Convince me!

[Tiger]

Hey, I'm totally into the martial arts. I LOVE the martial arts, unfortunately I've never have had the money or the time to join a dojo, and when I have joined one... it wasn't what I was looking for. I've tried, Jujitsu, which was a lot of fun, I can't remember why I quit that one (I was very young and naive) then I tried TaeKwonDoe, and I've even tried Kendo! Anyway, that's not my point of writing this thread. I was looking into Judo, doing some research and it looks pretty neat. Now I know that I can't make my choice until I actually try it first hand, but I was wondering if you guys could give me some info on it and some reason why I should, or shouldn't, join Judo. Thx in advance!

[Antares33]

To me, the biggest reason to study Judo is the fact that you can practice your techniques full out, and eventually compete.

The downside is that places that teach sport judo give a somewhat watered down perspective of the true martial application of the art.

So, as long as you don't have your heart set on becomming some kind of unstoppable fighting machine of death, judo is a great option.

[John Bennett]

Exactly what Jamie said.

There is no substitute for being able to practice your techniques under duress at full speed and full power. None.

[Abbax8]

Tiger, where are you located. Maybe someone can recommend a good judo school. I've done judo for 35 years and still love it.

Peace
Dennis

[Tiger]

Niagara Region Canada

[jabonn]

May 24-25 Am Can Judo Challenge (USA Judo Senior E and Junior D level Event) Amherst, New York

If you are close and have the available time, this is an excellent tournament. Our club goes every year. You should be able to pick up a program and it will have a list of Judo Clubs that have players atteding. See which one is close to your home or work.

[Abbax8]

Here's a link http://judoinfo.com/ that will provide you with a vast amount of judo info as well as links to sites for club information.

Peace
Dennis

[Rich]

I won't try to persuade you to take up Judo, as the motivation must come from you. Your instructor can open the door but you must walk through it.

What I can do is tell you what I have gained from Judo. There is not just the health and fitness aspect to practicing Judo - I have become stronger and fitter but working out in a gym would do the same.

You will gain in confidence, learn discipline and make good friends - I have made good friends from Germany, France, Mexico, Switzerland, Australia, America and India.

You will meet people from all over the world and it may inspire you to travel - I'm currently living in Japan.

There is the self-defense aspect to Judo - I once used to Judo to defend myself when I was in Amsterdam.

There is Judo as a sport, competition Judo - I have taken part in competitions and although I haven't been that successful I have won medals and stepped onto podiums which is a great thrill.

Judo is many things to many people. Internationalism is a key component of Judo as evidenced by Jigoro Kano's dedication to the Olympics in the 1920's and 1930's. This spirit of international cooperation is important and in fact I feel that the spirit of Judo can be explained as 'use your strength to help others'.

Good luck and by the way, a good site on the internet is The World of Judo.

[Bear]

Judo was my first martial art, and I still love it. I've been doing it for about 3 years now.

I've gotten a lot out of judo. Physically, I've gotten it all. Faster, stronger, tougher, and more flexible. I've even been working on losing some weight, since the 200+ guys are kicking my butt. :D Mentally, I've become more patient (trying to get those throws right can be frustrating), more resilient (it took me 2 years of competitions before I ever won), and less aggressive (after getting thrown all over a mat by people who LIKE you, you become less interested in forcing an issue with people who DON'T ;) ). Or, at least, I choose my battles.

Also, I've made some of my best friends in my dojo. A lot of us compete, so many of our Sundays are spent travelling to tournaments together, cheering each other on, congratulating (and condoling) ourselves, and then going out for dinner somewhere. The sense of camaraderie I've found in my dojo is unlike anything I've heard from people taking other martial arts.

The downside to judo is that most dojos (at least in my area) are more focused on competition than self-defense. You aren't going to walk out of a dojo as an unstoppable fighting machine. The competition is fun (for me at least), and the techniques can still be used in self defense, but that isn't the focus in most places these days. Just my observation though, other areas may be different.

However, judo does have one really big advantage in self-defense: it's array of finishing moves. I hate to call them that, because it sounds so "sporty," but that's the best way to describe them. There are people out there who just won't be phased by being hit. However, slamming them into the ground, or letting them fly 5-8 feet is a whole different matter. It takes a lot of practice to do something like that in a real fight, but, it's effective.

[Runar Bjaaland]

I still cant open a door without trying to foot sweep it .
Judo is so diverse in that the thrill one gets from learning, competing or developing when young keeps presenting itself through participating as referee, coach, or club member.
I find Judo is a good diplomat when one travels overseas.
I now have children that, to my delight, chose Judo over other sports, and I learn through their efforts.
Unlike many of the Kata oriented arts, Judo is open for discussion and interpretation.
Finally, I have to concur with Jamie Bennett's earlier posting - there is no substitute for full bore effort in a safe environment.

Cheers
Runar Bjaaland

[Webmaster]

Judo was my first martial art...like 32 years ago when I was a little 10 year old. Although I am primarily a Jujutsu practitioner, I still love Judo, teach it to my children students, and agree with all of the reasons above. One of the things I particularly love about Judo is the unique comraderie that there is amongst its practitioners. Whereas the other martial arts all have their separate "styles" and Ryu, there is really only one Judo. I used to really enjoy traveling to shiai (tournament) in my region and around the country, staying at the home of friends you have met through competing. You would go out and try to kill each other in the competition in the morning, and then afterwards, everyone would go out to eat, tell dojo stories and be the best of friends. Overall, I think the quality of the folks you find in the Judo community to be the very finest you will find anywhere, and I treasure the friendships I have made over the many years.

[starkjudo]

It seems to me that Judo is the most addictive martial art; You either step on the deck and fall in love with it, or you don't. Course, that could just be me.

[Jack Stay]

I cannot imagine having gone through life without Judo. I don't know what kind of person I would have become without my Judo infatuation. The martial arts in general, and Judo in particular, have helped me out in countless ways.

I did Judo for a full twelve years, before 'life' caused a sporadic workout routine. You must devote a solid block of time to the martial arts to get anything out of them. In my observations and in the various comparisons I have made, I have seen nothing that a sport would have offered me in terms of building values, ethics, spiritual development, human dynamics, metaphysical awareness, intelligence, and physical fitness as Judo training! The genius, Dr. Jigoro Kano's, purpose of Judo: "The harmonious development and eventual perfection of human character" is manifested only by the constant and enthusiastic pursuit of his Judo (winning medals is incidental).

In my opinion, the secret of Judo's character development lies in Randori (free practice) - not kata (technique practice) or shiai (tournaments), those are for skill enhancement and skill testing.

So before you try your MA flavor of the month, be prepared to devout at least five years to Judo to get anything out of it.

Hope this helps.
__________________
John 'Jack' Stay
Nidan - Judo
Nidan - Hakko-Ryu Jiu-jitsu