JudoCoach.com Blog by Lance Wicks

The traveling Judo experience.

Lance Wicks — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 21:50:10 GMT

Hi all,
so I have not had much to write on the blog as Judo-wise it has been quiet. Half-term break here in the UK along with "issues" with Dojo/Mat space at HMS Collingwood have meant I've not been coaching. Also, I have been away ALOT with work.

So on Monday I attended another club up near Manchester; the Wilmslow Judo Club.

It is good for a Judo coach to observe another coach in action, something I think we do too infrequently. As I had little else to do (except be bored in the hotel), I went along early and watched the Junior session, before participating in the Adult session.

The Junior session had somewhere in the region of 40 kids and the adults 20 or so. Good numbers. Watching the kids session i made a note that there was very little actual playing of Judo being done. There was mainly instruction and practising of these techniques.

Now my initial reaction was that I felt there should be more actual playing of the game that is Judo. The train of thought being, if we want kids to like doing Judo, we need to let them play Judo. If kids play Judo and love it, then they'll continue. If we have them not playing Judo and they love it, then what happens when they get older and need to play Judo more?

BUT...

the club was obviously popular. And the kids seemed to be enjoying it well enough. So, is playing Judo needed for Kids Judo? The session I watched was mainly tuition, not games or things like that. Literally, technique for almost the entire session.

So, not just the, whole session of games babysitting action we get in Judo sometimes. Which is another style of kids Judo. Anyway... so these kids were getting intense learning/instruction, little fun and games, and little or no time playing at Judo. But the class was full and energetic.

Now, Wilmslow is a very well off neighbourhood, the Aston Martin garage there sells the largest number of vehicles of any in the UK and lots of celebs and footballers live there I gather.
So, is this class successful because of the socio-economic situation of the families? Presumably the kids attend good schools and get good grades, so are used to concentrating, learning, rehearsing, etc.

I am guessing and trying to find meaning here, I would be interested in your perspectives on this.

If we propose that Judo classes need to be different to match the socio-economic (or other variable); then perhaps Judo coach education and Judo syllabus needs to factor this in.

Marc ( http://marcsdojo.blogspot.com/ ) and I have discussed this before. He teaches at a leading private school here in the UK and that has been the topic of talks we have had. I think there is a valid point to be considered; if we teach in different scenarios, I suggest we need to teach in different ways.

This idea is not one that flashed up at me in Wilmslow I confess.
I coach presently at HMS Collingwood, where I have only adults who are all fit. They have to have annual fitness tests to stay in the Navy. I coach these sessions very differently to the kids only session I teach on a Monday at Alresford Judo Club.

I also obsess over elite Judo, which again is a different context. In that scenario all the "students" are above average fitness, they are also all focussed on the sport aspect of Judo. They want to win and train more than most Judo people. They are (and this is a key difference) ofen performing at a higher level than their coaches can perform. Be that the coach has never been at that level, or are no longer at that level.

George Kerr, some years ago at a session at Edinburgh University Judo club, spoke about how the Judo athletes of today would in his opinion wipe the floor with athletes of his time. He highlighted the higher levels of fitness, strength, preparation, support etc. athletes have now. Also Judo has evolved considerably over the years in terms of technique and style of fighting.

What this means as a coach is that you need to have respect for players. You need to accept the fact that they are better than you are/were. That your role is not to make them as good as you, but to make them better than you.

As coaches we need to avoid the temptation to turn those in our sessions into younger versions of ourselves. I think most coaches have seen examples of players being trained by a coach and seeing the player fight more and more like the coach.

What we see less often, is coaches helping develop unique players. To help the player create themselves rather than drilling them into an image for them that the coach has.

As coaches, we need to allow our players understand what we are trying to impart to them. We need to help them cherry pick the ideas and principles that work and work for them, rather than just making them parrot what we know to be good Judo.

Going full circle, is it good that a kids class be entirely instruction? Coaches telling kids what Judo should be. Perhaps at this level too, we need to respect the kids and allow them to learn good Judo in a similar way to elite athletes?

Can someone do a long-term study and tell me please.
;-)

One on, one off.

Lance Wicks — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:57:55 GMT

This weeks coaching summary will be a short one, mainly because only one of the clubs I coach at was on this week.

The Royal Navy Judo Club at HMS Collingwood did not have a session this Wednesday due to the building where we have been training being busy hosting a Boxing event.

Mondays sessions at Alresford Judo Club were good however. It was good to see a good number of kids in both sessions and to see them progress on from O Soto Gari/O Soto Toshi and try De Ashi Barai.

For those of you wondering about my odd selection of throws to use with young newbie Judo players, let me explain. UK based coaches won't be asking this question, as it has to do with the BJA (British Judo Association) Mon grade syllabus.

