JudoCoach.com Blog by Lance Wicks http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php Copyright 2008, Lance Wicks Lance Wicks en-US SPHPBLOG 0.5.1 The Ocean State International http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081121-032600
OCEAN STATE INTERNATIONAL 2009
USA JUDO Junior Point event
March 21st- 2009


Hosted by: Mayo Quanchi Judo
Director: Serge Bouyssou (401) 647-4678
Sanctioned by: United States Judo, Inc.
Chief Referee: Richard J. Celotto

Registration: Serge Bouyssou (401)647-4678 Or Liz Byrne (401) 647-4678

Headquarters: Crowne Plaza Hotel at the Crossings
801 Greenwich Ave
Warwick, RI 02886 (401) 732-6000 - Fax(401) 732-6000 (800) 2CROWNE Mention Mayo Quanchi Judo OR for online registration go to crowneplaza.com Group code is MAO Room Rates will be $119 per night

Tournament Site: Coventry High School, 40 Reservoir Road, Coventry, RI 02816-6457



Prize Money will be awarded for all senior elite divisions with 5 or more competitors



Training camp March 22 With …..TBD cost $75 per person, Team rate $250 location of camp will be held at Mayo Quanchi Judo 751 Main street West Warwick R.I. 02831




Eligibility:

Juniors - Must have current USJI, USJF, USJA or foreign national membership card. A copy of proof of age (birth certificate or passport) and copy of membership card must be sent with the application or shown at the time of registration.

Seniors and Masters - Must have current USJI, USJF, USJA or foreign national membership

card. A copy must be sent with the application or shown at the time of registration.

Rules:

This is a Modified Double Elimination tournament. Golden Score will be used for all junior,

senior and master matches. The winner will not have any losses. Losers will fight in a losers

pool to determine an eventual silver and bronze medalist – There will only be one bronze

medalist however.

Current IJF rules will be used with the following modifications:

1. IJF and Juvenile B matches will be 5 minutes Juvenile A and younger matches will be three (3) minutes long

2. Junior judoka ages 13 and above will be allowed Shime-Waze, but not allowed Kansetsu-

Waza with the exception of the Juv. B and C division where Kansetsu-Waze will be permitted.

3. Junior boys who are ranked on the senior elite roster and/or the IJF junior elite roster

and/or the Juvenile B or C rosters may compete in the senior men’s Division 3-M

category (black belt division) only. The other senior male divisions will not be accessible

to junior boy judoka.

4. Junior girls who are ranked on the senior elite roster and/or the IJF junior elite roster

and/or the Juvenile B or C rosters may compete in the senior women’s Division 1-F

category (all ranks).

5. IJF match times will apply to senior men’s 3-M and senior women’s 1-F divisions – all

other senior and master divisions will be three (3) minutes long



Blue and White Gi’s

Judoka competing in the senior men’s 3-M division and the senior women’s 1-F division

must have both a white and blue gi. All judoka in team competitions must have both a

white and blue gi. One team will be assigned white and the other blue for each team

contest.

Black Belt Competition & Masters

Competitors in the senior men’s 3-M division, senior women’s 1-F division and all

master divisions must be Dan grade or have completed the certificate for non black belt

Awards:

Note: Must be dressed appropriately in a gi or team uniform to receive the award

Note: Points earned during team competition will only count for the team competition contests

and will not earn points for the club as a whole when considering the junior and senior club

trophies.

Gold, silver and bronze medals for each junior and senior division

Outstanding male and female junior trophies

Outstanding male and female senior trophies

Outstanding male and female master trophies

Junior club trophy

Senior club trophy

Entries:

All pre-registration entries must be received by March1st, 2009

Mail registration to:

Serge Bouyssou

290 Matteson Road

Hope R.I. 02831

Late entry/walk-ins will be accepted at the tournament registration and weigh-ins

DO NOT MAIL ENTRY FORM AFTER February 15th – RATHER GIVE IT TO US

AT THE TOURNAMENT DURING REGISTRATION!!!

Entry Fees: NO REFUNDS

Individual Contests: Limited to fighting three individual divisions

1st division if received by March 1st, 2009 $55.00

2nd division if received by March 1st, 2009 $30.00

3rd division if received by March 1st, 2009 $20.00



Please note: Due to junior points being awarded, competitors may not fight a second division within their age group unless it is an open division. You may fight juniors and seniors or Juv A or B and IJF. You also MUST fight in your own age division. Seniors may fight in multiple divisions.



