Table of Contents
Junior Judoka Development
Jr. Nationals, Clinics, and Conferences in Honolulu
Snow Throw Kids Shiai
Junior & Youth Training Camp
Senior Judoka Development
Kata Development
Gokyo No Waza / Ashi Waza Grant Report
Instructor Development
Teacher Certification Workshop Narrative
2004 Daiheigen Advanced Clinic Report
Referee Development
2004 USJF Referee Seminar
USJF
Newsletter Staff
USJF Development Newsletter
Copies of most articles found in this newsletter can also be found at USJF
homepage; https://www.usjf.com/.
Junior Judoka Development
Jr. Nationals, Clinics, and Conferences in Honolulu
Robert Fukuda
Jun 11, 2004
The Jr. Nationals in Honolulu
is just around the corner, July 1 to 9, 2004. There are a lot of great activities
and events occurring before, during, and after the tournament. Please take advantage
of these opportunities and register/signup for them now…
- Thursday, July 1, & Friday, July 2 – Referee
Clinic with Juan Carlos Barcos, Carlos Diaz, Joon Chi, Noboru Saito, and Hector
Estevez - Thursday, July 1 – Kata Clinic & Examination with Ichiro Abe, Tadashi
Sato, Eiko Shepherd, and Frances Glaze - Friday, July 2 – Authentic
Hawaiian Luau Dinner - Friday, July 2 to Sunday, July 4 – USJF
Jr. Nationals - Monday, July 5 to Wednesday, July 7 – National
Judo Conference - Friday, July 9 – 50th
State Yudanshakai Golf Tournament
Please visit the Jr. National
website for detailed information and forms.
Snow Throw Kids Shiai
Ron Blake
Feb 9, 2004
The second annual Snow Throw Kids Shiai was held on 2/8/04(USJF sanction #04-02-02).
This event is co-sponsored by Konan Judo Association and Judo Affiliates of
Michigan, and hosted by Southside Dojo. The venue for this event is Hackett
High school in Kalamazoo Michigan.
This tournament is open to juniors only thru age 16, and is intended to foster
the development of competitive judoka, as well as introduce new referees into
the competition arena. This event includes,
- a kata demonstration,
- a spectator and competitor rules briefing,
- live singing of the National Anthem,
- bottled water and certificates for every competitor, and
- many volunteers whose job it is to help the new competitors feel at ease
in the new environment of competition judo - in addition, this year EVERY competitor walked away with a trophy!
It should be noted that while this is an entry level tournament, there have
been no corners cut when it comes to quality of venue, mats, or personnel. The
competitors play on 2 full competition SWAIN Sports Mat tatami areas. Once again,
beverages were provided by Pepsi bottling company of Kalamazoo, and the expenses
for the referee/volunteer lunches were picked up by TDS Metrocom.
The year saw approximately 150 spectators, and the participants included 1
new referee approximately 12 veteran referees, and 49 competitors representing
10 dojos: Grand Rapids Judo, Southside Dojo, Troy Judo Club, Gentle Way Judo,
Michiana Judo, Tsutomuru, Mt. Clemens YMCA, Judan Judo, New Baltimore Judo Club,
and Ace Academy of Martial Arts.
Registration was held from 8:30 to 10:00 AM, and the competition was started
at approximately 10:30 and continued until 12:30. Aside from a couple of bumps
and bruises, there were no injuries sustained by the competitors. To attain
a perspective from the attendees, an exit poll survey was conducted. 15 surveys
were returned, with generally positive feedback regarding the tournament. The
2 most common issues were that of a heating problem in the gymnasium and the
distance that some may have traveled to get to the tournament site.
The net profit on this tournament was $261 which will go to Konan Judo Association
and Judo Affiliates of Michigan.
Next year, we plan to increase participation through a more rigorous advertising
campaign. Our plan is to identify as many dojos within 300 miles and send tournament
fliers via US Postal Service. Some people still have trouble with electronic
documents. We hope to increase the competitor count by at least 25.
Junior & Youth Training Camp
Jerry Hays
June 3, 2004
San Jose State University Judo Team will be hosting a Junior & Youth Training
Camp on June 25th-27th. Head instructors will be 4 time Olympian and World Champion
Mike Swain, Olympian & Pan American champion Keith Nakasone and national
champion Marius Popescu along with the SJSU Judo Team.
For more information please check out our website at www.sjsujudo.org click
on the schedule page to download forms. Email any further questions to Judocamp@yahoo.com.
Senior Judoka Development
Kata Development
Gokyo No Waza / Ashi Waza Grant Report
Dean Markovics
Jan 9, 2004
On January 3, 2004 six students from South Hills Judo Club arrived at my house
at 7:00 PM ( Kimmy Hanauer, Julie Michaels, Joe Michaels, Luther Springs, Donnie
Black, and Nathan Eddy). The group gathered for the purpose of going to a Gokyo
no Waza/Ashi Waza clinic in Birmingham Michigan.
Part of the purpose of our Judo Club is to reach out and provide judo to communities
of need who normally would not have opportunities to learn judo and develop
with the ethics and values we purport. This group is part of a special project
for underprivileged children wanting to learn judo and find other alternatives
to street life.
After registration and changing we entered the "tropically warm"
Saito Dojo. After a series of game warm ups, Mr. Saito started to give some
fine points about the Ashi waza techniques. My students were impressed by Mr.
Saito’s ability. His demonstration of the techniques spoke volumes and were
very clearly. All the students had a wonderful time and were thrilled to have
this opportunity. Many of the student had the honor of being his uki for the
demonstrations.
As part of the post session debrief I gave the students the task of teaching
a technique from the clinic. They are taking on the leadership role and are
doing a great job doing this at South Hills.