The "new" syllabus has these two throws at the beginning along with simple hold downs and (and I think this is important) transitioning between the throw and hold downs. The syllabus is the work of many people, but can i think be attributed to Mr. Andrew Moshanov.

The syllabus has been the subject of much debate here in the UK, and having listened and spoken with Mr. Moshanov about the syllabus I think I understand the intention behind it. And that sold it for me and I have to say that I have had positive feelings about it. De Ashi Barai I have found kids pick up pretty easily... if we don't impose our experienced adult perspectives on it being hard. I don't agree with all of it but thats just me.

The big issue with the syllabus now is that the Judo world has been rocked by the new IJF rules. The rules are designed to fundamentally change the way Judo is played, and makes me wonder if the syllabus now needs revisiting with this in mind.

Of course, it is early days, perhaps we should see how much (more) the IJF will back pedal and also how much Judo actually changes as a result of the rule changes. My suspicion is that as with all the changes of the rules in the past, these new ones may in the longer term have very little actual effect and the evolution of Judo may continue in the direction it was heading anyway. In which case, if we agree that the new syllabus was designed to prepare people for that direction; it remains valid.

I leave it to you to ponder all this, please do post your views in the comments or via email to lw@judocoach.com

Mike Newton, Digital Judo Coach. :-)

Lance Wicks — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 22:56:20 GMT

Right now, in Japan an English Judo coach is doing something never done before and it is awesome!

Mike Newton of Vale Judo club, is in Japan observing how the #1 High School in Japan trains. This in itself is pretty cool, but what is really ground breaking is that fact he is sharing the experience with all of us online via his blog, his tweets and his YouTube channel.

He is genuinely doing something amazing and we all should thanks him and benefit from his efforts.

I know from my small involvement running http://planetjudo.com that he is influencing thousands of Judo people who read his posts there. I don't know how many are reading his site direct.

A couple of years ago I gave a talk (that Mike references in his latest post) about coaching digital natives. Mike, is now embracing that idea and in a way that is important. His students in the UK are I am sure following the blog, seeing how their coach is learning and sharing and growing as a Judoka. That has to be good for them. But so are other coaches, like myself. His ideas on application of what he sees in Japan in the UK are particularly interesting.

Mikes use of Social Media is an example of what I strongly believe we shall see more and more of. So get over to http://simplyjudo.wordpress.com/ and enjoy what is a world first in the Judo world (as far as I know).

Well done Mike, talk to you when you get back to the UK !

Lance

Judo experiences for the week.

Lance Wicks — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 20:40:28 GMT

Hi all,
so this week I did less coaching than last week and more observing both at Alresford Judo Club and at the HMS Collingwood Judo Club.

Monday night is Alresford Judo Club (Sun Hill Junior School, Sun Lane, Alresford). This week Mr. Ray Whitfield (the main coach for many years at the club) did most of the teaching, especially in the younger childrens class.

It is always good to watch someone else coach and see how the same set of students react to a different person. I learnt alot by watching Ray's experience shine. He knows the kids really well and they know him. I took more of the older age group class, but Ray and I worked on the same core ideas.

The classes developed on last weeks area of focus, O Soto.
The main tool we used was working in four directions, using O Soto (done on the same side). The idea being to allow the kids to learn that doing a throw whilst moving in different directions requires adjustment to the throw.
With the older kids, whilst I was coaching them, Ray identified that their rhythm moving sideways was not strong. So we spent some time trying to develop rhythm, using the Uke's elbow a bit like a pendulum.

The other thing that I loved about Monday was learning a new game/exercise. Ray did this GREAT "The Force" game, like in Star Wars. Basically he stood at the end of a crash mat and each child would walk up to him (often twirling imaginary light sabers). Once they got to him he would point/wave his hand and the kid would fall backwards (from the force you see).
I thought it was a great exercise for helping kids get comfortable falling backwards (Ukemi).

On Wednesday, I was at the HMS Collingwood Judo Club near Fareham. Due to some double booking of the Dojo at the SARC, we were sharing the tatami with the JuJitsu club. Their Sensei suggested rather than a normal session we deliver a "Mini-seminar" of Judo and JuJitsu.
This was quite rewarding, as exploring "traditional Jujitsu" and Judo at the same time shows us alot about Judo I think.

The main comment I would make is that Judo is the natural evolution of Jujitsu when influenced by practical application under pressure.

We of course don't do the strikes and wrist locks, but I think this is more than made up for by the fact that the techniques we do are all tested in competition. Unlike Jujitsu, our techniques are able to be practised and perfected with resistance and near 100% effort. We don't need to "pull our punches".