Team Contests:

Fee per male or female team $50.00

Late Fees for any Contest:

Late fee after March 1st, 2009 Additional $25.00

Walk-up registration will be an additional $35.00

Any questions about registration can be referred to: Serge Bouyssou (401) 647-4678 or Liz Byrne (401)580-0604

Make check or money order payable to: Serge Bouyssou

_ __













Schedule:

Note:Friday March 20th Registration and Weigh-ins will take place at the tournament headquarters – Crown Plaza hotel

.

Friday, March 20th – Registration / Weigh-in for Saturday’s events from 2:00 – 9:00 PM



Saturday, March. 21st Weigh-ins will take place at the tournament site



7:30- 9am Juniors, weigh-in for declared weight divisions (Pre-Registered only)



9:30am Competition begins with bantam and IJF divisions



11:00am Start of Juv, A,B and Intermediate



12:00-1:00 pm Weigh-in for Seniors and Masters



2:00pm Start senior divisions



End of tournament Team Competitions



Sunday, March. 22nd – Camp schedule 9:00 – 11:00am



Notice:

The tournament committee reserves the right to make any changes necessary in the best interest

of the contestants and in the interest of fair play. Any falsely submitted forms and direct display

of poor sportsmanship will result in ejection from the tournament.

SPECIAL WEIGH-IN AT TOURNAMENT SITE:

· Competitors may weigh-in the morning of their event provided they

are pre-registered, and make their stated weight as

noted on their registration form.

· If the competitor does not make weight, they are out of that particular

division they pre-registered for. We will have the brackets prepared

by that point in time for the tournament and cannot change bracket

posting in order to accommodate a missed weight.

· Coaches –Make sure your players make their pre-registered weight if

planning to weigh-in at the tournament site the morning of their event.

· NO REFUNDS FOR MISSED WEIGHTS!!!

Team Competition:

Teams are composed of the following:

Senior Male Team

· male weight divisions (55, 60, 66, 73, 81, 90, 100 and 100+Kg.)

Senior Female Team

· female weight divisions (44, 48, 52, 57, 63, 70, 78, 78+Kg.)

_ __

Age and Weight Divisions for individual competition:

JUNIORS

Junior judoka age 13 and above will be allowed Shime-Waze (chokes), but not allowed Kansetsu-

Waza (armlocks)

Bantam 1 (Born 2003)

Female and Male:

19kg, 23kg, 28kg, +28kg

Bantam 2 (Born 2002)

Female and Male:

21kg, 25kg, 30kg, +30kg



Bantam 3 (Born 2001)

Female and Male:

23kg, 27kg, 31kg, 35kg, +35kg

Intermediate 1 (Born 1999-2000)

Female and Male:

26kg, 30kg, 34kg, 38kg, 43kg, +43kg

Intermediate 2 (Born 1997-1998)

Female and Male:

28kg, 31kg, 34kg, 38kg, 42kg, 48kg, 53kg, +53kg

Juvenile A (Born 1995-1996)

Female and Male:

36kg, 40kg, 44kg, 48kg, 53kg, 58kg, 64kg, +64kg

Juvenile B (Born 1993-1994)

Female:

40kg, 44kg, 48kg, 52kg, 57kg, 63kg, 70kg, +70kg

Male:

51kg, 55kg, 60kg, 66kg, 73kg, 81kg, 90kg, +90kg

IJF Junior (Born 1990 and later)

Female:

44kg, 48kg, 52kg, 57kg, 63kg, 70kg, 78kg, +78kg

Male:

55kg, 60kg, 66kg, 73kg, 81kg, 90kg, 100kg, +100kg

Junior boys who are ranked on the senior elite roster and/or the IJF junior elite roster and/or the

Juvenile B roster may compete in the senior men’s Division 3-M category (black belt division)

only. The other senior male divisions will not be accessible to junior boy judoka.

Junior girls who are ranked on the senior elite roster and/or the IJF junior elite roster and/or the

Juvenile B roster may compete in the senior women’s Division 1-F category (all ranks).

