Judo life
Genuinely been loving Judo so much. I just got my green belt, should’ve taken a picture with my sensei but next time. Now that I’ve done Judo for a couple years now. I feel like I can actually talk about it at length. Judo started in Japan, Ju-do literally means the gentle way. Judo isn’t about building muscles or forcing a throw onto someone through sheer strength, it’s about the most efficient way of throwing someone. Judo isn’t just a martial art that looks cool, it’s not just self defence. Judo is a philosophy on how one should conduct their life. It is comprised of 3 principles
Maximum Efficiency : The best of use physical AND mental effort to get the best results
Mutual Welfare and Benefit : Honestly we don’t talk about this enough, and this is definitely something I need to work on.
Perfection of Self : Judo is more than just the the physical, it also strengthens your character and disciplines your mind.
Besides the philosophy, fighting for me, whether it’s wrestling, judo or bjj is when I am truly happy. It’s not even about winning or loosing, its more about being in that moment when you forget everything else, it’s just you and that person you are fighting. Time slows down, you are just focused on getting your grip, feeling their weight, looking for opportunities, seeing a weak spot, going for a throw, and then kablam, you get throwed because you didn’t go in fast enough. That’s a great feeling, that feeling is amplified when you can talk to your partner and ask them what went wrong. For example I saw one of my senseis put his leg up twice, and I was ready to sweep him all the way the third time, and bam he swept me with his other foot. The curiosity of how every fight breaks down is so beautiful to me. There are infinite number of permutations/sequences of throws your opponent can do, and some of it can be drilled, and some of it is just noticting the small little breathing, when they feint or noticing the slight shift of weight before a throw. Noticing this things require skill that is learnt outside of the Dojo, it is how you go about your everyday life. I believe it truly matters, to be a good judoka, is to be an aware person. Noticing the small little things, like closing a door the whole way, things like sitting with proper posture. Respecting people when they are talking to you. Being on time when you get invited to places. All these things affect your Judo because there is only one practice and one way. Miyamoto Musashi said the way is in everything, and this is the way.
Shoutout Sunil for reminding me of the way