Good examples of this were apparent in the session, where for example Taio toshi was shown by the Jujitsu Sensei, preceeded by a block to a strike and several strikes. The throw itself would never have worked on a Judo mat. I will be generous and say that they don't need to have as effective a throw as the Uke has already been struck several times before the throw is made.
HOWEVER...
I am not 100% convinced this theory holds water. For example, one of the strikes they used was a strike to the side/rear of the head/neck. This I was informed would make the throw work as the person would be "out of it". But as a Judoka Ihave lost count of the times I have been clubbed around the side/back of the head by someone taking an "over the top" grip. Yet, I managed to defend myself from throws... at least most of the time.
Perhaps a "real" strike would be harder than the "strike" of someone taking the over the top grip.

Another example was their version of Juji gatame. It showed the lack of real testing against a resisting opponent. Things we did in out version were not done as they'd never had to do it on a person who was using every muscle to prevent their arm being locked like we do in Judo week in, week out.
Their initial version was not too bad, just loose and lacking in some of the key points most Judoka would apply. Their second variation was, from a Judo perspective, completely un-usable. Basically they did the lock with one leg over the chest and the other leg near the head bent (think a traditional Judo Juji Gatame with the legs the wrong way around).
The reasoning behind this was they were kicking the person in the head prior to application of the throw. But, having never kicked someone in the head they did the Juji Gatame from a position where Uke's body was not moved and all that really happened was Uke tucked their chin in, or head on Tori's leg.
As Judo people we know that Uke would simply sit up and be between your legs. But the Jujitsuka never having tested their techniques in competition simply don't know how people defend.

This is not me saying that Judo is better than Jujitsu, it is me saying that Judo is the evolution of Jujitsu. That Judo has shed strikes and such and focused on a smaller set of techniques and raised the level far beyond where Jujitsu does them today.

Because Judo is done with serious resistance and we can practise near and at 100% our level of refinement and ability to actually apply techniques is simply beyond what they are able to do. They simply can't strike at 100%, they don't have the opportunity to develop the application of their techniques.

I suspect that everything the Jujitsu sensei said about the effectiveness of his techniques was true... once. When they were developed, when they were done in the heat of battle. In rougher times.

Perhaps in Kano's time this was already apparent back when the legendary contest between Judo and Jujitsu to teach the Tokyo Ploice took place or so the story goes. perhaps even then, Kano's selection of techniques coupled the development of things like Randori were what made the difference??

It was good to explore "our roots" and I have to say I think I walked away with a Jujitsu technique we should be able to apply in kumi kata.
I also learned a fun new warmup.

It was all in all a great experience and I hope that the Jujitsuka and Judoka alike learned from the night.

Lance

A summary of my coaching for the week.

Lance Wicks — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 23:04:27 GMT

Hi all,

well in an attempt at some reflective practice I want to post a little about what happened in the sessions I took this week.

In the adult session at HMS Collingwood, we are working on a more sport oriented style of session (and coaching style). We are trying to work via playing rather than via learning technique.

By this I mean, I encourage more play of the game of Judo. I.e. Randori like practice, more larning by doing rather than by talk.

We started after the warm-up with ne-waza randori. Short repetitions, quickly rotating around the players on the mat. This was followed by drilling a basic ne-waza maneuver.

The technique we used is where your opponent is on all fours, you grab their wrist (threading your arm under their armpit between body and arm). You then rotate/spin around uke's head 270+ degrees, which allows you to bring the opponents elbow up.

After this we did this from a weak Ippon Seoi Nage attack as a transition from uke's attack. Once we got the hang of this exercise, we upped the realism and put a bit of movement and energy into the seoi and the application of the maneuver.

After this we returned to the floor and took the maneuver to the next stage, either turning uke over into a hold, or into a shime or kansetsu waza depending on the situation and of course peoples preference.

Next, we switched back upstairs and worked on finding the "sweet spot" in our Ippon Seoi Nage. By this I mean the ideal body position for you versus your partner. Which is different for each of us. I think everyone found the "sweet spot" and got the idea that in our training we want to identify the "sweet spot" and over time we will zero in on that place.

We then worked on our throw with movement as the precursor to the attack. First trying it lightly with traditional front, back (action, reaction) movement. But also exploring sideways and movement in other directions.

Then into Randori.

This is quite different to the kids sessions I took earlier in the week at Alresford Judo Club.

In that session, I was looking for a more "martial" aspect to the Judo classes. With both sessions I basically worked the same waza, O Soto Gari / O Soto Otoshi.

In the Junior session we played some games around the idea of playing with balance. Sumo whilst crouched and a game where each child holds one leg of the other. We also did an exercise where tori hooks on the O Soto Gari, both kids hop 3 times (Uke backwards), then tori throws/rolls uke over.

I also had them do very traditional uchi komi of O soto gari, rotating down the rows so that everyone did 5 uchi komi on each other person.

With the older kids, again it was only O Soto Gari.

What I was doing was trying to establish a little more "traditional" feel than adult session I took at the Navy.

It has been an interesting week of coaching, next week at Alresford Judo Club, Sensei Ray Whitfield will take the sessions (change is good, but consistency and comfortable style is really important too). I am looking forwarding to understanding the culture and style of the club and feeling out how I need to adapt.