SENIORS AND MASTERS

Shime-Waze (chokes) and Kansetsu-Waza (armlocks) permitted in ALL senior and master

divisions

Senior IJF weight classes - _ 44kg, 48 kg, 52 kg, 57 kg, 63 kg, 70 kg, 78 kg, +78kg

Women 1-F Division (all ranks – must have a white and blue gi)

Master light, medium and heavy weight classes

Women 2-F Division (ages 30-39)

3-F Division (ages 40-49)

4-F Division (50+)

Senior IJF weight classes - 55kg, 60kg, 66kg, 73, 81kg, 90kg, 100kg, +100kg

Men 1-M Division (rokkyu to yonkyu)

2-M Division (sankyu to ikkyu – brown belts)

3-M Division (Dan grades, Elite athletes, qualified juniors – must have a white and blue gi)

Master light, medium and heavy weight classes

Men 4-M Division (ages 30-39)

5-M Division (ages 40-49)

6-M Division (ages 50+)

_ __

COACHES CREDENTIALS AND PASSES

Coaches may check-in during the regular registration times. All coaches must show proof of current

coach certification with either USJI, USJF, USJA or their national organization.

Coaches passes are free. A club/team may have as many coaches as they wish provided they are qualified

and can produce the credentials as noted above. All coaches enter the competition site for free.

MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION

During weigh-ins, competitors will be permitted to test weigh on the official scale as often as they like.

We promise to do everything possible to run this tournament as fair as humanly possible, with our main

concern and attention being given to the competitors.

Because this is an international tournament with young competitors from different countries speaking

different languages, we reserve the right to re-fight a match if necessary because of any

misunderstandings or mistakes on the part of a player or coach making what we determine to be an honest

error. We see no harm in re-fighting a match under these circumstances.

We realize problems in transportation can arise due to no error on the part of the competitors. If a

problem arises, please call and speak to one of the following people. The phone numbers provided are

cell phone numbers which should get you in contact with the tournament staff in case of such as

emergency.

Serge Bouyssou Liz Byrne

Cell phone/Mobile – (401) 440-0010 Cell phone/Mobile – (401) 580-0604

We’ll see you in March and good luck!























OCEAN STATE INTERNATIONAL

INDIVIDUAL COMPETITION ENTRY FORM

PRINT YOUR INFORMATION IN ENGLISH

Just use this one form for all individual divisions you are entering

Sex:____________ male or female Age:_______

Name: _________________________________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________________________________

City____________________________State______________Zip_____________

Country_____________________________

Email: _____________________________ Phone: _____________________________

Judo Club: _____________________________ Instructor _______________________

National Judo Organization: _________________ Membership Number _________________

MARK (circle) YOUR DIVISION(s)

Bantam 1 (Born 2003) Bantam 2 (Born 2002) Bantam 3 (Born 2001)

Intermediate 1 (Born 1999-2000) Intermediate 2 (Born 1997-1998)

Juvenile A (Born 1995-1996) Juvenile B (Born 1993-1994) IJF Junior (Born 1990 or later)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Senior Women 1-F Division (all ranks) Master Women 2-F Division (ages 30-39)

Master Women 3-F Division (ages 40-49) Master Women 4-F Division (age 50+)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Senior Men 1-M Division (rokkyu to yonkyu) Senior Men 2-M Division (sankyu to ikkyu)

Senior Men 3-M Division (Dan grades, Elite athletes, qualified juniors)

Master Men 4-M Division (ages 30-39) Master Men 5-M (ages 40-49)

Master Men 6-M Division (ages 50+)



ENTRY FEE

1st division $_________

2nd division $_________

3rd division $_________

TOTAL $_________

OCEAN STATE INTERNATIONAL

TEAM COMPETITION ENTRY FORM

PRINT YOUR INFORMATION IN ENGLISH

Name of Team: _________________________________________________________________

City____________________________ State______________

Country_____________________________

Email: _____________________________ Phone: _____________________________

Judo Club/Team: _____________________________

Instructor _______________________

National Judo Organization: _________________

Teams are composed of the following:

Senior Male Team

· male weight divisions (55, 60, 66, 73, 81, 90, 100 and 100+Kg.)

Senior Female Team

· female weight divisions (44, 48, 52, 57, 63, 70, 78, 78+Kg.)

