3 Lessons From 2 Years of Judo
The world of martial arts is vast. Hundreds of distinct styles have been founded and can be traced back to different ends of the globe, and it’s only becoming more popular for such practices to be prominent across local communities. I am a firm believer that any martial art, no matter its effectiveness in real life situations, is incredibly beneficial for a person’s overall wellbeing, physical and mental. Even Aikido, possibly the most mocked martial art across the internet today, at least gives you a basic understanding of select joint locks and teaches you to break your fall, and ultimately, if someone enjoys aikido, then who are we to belittle them for that? It certainly worked for Robert Twigger, who wrote an amazing book on his time in Japan studying Yoshinkan Aikido.
Now, people’s perceptions on the effectiveness of their chosen martial art is a very interesting, yet different discussion, and one that I will save for another day, but I mention all of this to say that if you’re willing to try a martial art after reading this, but judo training is not available to you, then many of the benefits I got from judo are generally applicable to other martial arts. I’m still very new to the art, and I’ve spoken to competitors that have been doing it for as long as 26 years, but even with a miniscule amount of time, I have learnt a multitude of brilliant things from Judo, and it’s something I feel more people should take notice of. Lessons such as “it builds discipline” get reiterated enough to where my mind has numbed to them, and I wanted to bring attention to some of the points that the layman might not initially think of, and that is why I feel an article on this is warranted.
Bodies are fragile
Not too long ago, I took part in some randori (essentially, Judo’s version of sparring). I was partnered up with a good friend of many years and for the time it lasted, it was very productive, but cut short. A hip throw without grabbing my friend’s sleeve meant he instinctively reached out to the floor to stop his fall, and as soon as he landed, I heard grunts of agony. At the time, I couldn’t see his arm under his gi jacket, but after a drive to A&E, we found out that he had completely dislocated his arm at the elbow joint. I had some interesting talks with the nurses taking care of him after finding out that the cause of my friend’s injury was right next to them.
Now, I have to clarify that injuries in many martial arts such as Judo are rare, and serious ones doubly so. But much like anything involving physical exertion, it happens, and anyone who trains hard and under competitive settings will come to terms with that fact. But seeing this happen in real time to someone I knew put into perspective how fragile the human body is. With so many nuanced structures in places such as our hands and knees, it only makes sense that when these body parts are put in positions they aren’t equipped to deal with (i.e. throwing a punch or being in a kneebar), they get damaged… very quickly. That is the first and foremost concern of martial arts: defending yourself in the most absolute of manners.
What I took from this experience was, first and foremost, to maybe not dislocate my mate’s arm again. And secondly, I realised the real key of strengthening the body, whether that be through weight training or calisthenics. We are limited in what we can do to prevent injury, it is such a spontaneous and random event that it’s something we will never truly be bulletproof to, but showing respect to our bodies through building some lean tissue and strengthening our bones and joints can go a long way to preventing sprains, tweaks and tears, and this doesn’t even take into account that your strength and endurance will likely increase.
Those benefits will even carry over to everyday life. Bone mineral density (BMD) in athletes is generally higher than non-athletes due to their vigorous training methods, and their lean muscle mass acts as what Dr. Rhadi Ferguson would refer to as “armour” for our body, and if you keep consistent with your training, you keep that armour. For these reasons, I think it would be beneficial for those who want to get more out of their lessons to implement some kind of resistance training, even if only once or twice a week, to their schedule whenever possible, just as a proactive measure towards injury as opposed to a reactive one.
Being in control
Adversity is a universal human experience, we will all hit roadblocks in life that will lead our momentum to halt, or even cause steps in the wrong direction. For this reason, someone may have told you that “if you can’t do anything about it, don’t worry about it”. This is a great saying for those who struggle with excessive worrying, but I believe this quote by Jeanne Calment isn’t looked at closely enough by the average person, and I also took it at quite a surface level until I began Judo. We realise that what we can’t control is not worth our worry, but how do we know what is and isn’t in our control?
Many traditional arts come with a spiritual element, or at the very least, have intentions to shape people into role models of society. Judo’s original purpose was education, its philosophies such as mutual benefit (Jita kyoei) and maximum efficiency (Seiryoku zenryo) are applicable to our everyday lives. These past two years on the mat have taught me that through being a more upstanding person, things that I previously saw as uncontrollable were actually well within my circle of influence. If you are struggling to co-operate with someone, or finding it hard to squeeze some time in for your assignment, familiarising yourself with mutual benefit and maximum efficiency could help with this. Stephen R. Covey’s ‘7 Habits For Highly Effective People’ also touches on this subject, and it’s a valuable read if you want to learn more about changing your perspective on just how in control you are.
Above all else, problems in your usual routine will seem miniscule compared to the trials you face in the ring, cage or mat. The feeling of landing a technique you’ve been struggling with, or getting through tough rounds of conditioning and sparring can’t be found anywhere else. The adversity of your normal tasks will not change, but your resilience will, and this is what I believe is one of the big eye-openers for someone in Judo, especially with its heavy focus on the mind and spirit.
Adaptation is everything
Finally, things will happen. Life will catch you by surprise, and more often than not, it has negative outcomes. When you find yourself in front new challenges, the best thing we can do is adapt to it.
In Judo, everyone has a technique that brings them the most success. For two legends, Toshihiko Koga and Tadahiro Nomura, seoi nage (shoulder throw) awarded them numerous wins, but neither would have a 100% success rate with the move. Some opponents could not be defeated with seoi nage, so they adapted.
I personally like a lot of koshi-waza (hip techniques) but for smaller opponents, making contact with the hips can prove difficult. This is where Judo taught me an important lesson: If you can’t adapt, you are only successful part-time. Some people will be thrown at the hips easily, and some will feel like a rock anchored to the ground, so it’s important you know your sweeps and wheels.
This applies to other martial arts as well, if a kickboxer cannot land a head kick, then he adapts by throwing kicks to the body and legs. By adapting, we can find new avenues to success, and perhaps these new avenues work even better than ones you used to rely on. So the next time you feel stuck, perhaps your method of study doesn’t match the content that you’re learning in school, or rocky family relations aren’t improving despite best efforts, try to be adaptable, and win full time instead of part time.
Summary: Judo’s purpose
Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, spent a majority of his life training Jiu-Jitsu (not the Brazilian variant, that materialised much later on), and eventually, through observing various schools of teaching, he developed what is known today as Judo. In 1915, he would define Judo’s aim as a martial art:
“Thus, the ultimate objective of Judo discipline is to be utilized as a means to self-perfection, and thenceforth to make a positive contribution to society.”
I believe that the reason I’ve been able to gather so much applicable knowledge from Judo is this heavy emphasis on one’s contribution to society. The idea of “my success is yours too” was something I couldn’t find in every day life, and in general, I feel mutual benefit is losing presence in an increasingly independent and in some cases, isolative society.
These principles make Judo. Real black belts will contribute meaningfully to their club, and many run their own to spread the influence of Judo, and while I cannot speak for other areas and countries, lessons in my area are incredibly accessible via low mat fees and placing emphasis on making sure everyone is on the same page. The love for the art has rubbed off on me (if you couldn’t tell already), and if you have a local judo club, I recommend seeing that first hand, because you may learn something in the process.