The HMS Collingwood Judo Club will hopefully have some new players, attracted by the "freshers fair" held this week. Also, hopefully after a couple of weeks of training, the word is spreading to the other players hiding in the wood work that the club is back and the training is happening every Wednesday evening.

Looking forward to it.

Zero - two, in a week.

Lance Wicks — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 23:15:54 GMT

So the last time I wrote I was in the USA, having the most amazing time at the clinic for the OKCDT grand opening.

When I got back home, I was a coach with nobody to coach anymore. This was because I was not coaching regularly anywhere. But that has all changed!

Last week I coached no where, zero clubs. This week I coach at two!

I have started coaching at HMS Collingwood Judo CLub for the RN Navy Judo. Which is all adults. I am also going to be coaching at the Alresford Judo Club, where I shall be helping Mr. Ray Whitfield with his club of Juniors.

I am looking forward to both clubs for different reasons.
The Navy Judo is great as it is adults and I hope to take a very "sport" approach. Lots of competing and playing of the game of Judo. Less emphasis on Judo as an artform etc.

With Alresford, the emphasis is very different as it's a kids class. So I hope to bring some silliness and also a lot more education about the way of life that is Judo. Dojo etiquette, life skills, etc.

I'm looking forward to it immensely!

Something else I am looking forward to, for very different reasons, is the newly launched EJU level 4 and 5 course at Anglian Ruskin University. The course leader is Darren (Bob) Challis who owns the awesome CoachingJudo.com website.
The course is obviously very similar to the course that ran at University of Bath, but I think will be even better with the changes Dr. Mike and Bob are putting in. It builds on the positives and negatives from the original venue within TeamBath.

It is absolutely the highest level of coach education in the UK (and beyond), so visit the site and if you coach Judo, you need to email Bob and see if you can get on the course.

Till next time,

Lance

One of my kids sessions at OKCDT. Oklahoma, USA.

Lance Wicks — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:18:49 GMT

Hi everyone,
whilst here in the USA I have been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to work with both Juniors and Seniors at OKCDT in Oklahoma City, USA ( http://www.okcdt.com ).

Below is a video of me working with the kids, if you have watched the clip I posted yesterday of me working with the adults, you will hopefully see that this is the exact same content.

What I tried to do was make it applicable to the juniors whilst retaining the core fundamental principles I was hoping to express. You be the judge.

The video below is also available at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/3857386 .

Once again, it was a pleasure and an honour to be invited to Oklahoma to celebrate the opening of OKCDT's amazing new Dojo. The chance to share some ideas with the kids and adults was a real privilege. The OKCDT members are amazingly welcoming and kind!

I will definitely be back!!

Lance

Recorded stream of the clinic last night at OKCDT.

Lance Wicks — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 14:33:28 GMT

Hi everyone,
I am writing this at the Dojo in Oklahoma City of www.okcdt.com where I am participating in the Grand Opening of the new dojo. The Dojo is great and looks amazing and has a great energy about it, both when full to bursting and when with few people on the mat.

Below is a recording of the free clinic held last night as part of the celebration of the new dojo, it's available also at http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/3841066.

Lance

IRB ELVs Vs. IJF 2010 rule changes.

Lance Wicks — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:04:12 GMT

Overview: A comparison between the implementation of the Rugby Union ELV rule changes and the Judo rule changes.

Introduction
As of January first, 2010, the contest rules of Judo have changed in a large way. The use of techniques that include grabbing of the leg has been banned, and the penalty incurred for doing so is Hansoku Make... or disqualification from the match. The changes have been instituted to preserve/promote "pure Judo" according to the International Judo Federation. Opinions towards these rules are strong and as could be predicted cover the full spectrum from full support to complete horror.

The effect of the rules has yet to be seen and this, in part, is the subject of this article. The second area that is causing discussion in the Judo community is the implementation process for these rule changes.
In this article, we will compare the changes in the rules of Judo and the changes in the sport of Rugby Union.

IRB Rule Changes Summary
The Experimental Rule Variations (ELVs) were launched in 2004 after the Rugby Union World Cup. They are commonly referred to as being the biggest change to the fundamental way Rugby Union is played in the history of the sport. The rules themselves were created and tested initially by Stellenbosch University in South Africa. The IRB's "Laws Project Group" was formed in 2004 and has been responsible for the testing, evaluation and amendment of the experimental rules.

Following the trials at Stellenbosch University the trial then progressed to larger events with a majority of the testing at large events starting from 2007, subsets of the variations were tested also. They were tested at all levels of the game and the Laws Project Group sought feedback from players, coaches, referees and spectators. In a conference in March 2009 made recommendations about the rules which will become part of the rules of Rugby Union. 9 changes were supported and 3 rejected. This was based on game analysis and statistical surveys from over 800 matches, involving more than 3 000 players, coaches and referees at the Elite and Participation levels of the Game from 15 IRB Member Unions.