List your team members and their weight class

Male Team _______ or Female Team _______

Weight Class Competitor

Submit fee for team competition as previously explained. Entry Fee $______________

Substitutions will be permitted with adequate advanced noticed provided the substitute competitor is

registered and properly weighed in.

























Camp Application





Sex:____________ male or female Age:_______ approx weight_____________

Name: _________________________________________________________________

Address: _________________________________________________________________

City____________________________State______________Zip_____________

Country_____________________________

Email: _____________________________ Phone: _____________________________

Judo Club: _____________________________ Instructor







Camp fee will be $75 per person

Special team rate of $250 for entire teams attending

























































COMPETITORS MUST COMPLETE AND SUBMIT !!!

WARNING, WAIVER AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY, AGREEMENT TO PARTICIPATE

AND NON-BLACK BELT COMPETITOR WAIVER

In consideration of being permitted to participate in any way, including travel to and from, Ocean State

International, and related events and activities of United States Judo, Inc., United States Judo Federation, United

States Judo Association, Mayo Quanchi Judo, La Salle Academy and all tournament staff and referees, I hereby:

1. Acknowledge that I am familiar with the sport of Judo and understand the rules governing the sport of

Judo.

2. Agree that, prior to participating, I will inspect the mats, equipment, facilities, competition pools or

divisions, and the elimination or scoring system to be used, and if I believe anything is unsafe or beyond

my capability, I will immediately advise my coach, supervisor and/or a tournament official of such

conditions and refuse to participate.

3. Acknowledge and fully understand that I will be engaging in a contact sport that might results in serious

injury, including permanent disability or death, and severe social and economic losses due not only to my

own actions, inactions or neglect, but also to the action, inactions negligence of others, the rules of the sport

of Judo, or conditions of the premises or of any equipment used. Further I acknowledge that there may be

other risks not known to me or not reasonably foreseeable at this time.

4. Knowing the risks involved in the sport of Judo, I assume all such risks and accept personal responsibility

for the damages following such injury, permanent disability, or death.

5. Release, waive, discharge and covenant not to sue the United States Judo, Inc., United States Judo

Federation, United State Judo Association, Ocean State International, Mayo Quanchi Judo and La Salle

Academy, together with their affiliated clubs, their respective administrators, directors, agents, coaches,

and other employees or volunteers of the organization, event officials, medical personnel, other

participants, their parents, guardians, supervisors and coaches, sponsoring agencies, sponsors, advertisers,

and if applicable, owners, lessors and lessees of premises used in conducting the event, all of whom are

hereinafter referred to as “releasee”, from any and all claims, demands, losses, or damages on account of

injury, including permanent disability and death or damage to property, caused or alleged to be caused in

whole or in part by the negligence of the releasee or otherwise to the fullest extent permitted by law.

I HAVE READ THE ABOVE WARNING, WAIVER, AND RELEASE, UNDERSTAND THAT I GIVE UP

SUBSTANTIAL RIGHTS BY SIGNING IT, AND KNOWING THIS, SIGN IT VOLUNTARILY. I AGREE

TO PARTICIPATE KNOWING THE RISKS AND CONDITIONS INVOLVED AND DO SO ENTIRELY

OF MY OWN FREE WILL. I AFFIRM THAT I AM AT LEAST 18 YEARS OF AGE, OR IF I AM UNDER

18 YEARS OF AGE, I HAVE OBTAINED THE REQUIRED CONSENT OF MY PARENT/GUARDIAN AS

EVIDENCED BY THEIR SIGNATURE BELOW.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Participant (print name) Participant Signature Date

FOR PARENTS/GUARDIANS OF PARTICIPANTS OF MINORITY AGE

(UNDER AGE 18 AT TIME OF REGISTRATION)

This is to certify that I, as parent/guardian with legal responsibility for this participant, do consent and agree to

his/her release, as provided above, of all the Releasees, and, for myself, my heirs, assigns, and next of kin, I release

and agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Releasees from any and all liabilities incident to my minor child’s

involvement or participation in these programs as provided above, even if arising from their negligence, to the

fullest extent permitted by law. I have instructed the minor participant as to the above warnings and conditions and

their ramifications.

