One of the questions I
often get asked the most is how to tell if a judo school or program
is legitimate. This is a pretty simple question to answer. Judo is
pretty well regulated. If you're attending a dojo whose instructor is
recognized by one of the official Judo organizations then it is more
than likely legitimate, but dont stop there. For the sake of this
article I am going to hit on as many indicators as I can for the
person interested in looking for an authentic judo program.
Some dojos follow
tradition more than others and maybe the judo school that you are
looking at just happens to be less formal. Not a problem really......for example in my school, just call me coach, not sensei, and incessant bowing drives me nuts anyway.
Spending the first month
doing nothing but ukemi (breakfall) is nothing unusual, though they
should have shown you one or two techniques at some point during that
first month. These may well be techniques like Osoto-gari, Seoi-nage
or O-goshi. The style of instruction can change depending on whether
your school focuses on producing competitors or is more of a
traditional school of people who want to do Judo as a hobby or
recreation.
So, what is it that one
needs to look at as far as the authenticity of a judo school or
program?
First and foremost, Judo
is a rigorous and demanding physical activity. There isn’t a whole
lot of standing around or long lectures in judo. The practice of judo
techniques helps people develop basic and fundamental physical
fitness in a number of ways, such as the development of strength,
flexibility, agility, speed, dynamic and static balance, explosive
power, and endurance. My Judo program involves teaching Judo to
non-competitive and competitive members, I focus on making students
who are more physically fit and better disciplined with a solid
knowledge of judo.
Any person who is looking
to take up judo should make sure that the instructor is a member of a
National Governing Body (NGB) of Judo. There are only three national
governing bodies for judo in the United states, these are the
following;
1. USA JUDO
2. USJA - The United
States Judo Association
3. USJF - The United
States Judo Federation
These above national
governing bodies are the only ones in the US that are recognized by
the Kodokan as well as the IJF, the International Judo Federation.
The Kodokan, or the Kōdōkan Judo Institute is the headquarters of
the worldwide judo community. The International Judo Federation (IJF)
is the world governing body for the Olympic and Paralympic sport of
judo.
IMPORTANT NOTE: There are
no other organizations other than USA JUDO, USJA and the USJF that
are recognized or endorsed by the Kodokan in the United States.
The Judo instructor should
be a black belt (Dan grade) that has registered and VERIFIED rank
with one of the national governing bodies of judo, USA Judo, USJI or
USJF and the instructor should also have a coaching certificate from
one of the national governing bodies as well. Also, most instructors
should have some tournament experience, competed in judo tournaments
on some level at some point in their careers.
Judo is by its design a
full contact martial art. Virtually every legitimate Judo Dojo is
full contact. In Randori and tournaments you find out pretty quickly
if your instructor and his students know what they are doing or not.
The Judo black belts will and do randori with the beginners. A good
Judo instructor will “move around” with the white
belts. My fondest memories in Judo are being a complete newbie and
being thrown by the instructor and hitting the mat as light
as a feather. These instructors know thier judo and really
put the “art” in “martial art."
From a technical point of
view, the most important thing is if an instructor can explain what
makes a technique work well and what won’t work. The instructors
who can break down complex movements and concepts into smaller
segments which can be explained concisely in a short period of time
really understands how to teach. In addition, it is important for an
instructor to know how to structure daily lessons and have a good
sense of controlling time during the lesson. A good instructor
understands how to convey information in such a way it is meaningful
to the students to apply. To take it further, in a
competition-oriented program, a good instructor knows how to prepare
the program for competition.
GOOD INDICATORS:
Slick, crisp,
seemingly effortless throws
Standup randori is a
common part of each training session
Detailed instruction
A history of success
in some competitions outside their own dojo (The instructor doesn’t
have to be an elite level competitor, the point is you can’t have
minor success even at a recreational level without having at least
some skill)
BAD INDICATORS:
Strained, clumsy
looking throws
No frequent standup
randori
Instructors groaning
and moaning stuff like "this guy is too heavy", "that
throw never works without the partner helping"
Zero participation in
NGB sanctioned tournaments (sometimes the reason is the
"instructors” are afraid of having their skills or teachings
tested)
RED FLAGS TO LOOK FOR
There are numerous red
flags to look for that will help one determine if the judo instructor
or program are questionable.
The most obvious
being of course and the one that needs to be repeated, is not being
a member of any of the recognized NGBs. This is the most important
one and is definitely a very good indicator.
“The NGBs are all
about the sport of judo and nothing else.” This is not a very
intelligent statement to make and nothing could be further from the
truth. First off, and most importantly if the NGBs only catered to
sport oriented judoka the NGBs could not exist financially. There just
isn’t an abundance of competition-oriented judoka that could
sustain the national governing bodies for judo in the US much less
just one. Catering to only sport judo and ignoring the abundance of
non-competitive judoka would be the equivalent of cutting their
throats financially.
Secondly,
a quick look at the three NGBS and you will see a wide range
curriculum for both the competitive sport judoka and the
non-competitive judoka. In Judo it's likely that you'll be able to
obtain a black belt in 3 to 6 years based on your commitment to the
art. Notice I said “commitment to the art of judo” and not sport
of judo. Part of the art is competition, ie. randori. If you are
involved with the sport of judo and compete regularly you may attain
rank closer to the lower end of the 3 to 6 years spectrum mentioned
above.