IJF Rule Changes Summary
The IJF rule changes were announced at the 2009 World Championships (August), and the first test of the new rules was announced at that time and was to be at the 2009 Junior World Championships; 8 weeks after the new rules were announced. Four other events also trialed the new rules. The IJF rules include changes that ban all attacks below the belt with the hands. It also includes a new penalty system for this one infraction. Leg grabs will now result in hansoku make immediately, with no warning Shido or accumulation of Shidos to Hansoku.

To quote the IJF document on the new rules, these changes have been made to "The IJF�s wish is to defend fundamental judo values. Within this scope IJF particularly devotes itself to preserve and develop education, physic and mental trumps of Judo. "

Sadly, there is very little information available on how and who devised the Judo rule changes.
However, what is known is that these changes started with the rule changes proposed at the end of 2008. Which means the current ruleset was devised during 2009. The rule changes, we can only assume, were devised by the IJF referees commission (which consists of 6 members) and possibly the Sporting commission. At the time of writing however no information was able to be found about who devised the rules, how they were devised, assessed, etc. What is known is that it was a small group of people and that the process included a single official test by the IJF. Even continental union presidents were surprised when the new rules were first announced at the August 2009 World Championships.

It is unknown what the assessment process and criteria for the rules has been.

Impact on "The Game" by both sets of rules.
Both sets of rule changes have been proclaimed by people in the respective sports as changing the fundamental nature of the game as it is played.

Within Rugby Union considerable testing has been done over a large number of events, feedback has been sought formally by the Laws Project Group formed to assess and implement these changes. The conference organised near the end of the process in Rugby included IRB administrators: Bernard Lapasset (IRB Chairman), Bill Beaumont (IRB Vice Chairman and Laws Project Group), Mike Miller (IRB Chief Executive), Oregan Hoskins (IRB Executive Committee), Giancarlo Dondi (IRB Executive Committee), Peter Boyle (IRB Executive Committee), David Pickering (IRB Executive Committee), Jean Pierre Lux (IRB Rugby Committee), Geraint John (IRB Rugby Committee)
Other administrators: Francis Baron (England), Rob Andrew (England), Joe Lydon (Wales), Chris Cuthbertson (England), Roger Lewis (Wales), Phillip Browne (Ireland), Eddie Wigglesworth (Ireland), Roy McCombe (Scotland), Colin Thomson (Scotland), Johan Prinsloo (South Africa), John O�Neill (Australia), Ricardo Garcia Fernandez (Argentina), Marcelo Toscano (Argentina), Steve Tew (New Zealand), Neil Sorensen (New Zealand), Francesco Ascione (Italy), Carlo Casagrande (Italy), Jean Louis Barthes (France), Didier Retiere (France), Bill Nolan (Laws Project Group Chairman), Dr Syd Millar (Laws Project Group), Dr Mick Molloy (Laws Project Group/IRB Medical Officer), Graham Mourie (Chairman of IRB Rugby Committee & Laws Project Group), John Feehan (Six Nations), Derek McGrath (European Rugby Cup), Rob Nichol (International Rugby Players' Association), Damian Hopley (International Rugby Players' Association). Coaches: Kevin Bowring (England), Frank Hadden (Scotland), Peter de Villiers (South Africa), David Nucifora (Australia), Robbie Deans (Australia), Santiago Phelan (Argentina), Steve Hansen (New Zealand), Nick Mallett (Italy), Ian McIntosh (Laws Project Group), Pierre Villepreux (Laws Project Group), Rod Macqueen (Laws Project Group), Richie Dixon (Laws Project Group), Ian McGeechan (British & Irish Lions) Referees administrators: Bob Yeman (Wales), Owen Doyle (Ireland), Andr� Watson (South Africa), Ren� Hourquet (France), Bruce Cook (Laws Project Group/IRB Development Manager), Paddy O'Brien (Laws Project Group/IRB Referee Manager), Steve Griffiths (IRB Head of Technical Services), Corris Thomas (IRB Game Analysis), Lyndon Bray (New Zealand Referee Manager). (Apart from Bruce Cook these are all former Test referees.) Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales).

The IJF rules were presented at the congress held prior to the 2009 World Championships and were modified before the final version published on 14 December 2009 by the IJF.

Timeline of IJF rule changes
2007* (Judo at 2007 World Championships identified as being of poor quality
2008* (October) - Version of leg grab rules tested at Junior Worlds
2009 (August) - Rule changes announced at congress
2009 (October) - Initial testing of rules at Junior Worlds (Paris).
2009 (November) - Test events at Grand Prix events in Abu Dhabi and Qingdao
2009 (December) - test events at Korean World Cup and Tokyo Grand Slam.
2009 (December 14th) - Publication of rules for 2010-2013

* Anecdotal evidence only.