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Parent/Guardian (print name) Parent/Guardian Signature Date

ALL NON BLACK-BELT COMPETITORS IN THE SENIOR WOMEN’S 1-F DIVISION, SENIOR MEN’S

3-M DIVISION AND ALL WOMEN AND MEN MASTER DIVISIONS MUST HAVE CERTIFICATE

BELOW SIGNED AND A COPY OF THEIR INSTRUCTORS/COACHES BLACK-BELT CERTIFICATE

MAILED WITH THE APPLICATION

I, (name of instructor/coach)________________________________________, a Shodan or higher recognized by a

national governing body of Judo, certify that the able athlete, although not having been award the rank of Shodan or

higher, is of sufficient aptitude and skill in Judo to compete in this event and division.

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Signature of Instructor/Coach Date

DON’T FORGET TO ATTACH A COPY OF:

1. Proof of age (copy of birth certificate or passport)

2. Copy of membership card with national organization

















Add Booklet



Inside front cover $300.

Back cover $250.

Full page $200.

Half page $150.

Quarter page $75.

Eight page $50.

Please send your add and money by February 15th, 2009. We will be going to print by March 1st.

Send your add to Liz Greco. 50 Umiak Ave, Jamestown R.I. 02835

















Attention Referees



All referees that are pre-registered with Serge Bouyssou will receive payment for refereeing and hotel reimbursement for ˝ occupancy . To register simply contct Serge Bouyssou at judocoach@cox.net. You are responsible for making your own hotel reservations. Payment will be made to you after the conclusion of the finals.



Thank you

Serge Bouyssou

Mayo Quanchi

















Sales Booth Registration



Name_______________________________________________

Company ____________________________________________

Fee for sales booth is $200 due by March 1st, 2009



























The Ocean State International after tournament dinner & party will be Sunday at 5pm. All are welcome.

Please let us know if you plan to attend and how many you will have in your group. We will have a 300 person maximum at this event. Write to Serge Bouyssou, judocoach@cox.net for your reservation.


]]> http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081121-032600 Lance Wicks Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:26:00 GMT http://judocoach.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=11&entry=entry081121-032600 Australasian Masters... http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081119-083806
Australasian Masters Games - Team Event

The Australasian Masters Games will be held in Geelong, Victoria on the 27th and 28th February 2009. In addition to individual shiai and kata events there will be a Masters Team Event.

Each Australian State and New Zealand are being asked to encourage as many Masters Judoka as possible to come along - a Master Judoka is a player over the age of 30 years.



Ideally teams will made up using the standard IJF weights and World Masters age categories - however it is likely that a certain amount of amalgamation will be required to make Teams. Using this method the World Masters Championships developed from a competition of 120 Judoka in 1998 to a competition of 1500 judoka in 2008.

All levels of players will be welcome. This is a good opportunity for judoka of all ages and grades to enter a fun tournament where they will get the fairest opportunity possible to compete against their peers.



Masters judo is growing around the world and if this competition is successful it will encourage players from the other Unions to enter in the future - it is worth persuading your friends to train!


Information for the Games can be found at the following site

www.australasianmasters.com


]]> http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081119-083806 Lance Wicks Wed, 19 Nov 2008 14:38:06 GMT http://judocoach.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=11&entry=entry081119-083806 British Interservices Judo Championships 2008. http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081115-143224


As with all the interservice competitions, there is many many years of history and pride on the line. The day started with the traditional team events, kyu grades and dan grades. In the afternoon a more standard individual event insues.

There is also a points system by which each individual result adds to a service total. I confess i don't know quite how that worked. Nor what the final results were, I am sure the various service websites will have the results soon.

The interservices tournament is my favourite domestic event. By a long shot!

There is much to sell the event, great sense of importance being on a miltary base. Knowing that these matches have been happening for a long time. Also, it is only military personnel, so the level varies. This is very similar to the British Universities Judo event. Excluding people from attending is I thing something that all tournament organisers should consider.

That said, there are fulltime athletes and international level players attending. But this did not mean they had it easy. I saw several instances where a novice did amazingly well against the more serious athletes.

If I make a complaint, and yes of course there is a complaint coming, it's... the referees! There were some big errors and mistakes; but that's life. These things happen and sometimes they were corrected, though not often.


BUT my gripe for the day is this...
Just because a player lands on their side, this does not mean its a darn Yuko IMHO!
There were several instances of big throws ending with Uke landing (argueably) on their side and Tori only getting a Yuko. Then moments later some little knockdown got yuko too.