To give you an idea of how
rank may be earned in any of the NGBs let’s look at what it may
take to go from the rank shodan, first degree blackbelt to nidan,
second degree blackbelt. In the three NGBs you have to have so many
years at shodan level to be promoted to nidan level. Let say, for
example, one has to be a shodan for at least 4 years minimum to be
eligible for nidan. This requirement is for non-competitive judoka or
those not involved with the sport. If you compete in sanctioned judo
tournaments regularly you may get a percentage of time up to 30
percent knocked off the standard minimum requirement. This means a
active competitive judoka could earn his nidan in three years,
shaving a year off the time in grade.
Some NGBs offer other programs
outside of sport judo to help non competitive judoka, grass roots
judo programs, self defense instructor programs, kata certification programs etc.
When an "instructor" tells you they aren’t a member of any of the NGBs and
that their requirements are different this generally means they cant
meet the NGB’s standards or do not want to put the time in that is
required by the NGBs for rank at every level of judo from beginner to
advanced.....RED FLAG!
The instructor says that their standards are different than that of the recognized NGBs. This will typically mean that the standards in his class are much lower, very substandard at best to absolutely having no standards at all. I personally had a guy
come into my class and wanted to be an assistant instructor and help
out with judo. He said he was a black belt and vehemently claimed he
knew all 65 throws of the Kodokan left and right side (this isnt a statement a legit judoka would make). Upon
observing him, the extent of his knowledge was just being able to do throws
from only a static position on a total compliant and motionless uke. He
could not apply the techniques moving around on a resisstant opponent in randori. Not being able to randori or absence of randori in
training is a strong indication the person or school isnt legitimate.
They use the term or
phrase “Kodokan Judo”, for example they say they were “promoted
to black belt in Kodokan Judo”. This is yet another big red flag!
Legit judoka refer to Judo as simply JUDO. There is just no need to
describe it as anything else in any of the three NGBs which are the
only three organizations that are endorsed by the Kodokan itself.
The only ones who currently use the term “Kodokan Judo” seem to
be those with extremely suspicious and questionable backgrounds and
practices. This differentiation is generally used to
convince others they are more legitimate than they really are. You
will even see folks use the term coupled with the word “traditional.” This should serve as another red flag.
Putting down the
sport or its NGBs. You might read or hear something like the
following: “The NGBs are far from having any real authority or
influence in governing anything related to traditional judo.” Again this is very misleading as that only Judo’s recognized
governing bodies (USA JUDO, USJF, USJA) in the US are endorsed by
the Kodokan. The Kodokan is where judo originated and serves as the headquarters of the worldwide
judo community. Also and most importantly the requirement for ranks
in the three national governing bodies here in the US meet the same
requirements as that of the Kodokan's.
Judoka have no qualms about randori with anyone. Again Randori is a BIG part of judo training. Instructors
who tend to shy away from randori as well as competition tend to be on the less
reputable side of things. Normally this might be put to the student
in this manner…..”we don’t do sport judo we teach only
self-defense” or “we just teach traditional judo.” To clarify, there
are a lot of registered instructors and programs that do not compete and that is okay. However, randori SHOULD still be present in training. If the instructor says he
doesn’t do sport judo nor is he affiliated with one of the
recognized NGBs, then you should seek out a another teacher
and program.
Kodokan membership
card. This is a somewhat rare phenomenon but there has been a few times where questionable individuals try and use the Kodokan membership card as
a proof of their rank, affiliation, a license and or a endorsement from the
Kodokan. There have even been some cases of forged or photoshopped Kodokan member cards and documents. Membership
cards from the Kodokan can be purchased by tourists or anyone simply visiting the KDK or doing a walk thru tour. A life
time member card is less than a hundred US dollars. My advice is dont take a KDK member card on its own as proof of rank or endorsement.
IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER:
Once again your suspicions should go
up if your instructor isnt affiliated with any of the recognized
NGBs. Question them as to why they are not affiliated with the recognized governing bodies for judo and listen to the answers they give and mannerisms when asked questions. If they act put off or upset then just walk away. There is
nothing wrong with basically interviewing the instructor and asking
him about his qualifications and experience etc. Questioning an instructors qualifications isnt insulting. If the instructor is qualified he will have no problems at al with answering your questions. If the instructor
cant answer your questions very simply then it is a good indicator that there
is something wrong.
In this day and time many of the documents mentioned in this article for verification can be photo shopped, changed and forged. If he says he is a instructor who is in good standing with one of the recognized NGBs and even shows credentials, double check the information by contacting the NGB and verify what he says. That is one of the reasons USA JUDO, the USJA and USJF exist. Not only will he have a member card and certificates but he will also be on their member, instructor and coaches lists and rosters.
QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK
Dont be afraid or worried to ask the instructor if he is affiliated with one of
the recognized national governing bodies for judo in the US. This is a
simple yes or no question. If the answer is yes then ask if his rank
is verified thru them and if he is a certified coach thru them as
well. The NGBs require instructors to become certified as coaches as
well when they become black belts. The more of these credentials that he has from the NGBs the better, but double check his credentials by contact the NGBs directly. If the instructor isnt affiliated with USA JUDO, USJA or USJF then seek out another instructor.
JUDO IS JUDO
Dont Forget Judo is judo, no legitimate judoka sees or feels the need to use terms such as Kodokan Judo or Traditional Kodokan Judofor any kind of differentiation. Judo is judo, it is; 1.) a martial art, 2.) a combat sport, as well as 3.) an effective self defense system. Judo encompasses all three not just one or two.