Timeline of IRB rule changes
2004 - Project launched.
2005 - Laws Project Group formed.
2006 - Laws devised with initial tests at Stellenbosch University
2007 - Trials begin of 23 rule changes
2008 - Global Trials start of 13 of the initial 23 proposed rule changes
2009 - Final set of rules proposed for approval by conference
2010 - Approved changes to be approved by council and go into effect.

Discussion
What is apparent, is that the Rugby Union has taken a long term, approach to changing the sport. Testing of the rule changes has been done at all levels of the game in 15 different nations.
The Judo changes have by comparison have been tested over only a 3 month period at only the elite level, with a majority of that testing being done in Asia. Given that the rule changes proposed in Judo are considered to be primarily to remove wrestling style moves from Judo, which is prevalent in Europe and to promote Japanese style Judo; the lack of testing outside of Europe could be easily predicted to meet with positive feedback. Of course this argument could also be leveled at Rugby Union where much of the initial testing of the rules was done in the Southern Hemisphere where the ELVs arguably supported their style of play better. However, there were also tested in the UK and the European leagues.

Although there are comparisons that can be made, we also need to consider the differences between both sports.
Judo is an Olympic sport (Rugby Union was/is not, although Rugby 7s now is an Olympic Sport), and faced/faces pressure to retain that position. It is not a popular sport and face direct competition from Tae Kwon Do, Freestyle and Greco-Roman wrestling. The changes being made by the IJF are arguably a way of ensuring that Judo is not seen simply as "just another" wrestling style. The Judo displayed at the 2007 World Championships was considered by some to be poor and the changes since then are seen as efforts to raise the quality of Judo. This is important to the IJF in terms of ensuring that Judo retains it's spectator appeal, especially given that the largest market for Judo is the Japanese television market.

If Judo were to lose it's Olympic status, the general Judo population would undoubtably have blamed the IJF; so the IJF perhaps felt it had to act, and act fast. Equally, the IJF having recently changed the qualification system for the London 2012 games, were against a tight time frame to prevent making changes during the qualification period (2010-2012). So perhaps the IJF was rushing hard to get the changes in place before qualification starts for 2012, to give players and their teams an opportunity to get familiar. The counter argument of course is that a mere few months is not enough time to expect athletes to change the way they play the game.

We can argue also that the IRB approach has been too slow, that the changes should have been pushed through faster. This perhaps is not a valid argument seeing as popularity of the Rugby World Cup has grown event after event, despite the ELVs still not having been made law. So is the argument that Judo was under pressure to get changes in place prior to 2012 valid? We may never know. Equally, the four year Olympic cycle puts time constraints on the IJF. Having decided that changes needed making in 2007 (anecdotally) they could not make changes immediately due to the 2008 Beijing Games. So perhaps the time frame is good, but of course much of this is conjecture as we do not have access to much information on the Judo situation; Rugby has a stronger body of information to assess and discover the background.

Without being a Rugby Union expert it is hard to compare the importance of the ELVs to the importance of the IJF 2010 rule changes. As a non-expert, it would appear that the Rugby rules are less of a radical change than the Judo changes. The Judo rule changes have been designed to prevent a specific style of play or perhaps to encourage the Japanese style of play. The Rugby changes arguably do the same for the style of play favoured by southern hemisphere teams.

The Judo changes alter the penalty system, but only for the single infraction of leg grabbing. As per the December 14th rule publication, a single leg grab can lose a player a match, but all other infractions are awarded Shido and require an accumulation to cause a player to be disqualified from a match. The only Judo infractions that would result in instant disqualification are serious offences such as punching another player for example.

Changes to the Judo repercharge system have also been made in 2009, but these are not included in the December publication. This does have a large impact on players, especially in the middle ranks and much like the rule changes for 2010 that form the majority of this article; they did not have a long or clear process by which they were implemented. The only research I am aware of into the changes in the repecharge system have been done by Densign White (British Judo Association Chairman, and EJU Sporting Director); and his research was done after the changes were proposed and were not part of the formal process.

It is worth looking also at the decision making process. The IRB's approach was that the council appointed a special team of experts to consider the problem ( Rod Macqueen who coached the 1999 World Cup winning Australian side, Pierre Villepreux of France, Richie Dixon of Scotland and Ian McIntosh of South Africa, managed by the IRB's referees manager Paddy O'Brien of New Zealand, a former Test referee). Judo on the other hand has not openly stated who looked at the alternatives and certainly did not appoint a special team or engage with a University to determine the changes. The IJF changes were made I understand by the referees and sporting commisions in collaboration and of course presented at the congress preceeding the 2009 World championships. Sadly there are no publicly available minutes of documentation on how these decisions were made. The IRB also held a conference late in the process to allow a wide audience to assess the proposed changes... no similar action in the Judo world.
The final published rules have some large changes from those proposed at the congress, I am not aware of what approval process the December version went through.