Maybe it's the "official interpretation" I'd like to know. But as I remember the rules, its a technique executed with force, speed, control where they land "mainly on the back" that scores Ippon. If one element is missing it is Wazari.

So, if they land on their side I would say that this is one missing element, so Wazari.

I got shouted at by "the table" when I shouted when someone was thrown in one of the bigger throws of the day (a standing Ippon Seoi) and only got Yuko. "They" stated it was because it was because he landed on his side.

Now maybe this is the official interpretation, though I doubt it and suspect it was just another instance of low level referees being... well low level and getting it wrong.

If it is the offical ruling on this, then it needs to change!

In the occasion I mentioned above, the player threw the opponent from full standing shoulder height. It was a lovely Ippon Seoi nage! The other guy hit the floor hard and fast! he was on his side, though I would argue that he was on back and side. So I saw a Wazari, but no.. Yuko!

If this is the "correct" ruling, then the rule absolutely needs changing and you, I and all of us need to fight to get it changed! It is unfair and bad for the sport! What motivation is there for me/you to try the big throw when it is substantially safer/easier to go for a lesser knockdown that lands them on their side.

What do you think?

Anyway, be sure to visit the various "services" websites:

http://www.rnjudo.com/
http://www.raf.mod.uk/rafjudo/
http://www2.army.mod.uk/sportandadventu ... /index.htm]]> http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081115-143224 Lance Wicks Sat, 15 Nov 2008 20:32:24 GMT http://judocoach.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=11&entry=entry081115-143224 New IJF rules... again. http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081112-095842 here and here).

Since the event in October, the IJF has published some more documents in regard to the rules; including on the (new) gi measuring device.

I couldn't on first glance see them anywhere on the IJF website ( www.ijf.org ) but to save you some surfing I am putting them here/below:

2008 Ijf Ref New Rules Wc Bangkok'08 Final Tested
Get your own at Scribd or explore others: Sport Judo


2008 IJF REF Rules Kumi-Kata 1
Get your own at Scribd or explore others: Sport


2008 IJF REF Rules Negative 2
Get your own at Scribd or explore others: Sport


How to Use Sokuteiki
Get your own at Scribd or explore others: Sport


Sokuteiki Rule Eng Spa Fre
Get your own at Scribd or explore others: Sport


Please post your thoughts in the comments.

** Those of you reading this in a feedreader or on www.PlanetJudo.com the documents may not be visible so please come to http://www.judocoach.com/blog/index.php ... 112-095842 to see them. ***]]> http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081112-095842 Lance Wicks Wed, 12 Nov 2008 15:58:42 GMT http://judocoach.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=11&entry=entry081112-095842 Another quick plug for a new Judo Blog! http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081109-160045 Dave, another of my colleagues at the University of Bath has a great blog on the go. And he has asked that I pimp it here. For him... anything!

So Dave is running the Advanced Apprenticeship Judo Blog.

The Blog is by Dave of Wolverhampton Uni and is following the AASEJUDO scheme. The AASE is to quote the website:

Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence is for Judo players aged 16 to 18 who are seeking a future career in the sport. It combines education and training and players benefit from 16 hours of free high quality Judo training per week including a strength and conditioning programme. The remainder of the time is spent studying at college in a sports related qualification.


The blog started off with weekly summaries, but Dave is pulling out all the stops now and it is getting updates, pictures and as of this week videos too! So I have added the blog to www.planetjudo.com and I am following it via that and also have subscribed to the feed on my iPhone as I think it is great!

So, Dave there you are, I have plugged you blog mate! ;-) Keep it going and I hope Dale is ok.

Lance]]> http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081109-160045 Lance Wicks Sun, 09 Nov 2008 22:00:45 GMT http://judocoach.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=11&entry=entry081109-160045 Judo... quick to change in some areas, not in others. http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081109-150024
So Judo people are rightly known as adaptable. Yet in other area we are so slow to change it is frightening!

I run my Judo podcast which was not my idea, it was Mike's idea, I just created a European version of his Judo Podcast. And to be frank, both Mike and I, were late to the party. Karate and Aikido had podcasts before we started ours.

