos should also inform how you behave off the mat.
Our club recently had some new recruits and I was delighted to see some of them really adopting the spirit of judo. Let me tell you about three of them.
On the left is Jeremy and on the right is Ashraf. While I was away in Abu Dhabi recently for an IJF meeting, the two of them got together to do some training. Rather than sit out this period when I was away, Jeremy wanted to practice his yellow belt syllabus. This is an example of good judo spirit. He could have easily given himself the excuse that since the coach is away, he might as well take it easy and resume training the following week. But he took the opportunity to learn. This is judo spirit!
As for Ashraf, instead of taking it easy himself, he offered to help Jeremy learn the yellow belt syllabus -- something he was very familiar with having just taken the yellow belt exam himself.
So, although there was no official class and there wasn't anybody else in the club, they were willing to go there and train on their own. The hard-working ethic they showed is classic judo spirit but another point should not be lost. Jeremy is a +100kg player while Ashraf is a -55kg player. They couldn't have been more mismatched in terms of size. Yet they were willing to come together and train. Some player want an ideal situation to be present before they do anything. I'm sorry but that's not real life. In the real world, situations are very rarely ideal. You do what you can with the circumstances you've got. That's what these two did.
Saymah is a newbie who came to us with no athletic background. Judo training is not easy even on those who are highly athletic, imagine what it's like for someone who has no sporting background. Yet, she trains practically every day, taking LRT to training and back (which is quite a distance). That takes lots of dedication and commitment -- again, good judo qualities.
Normally Saymah gets a ride back after training from one of our members but he has been away on holiday for some time so she has to take public transport, which requires changing trains. The other day Jeremy took it upon himself to send her to KL Sentral so she would not have to change trains. What's notable is that KL Sentral is not on his way home. He went out of his way to help a teammate. This is good judo values off the mat.
The one on the right is Saymah and the one on the left is Eziel, from the Philippines, who has just joined our club. Like Saymah, Eziel relies on public transport to get around. For her first day of training, she had to find her own way to the dojo, which is not so easy. Many people have gotten lost trying to find the building we are located in. The first time I tried looking for the building, it took me a while to find it too.
Saymah was kind enough to meet Eziel at KL Sentral so she could follow her to the club without potentially getting lost. During training, Saymah helped Eziel get accustomed to judo and did a great job guiding her on the basics, although she was a newbie herself (but a newbie who has put in a lot of hours of training).
She played a key role in making Eziel's first day a good experience. Again, good judo values. Real judo ethos.
As a coach, of course I want all my players to do well in competition. Judo, after all, is a competitive sport. That sporting element must never be neglected otherwise judo becomes less than sport. But judo also has to be more than sport to make it truly a worthwhile pursuit. The good judo values and spirit exhibited by Ashraf, Saymah and Jeremy -- all newbies to the sport and to the club -- are what makes me feel grateful and contented as a judo coach.
In some sports, trash-talking and insulting the opponent is somehow acceptable. Judo, in contrast, has a strong moral code that guides how judo players are supposed to behave. Some people mistakenly believe this covers only behaviour on the mat -- such as playing fair, being respectful of your opponent, and being a gracious winner/good loser. But judo ethos should also inform how you behave off the mat.
Our club recently had some new recruits and I was delighted to see some of them really adopting the spirit of judo. Let me tell you about three of them. On the left is Jeremy and on the right is Ashraf. While I was away in Abu Dhabi recently for an IJF meeting, the two of them got together to do some training. Rather than sit out this period when I was away, Jeremy wanted to practice his yellow belt syllabus. This is an example of good judo spirit. He could have easily given himself the excuse that since the coach is away, he might as well take it easy and resume training the following week. But he took the opportunity to learn. This is judo spirit!
As for Ashraf, instead of taking it easy himself, he offered to help Jeremy learn the yellow belt syllabus -- something he was very familiar with having just taken the yellow belt exam himself.
So, although there was no official class and there wasn't anybody else in the club, they were willing to go there and train on their own. The hard-working ethic they showed is classic judo spirit but another point should not be lost. Jeremy is a +100kg player while Ashraf is a -55kg player. They couldn't have been more mismatched in terms of size. Yet they were willing to come together and train. Some player want an ideal situation to be present before they do anything. I'm sorry but that's not real life. In the real world, situations are very rarely ideal. You do what you can with the circumstances you've got. That's what these two did.
Saymah is a newbie who came to us with no athletic background. Judo training is not easy even on those who are highly athletic, imagine what it's like for someone who has no sporting background. Yet, she trains practically every day, taking LRT to training and back (which is quite a distance). That takes lots of dedication and commitment -- again, good judo qualities.
Normally Saymah gets a ride back after training from one of our members but he has been away on holiday for some time so she has to take public transport, which requires changing trains. The other day Jeremy took it upon himself to send her to KL Sentral so she would not have to change trains. What's notable is that KL Sentral is not on his way home. He went out of his way to help a teammate. This is good judo values off the mat.
Saymah was kind enough to meet Eziel at KL Sentral so she could follow her to the club without potentially getting lost. During training, Saymah helped Eziel get accustomed to judo and did a great job guiding her on the basics, although she was a newbie herself (but a newbie who has put in a lot of hours of training).
She played a key role in making Eziel's first day a good experience. Again, good judo values. Real judo ethos.
As a coach, of course I want all my players to do well in competition. Judo, after all, is a competitive sport. That sporting element must never be neglected otherwise judo becomes less than sport. But judo also has to be more than sport to make it truly a worthwhile pursuit. The good judo values and spirit exhibited by Ashraf, Saymah and Jeremy -- all newbies to the sport and to the club -- are what makes me feel grateful and contented as a judo coach.
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