Andrew Moshanov, Technical Advisor to the British Judo Association has presented interesting perspectives on what the new changes impact on the Sport may be. He proposes a 25% increase in grip fighting as a result and an increase in sutemi waza and drop knee techniques. All of which would seem to be negatives if trying to promote a more open Japanese style of fighting. He suggests that the natural reaction of teams fighting the agile Japanese style fighters is to control the grips and movement.

American Coach Gerald Lafon has also been sharing his view of the rules, and awards the IJF a "Hansoku Make". he suggests that perhaps a better approach would be to reward positive actions rather than making "heavy-handed" penalties. I think both he and Mr. Moshanov would support the idea that by removing some of the existing rules (such as the Yuko and Koka scores introduced in the 70's) would have a more positive effect on the sport than creating new penalty systems to try and stop specific styles of play. You should also check out a referees perspective over at http://extricate.org/2010/01/05/nothing ... -for-2010/

Personally, my main concern is not the rules themselves; rather the manner by which they are being implemented by the IJF.
The IJF is as Mr. Lafon describes it, doing "wholesale remodeling" of the sport. Which in itself is not necessarily wrong. I spent time in 2009 working with Modern Pentathalon coaches; a sport that has changed the way the sport is played at a fundamental way. More so than Judo. I am also concerned that we already have interpretation issues with the rules we already have. The video examples provided by the IJF showing illegal and legal leg grabs show the difficulty in interpreting our rules. The new instant hansoku make will most definitely be applied incorrectly and knock athletes out of tournaments who might otherwise have gone on to win. Their is no way humans can be 100% accurate. Video may or may not help, mistakes will always happen. Perhaps a more important project in Judo would be to remove more confusion and clutter from the Judo rules. Changing the rules so less mistakes are possible to be made would make the athletes and their fans happy.

Returning to Judo vs. Rugby, what is clear is that the changes seem to be equally controversial; but the processes are very different.
Rugby appears to have had an open and careful process, where the wider community was kept informed from inception to testing to decisions being made. Judo by contrast seems to have made larger changes in a rushed and closed manner. The reasons provided by the IJF are difficult to compare against the changes in the rules. The Rugby changes however are supported by clear aims and objectives, that to an outsider at least seem to match the proposed changes.

The reasons given for the changes in the Judo rules have referred to preserving Judo fundamental ideals, to preserving "pure Judo". But what is being preserved and what is being discarded? If we are preserving Judo then could we not argue that leg locks and strikes be re-introduced? Especially with the growing popularity of mixed martial arts (The UFC for example), could Judo not have returned to it's harder edged past? The question also needs to be asked about who decides what good or bad Judo is, what pure Judo is? Is the sporting and referee's commission the right people to decide what good Judo is? Personally, I would have liked to see the IJF turn to a University as Rugby did, or to the International Association of Judo Researchers ( www.judoresearch.org ) to find both the answer to the question of what good Judo looks like and also what changes might promote that ideal.

I also worry that by in effect banning a whole style of fighting we are not necessarily improving Judo rather retarding it's development. The Eastern European nations have brought the wrestling style techniques into the sport of Judo. They have proven effective against the Japanese style of fighting. Is banning the effective style abiding by the Seiryoku Zenyo maxim? Is banning the leg grabs simply stifling innovation? I believe that it is a stifling of the great innovative nature of Judo. But innovation will survive and we shall see the innovative players and nations find ways around these rules also; perhaps simply finding new ways of getting leg grabs back into the picture.

Summary
Judo is undergoing fast and considerable change. The processes can not be described as transparent and this is raising the hackles of a wide swath of the Judo population. Though at the 2009 congress the leaders of our sport who attended apparently supported the changes proposed/announced. Rugby also is changing at a fundamental level, however they are taking a slower and seemingly more open approach. Time will be the only way that we will be able to decide if the changes have been for the betterment or detriment of Judo and Rugby. The speed of the respective processes are considerably different, this is affected in part by the importance placed on Judo's Olympic status. Could the IJF afford to let what was considered poor quality Judo to continue into the 2012 games? I am not privy to the data that the IJF used to make such decisions and they have not openly shared their reasoning with us. Rugby Union by comparison has done in my opinion a much better job at communicating what they were trying to achieve, how they hoped to achieve it and the processes they were using to make those changes. We can argue also that their world cup cycle placed the same sorts of time pressure on Rugby, as the Olympics place on Judo.

As an individual, I like the idea of no leg grabs... I could never get off the darn things! ;-)
I don't think that it needs the direct hansoku make, perhaps this will be altered; although this goes against the argument that the rules needed to be implemented before the 2012 qualification period begins. As a Judo coach, the rule changes simply change the battlefield. We need to alter the waza out players consider, the methods we employ to beat out opponents. We will need to change the way we play the sport of Judo to make use of the fact opponents can't attack with leg grabs. We can use kumi kata to negate the agile tachi waza player perhaps? More than likely players that have leg grabs in their arsenal will find new ways to use those throws.