Yet, here we are in late 2008 and there are still only 2 Judo podcasts. I started mine after Mike and mine started in 2006! And there are still just the two podcasts. Why? Is podcasting a bad idea? Is sharing expert knowledge with as many people as possible a bad idea? Yet there remain only two podcasts on Judo? Why are we not adapting?

Thoughts of Temjin 2
I have been blogging about Judo for years, roughly 2003 I think I started. Yet 5 years later there are only 70 odd blog feeds I have tracked down. Not exactly a huge number! What tiny percentage of the global Judo community is that?

I have given a lecture on "Coaching Digital Natives" ( http://www.slideshare.net/lancew/coachi ... al-natives ) to Judo coaches here in the UK. It was quite flattering and very rewarding that many of the Judo people in the lecture have now started blogs, Facebook groups etc (I am also giving the lecture again at the end of the month for the BJA by the way).

So change is possible... I have not given up hope for Judo, despite what some people may think from my cynical posts. I personally have met some great people doing awesome things. They are doing new and exciting things, and they are working!

But... they are doing it outside of the system. As individuals Judoka seem to be adaptable. But perhaps it is the associations/federations that are not adaptable.

Maybe this should be the focus of our attentions?
Maybe we should be driving forward new ideas deep into the hearts of our governing bodies? Maybe instead of doing cool new things, people should stop doing that and attend meetings? Maybe we should all show up on mass at the next commission/sub-committee meeting and cause some waves?

I don't think so. The "shock absorber" bureaucracy that is associations, meetings, commissions might be too much for us to overcome and worse the innovtors might be sucked into the mediocracy!

So what to do?
Well... here is my thought, lets seek out the innovators, the radicals. Seek them out and encourage them. Tell them they are "fighting the good fight" and support them 110%. Better yet find ways to get them together. Together in person, together online. And promote there ideas where ever and however we can.

...and then you can have ice cream! :-)
]]> http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081109-150024 Lance Wicks Sun, 09 Nov 2008 21:00:24 GMT http://judocoach.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=11&entry=entry081109-150024 A quick plug for Mark Brewer's new Blog website. http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081106-202913
Mark is a young kiwi training at an Olympic training centre in Cologne, Germany. Which is pretty tough going for a guy from a small town in a small country from the otherside of the planet.

No taking it easy for Mark, he is on the mat training with the likes of Ole Bischoff Olympic Gold Medalist!

Mark's site is over at http://markjudobrewer.com so please take a look and say hello, leave an encouraging comment.

Lance]]> http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081106-202913 Lance Wicks Fri, 07 Nov 2008 02:29:13 GMT http://judocoach.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=11&entry=entry081106-202913 A comparison between two Judo events. http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081102-164639
So I shall start by making it even more clear that I am biased. The Heartland even was organised by Mike Darter, the man behind http://www.thejudopodcast.com which was and still is the inspiration for my own http://www.thejudopodcast.eu podcast. Mike's an innovator and the BJA is a large organisation.

I should also state that I did not attend either event, the Heartland event was in Oklahoma City in the USA. The British Trials in Sheffield, here in England.

What I shan't be comparing is the differences between a team event and individual competition. Nor between British Judo and American Judo. It is also not about number of players, quality of players, etc. Although, argueably the British Trials would be a bigger/better event in each case. As there were current Olympians at the trials and (I think) more players and more mats.

But, lets look at some other things; more in my area of fascination.

So lets start off with the website:

Easy win for the Heartland event here, they have a website; as far as I have been able to find the Trials do not. Although you could argue that the B.J.A. website is the website for the trials.

Now... I am going to say that the BJA site is the Trials site.
So it's late sunday night and the amount of information available of the event is.... Zero.

If we compare this with the Heartland event. Live streamed video. Full results, Free team photos and professional photographer covering the whole event.



So, shall I compare anything else.... do you think it is worth it?


No... neither do I.


So this is basically the point of my post.
Mike and his colleagues managed to put together a far superior presence and (most probably) more enjoyable event than the much larger BJA. Now Mike is self-funded, the BJA has lottery funding, membership fees and of course revenue from elsewhere such as their Merchandising efforts (lets not discuss that! Ask me one day about the new clothing line the BJA have put out yeah?).


So...
Mike vs. the BJA.
David vs. Goliath.


