The complete judoka

What does it mean to be a "complete judoka" and why is it  important?

It's possible to do well in randori and shiai by relying heavily on your athleticism and strength. It's also possible to throw many people with just one or two techniques that you do very well. But neither of these two scenarios make you a well-rounded judoka.

Players who are naturally gifted athletically, sometimes fall into this trap of relying too much on their strength and agility to overcome their training partners. Because their physical prowess is sufficient for them to defeat others, they sometimes tend to rely on it too much at the detriment of their skills development. They won't be too bothered to develop good techniques because they don't have to. They can just outpower everyone!

Of course that can only take you so far. Eventually they will meet someone who is just as strong and fit and agile, but has better technique.

Similarly, a player who has only one really good technique (or perhaps two) may be able to defeat most people because they've figured out how to do that one technique so well. In some cases this leads to complacency and a reluctance to learn anything new because, again, why should they? Their one technique alone is working so well for them.

But again, this will only take you so far. One day, they will meet someone who is very versatile and can do many techniques effectively. A one-trick pony is likely to lose out in such a scenario.

It's good to develop your physicality. Judo is a very physical sport and being strong, fit and agile is necessary if you want to be successful in competition. It's also important to specialize in a few favorite techniques (tokui-waza). But, it's important also at the same time, to be familiar with a broad range of techniques, in standing and on the ground.

There are parallels in journalism. Let's take the case of relying too much on strength. Here's the analogy: A dogged reporter who is persistent in chasing a lead might be able to get a lot of good stories because they manage to get many scoops (exclusives). If you get a scoop, you'll get your story published even if you are not such a good writer. The copy editor and your section editor will help rewrite the story if necessary. But if you don't develop good writing skills your career can go only so far before it stalls. You'll never get beyond being a beat reporter. You certainly won't be able to helm an editorial position or write a column because... you can't write well!

Meanwhile, the part about tokui-waza reminds me of an valuable piece of advice my editor once told me. He said a good journalist is one who specializes in a particular beat (e.g. politics, IT, health, etc) but who is also versatile enough to take on any assignments. So if they are assigned to cover a business story, they must be able to do  it. If they are asked to cover an entertainment story, they also must be able to do it.

The same applies to judo. Don't rely just on strength or just on one or two techniques. Develop a broad range of skills so you can become a complete judoka.