It all started with a question on a
judo chat forum.
Someone asked what were the best
methods for advertising their new school.
A lot of great ideas were shared and it
also got me thinking (marketing professional here!) about how best to
advertise judo as a sport.
Bearing this in mind, I started to
focus about judo slightly differently and came up with some
interesting possibilities.
Be great to hear what you think...!
- Judo as a fitness class
I can't claim complete originality on
this as I train already in a combat fitness class. This class is like
shadowboxing, using moves from a variety of martial arts from Tae
Kwon Do to BJJ and from Cage fighting to boxing. Most people know
that judo is one of the most aerobically demanding sports around.
Couple this with shadow movements and music, and this could allow
people of all ages to get involved in our sport with fitness as their
focus. Again, I understand that the BJA in Britain has a judo fitness
class (haven't seen it in real life) which could be based along these
lines. Either way fitness from judo moves in a class which would be
easy to understand for most people, and this could provide a very
popular introduction to the 'gentle way'.
- Judo as self defence
I believe that BJJ has useful things to
share with judo. Specifically, the syllabus approach I have seen for
several BJJ schools is interesting and think there are elements that
are well worth considering. In real terms, some BJJ schools give
their students a choice of whether they want to focus more on sport
or self defence in their classes. Sport is a great part of judo and
competition can be useful for most people. But self defence,
realistically, is a large driver these days for people to step into
the dojo. I only scratch the surface on this issue and don't propose
to add to the judo as a sport or martial art debate. That being said
it would be good to hear more on judo's role in self defence and
sport.
- Learning to 'roll' with judo
I am so lucky to be able to go to
classes at several judo clubs. Great teachers. Terrific classmates.
Judo couldn't be better. And yet, with all the clubs and classes
available to me, there is only one training session dedicated to
solely to groundwork (ne waza). I came to judo from a grappling (no
gi) background and I guess that's why I would like more specific judo
groundwork classes. Although I do some cross training in BJJ, judo I
believe, misses major opportunities by having few groundwork classes.
Again, the recent success of Mixed Martial Arts and BJJ have shown
the importance of groundwork. Judo has a lot to offer in this area
and it would be great to find out so much more.
If what I have said has set the
'cat amongst the pigeons' please rest assured.
The examples I have given show elements
of judo that are already there (fitness, self defence and groundwork)
only the focus has shifted.
Although the current focus seems to be
on competition which I support, I also realise there are many people
out there who would like to try judo if it addresses their
requirements more closely. This can be done with sufficient thought
and the right amount of 'packaging'. After they have come to judo on
their own terms, time may tell if they go on to develop an interest
in the full olympic sport that we know so well.
Now that's more than enough from me, so
over to you!
What do you think of the points made
here?
Have you any other ideas which could be
interesting?
Please let me have your thoughts via
comments on here, it would be great to hear from you!
Bye for now.
Mike
A "Judo for Strikers" class, which would focus on improving the overall combat / self defense effectiveness for those in the strking arts, would be a great way to get cross over members. Obviously, more MMA phenoms such as Rhonda Rousey who list Judo as their main martial art would also do great things for the sport.
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