To be honest, it is an unfair comparison. Mike is a innovator, the BJA is a bureaucracy.
That said... the BJA should (in my opinion at least) be able to do better than Mike. I suspect the issue here is that the BJA (probably) didn't even try and put a web presence together. They are far from digital natives after all. And to be frank they probably farmed the organisation off on an area committee.


So why am I bothering to piss off the BJA by comparing it to a small event on Oklahoma City and saying that the small event was better??

Because I think that it is important to highlight that the BJA should be doing better on the web, I have (many times) bemoaned the BJA website failings. In this day and age, the BJA needs to be properly engaged with it's "customers" aka "members" via the web.

The internet is the place we look for information, entertainment, news, etc. It is where we find things, its where we stay connected, especially if you are a young person like the majority of the BJA membership.

Mike put together his event and integral to it was the website.
From before it had a name, he considered and started planning what he could do online. Then he bought a domain, got a logo madeup, put a site online. THEN he secured a venue, got entries etc etc.

Consider for a moment the monumental difference in approach here.
The website in Oklahoma came before almost everything else, it was/is a key component of the event. Contrast that with the website-less British Trials.


I would like you to Google both events for me. Come back and in the comments (or via email) let me know what you find. Tell me what your reaction to the Heartland Team event is. Tell me how many people will visit the Heartland site and see the videos? How many people will gain from that, get a positive experience, tell a friend, enter next year?

Let me know please. BJA folk (and I know you are lurking out there, not commenting on the site) let me know why one guy in Oklahoma City can kick your butt?

So, off you go folks, see what you can find on both events, come back and tell me what you think. To get you started below is a video from Mike's site. It's hosted on a free web service which makes it easy for me to share it here, nice huh!


P.s. Thats Mike in the third image, on the right. ;-)]]> http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081102-164639 Lance Wicks Sun, 02 Nov 2008 22:46:39 GMT http://judocoach.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=11&entry=entry081102-164639 Norwich Premier Judo Club gets a new home! http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081030-031524 CONGRATULATIONS NIGEL!
My colleague at University of Bath and fellow EJU Level 4 Judo coach, Nigel Thompson made the news yesterday, when his club secured new premises.



The Judo Club has seemingly been chasing the building for quite some time. So it is excellent news. Hopefully it means Nigel gets a permanent mat area and will be able to do great stuff there.

]]> http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081030-031524 Lance Wicks Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:15:24 GMT http://judocoach.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=10&entry=entry081030-031524 More thoughts on an Open Source Judo system. http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081027-050849 here are some more thoughts on what I think would be a brilliant project, an Open Source Judo software package.

Platform: Web based, with formatting for iPhone/Mobile.

Areas:
. Members DB
. Class register
. Fees
. Contest management, entries etc.
. Contest scoreboard
. Contest draws
. Contest results
. Coaching programme management (Class plans etc)
. Athlete programme management (Periodisation, testing, etc)
. Grading records
. Syllabus management
. Communication. Newsletters, PR, social networking etc
. Rankings
. Calendar management
. Grading management
. Certification management (coaches, officials etc).
. Education - provide tools to teach for certifications, classes etc.

Technology:
. PHP (it is the "working mans" language) large developer base.
. CakePHP - Good solid MVC Framework.
. MySQL or XML. how to store the data and at what cost? Avoiding a DB "might" improve portability??
. OAuth - For authentication between installs
. XML - Data transfers, Data exprts, etc.

Concepts:
. OPEN - Open Source, so we can leverage a large pool of talent and it can benefit all Judoka. Also open standards so XML, JSON, RSS, etc.
. Federated - Make it possible/easy to share data between isstallation where relevant
. Secure/Private - Ensure all sharing/federating is done securely and that the users know its being shared and control it.
. Modular - Make a core and then create modules. So a club will have a set of modules, a tournament a different set, NGB another.
. Multi-lingual - Judo is a global sport so we need to support languages from the start.

Overview:
As it seems to me, the idea would be to build a core system, that allows modules to be simply added and removed via the system. Federation and user management would be in the core app. Functionality pertaining to the activities of a club, player, coach, NGB, tournament organiser would be included in modules.


Thoughts?]]> http://judocoach.com/blog/index.php?entry=entry081027-050849 Lance Wicks Mon, 27 Oct 2008 11:08:49 GMT http://judocoach.com/blog/comments.php?y=08&m=10&entry=entry081027-050849