More importantly, I think the IJF needs to embrace a transparency that we have not seen to date.
There are few excuses in this day and age for not sharing the inner workings of the decision making processes in our sport. The IJF has access to all the tools they could ever need to share with those who are interested what they are trying to achieve and the whys and wherefores. It was upsetting in researching this article that I found it so much easier to get supporting information about Rugby than it was about my own sport. Although neither the IJF or IRB have published their meeting minutes openly online, Rugby has shared far more.

As I have written before, I think Judo needs community managers ( http://www.judocoach.com/blog/index.php ... 617-063553 ). The IJF, continental unions and national governing bodies, could do well to engage with the wider Judo community in a serious way. Having a person responsible for building two-way communication channels in Judo would do a lot to lessen the tensions that are apparent in our community. A more open approach could bring great benefit to the IJF and other governing bodies. Imagine if you as a Judoka felt you had a voice within the IJF? Imagine if as a Judoka you had direct connection with the IJF. What if the IJF had spoken to you about the opinion in 2007 that the Judo was poor? Imagine they asked your opinion? Imagine if you saw your idea discussed at IJF level, debated, voted on and accepted? Imagine if the rule changes had been communicated to you is realtime, if you were able to read all the minutes, of all the meetings. Do you think that would be a good thing? Do you think its a good idea for the bodies governing our sport?

In this article I have tried to look at the rule changes in our sport and compare them to Rugby Unions ELVs. Although my biases are apparent I am sure, I have tried to present both sides of the story. What has made this difficult is the lack of information available on the rule changes... which in part is the point; as per my previous paragraph. Both our sports have undergone serious rule changes there is considerable differences between the ways the changes have been approached in either sport. Personally, I think the IRB have taken a better approach; although the argument that the IJF had to get radical changes in place prior to the 2012 qualification period is a strong one.

Please do contact me via comments on this blog, via email to lw@judocoach.com or via http://twitter.com/lancew if you use that. I am also on www.JudoForum.com if you'd like to discuss the topic there.
I have written this article in part to provoke discussion, so please argue BOTH sides of each argument presented (and missed) with your Judo friends.

Yours in Judo,

Lance.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stellenbosch_Laws
http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/news/newsid=2022279.html
http://www.rugbyfootballhistory.com/laws.htm
http://www.sareferees.co.za/news/ref_news/743778.htm
http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/ ... 31057.html
http://theroar.com.au/2007/04/09/a-tick ... osch-laws/
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/6136244.stm
http://www.intjudo.eu/index.php?Menu=St ... mp;main=12
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/6165032.stm
http://www2.samj.org.za/index.php/samj/ ... /2972/2308
http://student.sun.ac.za/rugby/news/new ... ?ItemID=75
http://www.irb.com/newsmedia/mediazone/ ... 22587.html
http://www.eju.net/news/?mode=showNewsItem&id=290
http://judoinfo.com/rules2.htm

http://217.79.182.227/intranet.ijf.org/ijf_video.php
http://www.britishjudo.org.uk/technical ... ations.pdf
http://217.79.182.227/intranet.ijf.org/ ... LES_GB.pdf
http://www.britishjudo.org.uk/technical ... Update.pdf
http://www.britishjudo.org.uk/technical ... tions2.pdf
http://www.irb.com/mm/Document/NewsMedi ... L_5097.pdf
http://blog.betterjudo.com/hansoku-make-ijf/

Off to Oklahoma and returning to the Navy.

Lance Wicks — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 19:47:54 GMT

On the 6th of January 2010, I climb onboard an airplane and fly to Oklahoma City, USA! I'm heading over to the official opening of Mike Darter's new dojo, which based on the photos I have seen is amazing!

Mike's club OKCDT opens officially whilst I am there and we shall be doing some training sessions/seminars to celebrate. If you are in or near Oklahoma City between the 7th and 10th of January 2010, please try and be at OKCDT and come and say hello!

Then... as if a trip to the USA was not exciting enough, on the 20th of January 2010, I return to the Royal Navy Judo community. I'll be taking over coaching the HMS Collingwood Judo club; stepping into the big shoes of Mr. Peter Powell.

I'm looking forward to coaching the club and being involved in Navy Judo again. My plan is to run the club as a sports club, with the focus being on the sport of Judo.

I'll be encouraging lots of competition Judo, and using some more innovative methods to develop the players. I'll be applying many of the approaches I have experienced via the University of Bath, EJU Degree course and the mentorship programme with Brian Ashton.

If you are a past or present Navy Judoka and in or around Portsmouth, please let me know. I'll be needing lots of enthusiastic people to make the club grow and thrive!

Lance