This trip has also helped my students form a common bond and develop a core
leadership group. Many of them have never been away from home overnight so it
was a great growing experience for them. My students have made the growth of
a month or two in this one day.
Instructor Development
Teacher Certification Workshop Narrative
Stephen Morris, Konan Judo Association
May 22, 2004
If you believe in quality over quantity, or the old adage that size doesn’t
matter, then you would have been right at home in Ann Arbor on May 15 &16
as Dr. AnnMaria Rousey led a group of 10 appreciative instructors through a
spirited couple of days of discussion and workouts. Participants from Michigan,
Ohio, and Indiana were treated to Dr. Rousey’s singular blend of expertise and
energy in both the theory and practice of teaching Judo.
The first session on Saturday morning focused on principles of effective instruction.
The main message here was the importance of planning lessons ahead of time;
as Dr. Rousey says, "winging it is only good if you’re a bird!" She
stressed the value of each practice having a central objective which is supported
by the activities and drills selected for the class. Ideally, instructors should
develop both short term and long term objectives for their students, based on
careful observation and evaluation of their abilities, goals, and progress.
Once objectives have been established, Dr. Rousey encourages instructors to
remember these basic principles of teaching: 1) Teach one thing at a time 2)
Allow plenty of practice time for the skill to be learned 3) Monitor progress
and give lots of feedback during practice 4) Have students demonstrate skills
for each other.
The second session with Dr. Rousey addressed special groups of students, and
was centered on two groups near and dear to her: female judoka and elite athletes.
Her research has shown that females constitute about 1/3 of judo players under
15, but less than 5% of adult players. Clearly if judo has a future we need
to address the alarming attrition of females in our ranks. Dr. Rousey suggests
that one problem could be that the women who are attracted to judo are not likely
to be complainers; and consequently if they are feeling bullied, harassed, or
otherwise unwelcome they are apt to simply leave rather than say anything. Consequently,
instructors may need to become more sensitive to the climate of their dojos
vis a vis female students. All students want to feel safe, valued, challenged,
and validated; it may take a special effort to ensure that you are fulfilling
this promise for female students. Another problem is the tendency to trivialize
the achievements of women competitors. We run the risk of losing girls to other
sports such as gymnastics, skating, soccer, and swimming, where they may feel
more respected. If we want judo to grow we can’t afford to ignore more than
half of the population any longer!
On the subject of elite athletes, one of Dr. Rousey’s premises is that every
instructor should be prepared to encounter that special player who can rise
above the rest. It has been her observation that about half of the players competing
for top honors around the country got their start in small clubs; so we should
be ready to recognize and challenge these students. She suggested some ways
that instructors can organize workouts to ensure that elite athletes can be
challenged while the other students pace themselves.
Mr. Neil Simon led the final session of day one on the subject of dojo management
and business practices. Mr. Simon, in addition to teaching judo for decades,
is a consultant in business management and has been at the forefront of a movement
to standardize policies and practices in USJF and USJI. The first topic of discussion
was event sanctioning. The next topic was dojo management, with the preponderance
of time spent on issues relating to liability. As instructors we don’t like
to think about it, but liability is quickly becoming the tail that wags the
dog sporting organizations. The overriding concern is to know your legal responsibilities
and cover your butt! The remainder of this session addressed PR, marketing,
and global strategies for teaching and creating a positive atmosphere in the
dojo.
The sessions on day two were all conducted on the mat. Appropriately enough,
Dr. Rousey began with advice about mat management and injury prevention. It
is her contention that the two chief causes of injury in practice are size disparity
between partners, and too many people on the mat. Both of these situations are
easily controlled by the instructor. In the first instance, instructors should
be proactive in assigning partners, particularly in randori practice. In the
second instance, the instructor needs to determine how many pairs of players
can safely practice on their mat, and then rotate pairs in and out during randori.
This has an added benefit of encouraging players to go all out when they get
their turn on the mat and helps keep them focused.
The remaining 2 sessions of the day explored the different strategies used
for teaching children versus teaching adults. Each group has unique needs that
instructors must not only acknowledge, but also actively plan for. Children
need instruction that is appropriate to their level of development. There was
a fair amount of learning theory discussed, with emphasis on Piaget’s ideas
on cognitive development, and Gardner’s notion of multiple intelligences. One
universal concern is that we spend too much time talking at young students when
what they need is concrete instruction and time to practice what you show them.
The key advice for teaching adults was simple: treat them like adults! Adults
should be told WHY they are doing what you ask them to do, and should be encouraged
to ask questions. The better they understand the relevance of drills and exercises
to their progress, the more they will buy into the program. Finally, for both
kids and adults motivation is important. We compete with every possible sport
and pastime for our students’ recreational time and money. Ideally students
are internally motivated, but successful programs find lots of ways to acknowledge
effort and reward progress. We shared ideas about special certificates, medals,
t-shirts, mentions in newsletters and on web sites, etc. We were reminded that
the 2 main reasons people give for staying in sports were, "It’s fun"
and "My friends are there". So make your classes fun, and nurture
an atmosphere where students can connect socially as well as athletically.
In closing I want to thank Dr. Rousey for making time in her hectic schedule
to help our instructors improve their teaching. She certainly was the ideal
model for her own practices. After spending two stimulating days with her I
think I can speak for all of the participants when I say, "We had fun"
and "We made a new friend".
2004 Daiheigen Advanced Clinic Report
Dr. David Matsumoto, USJF
February 21-22, 2004
Daiheigen hosted 32 participants at its Advanced Development Clinic this past
weekend at San Francisco State University. Ages ranged from 11-61 with skill
levels from intermediate- elite.
Clinicians, Dr. Yasuhumi Koyama, Director of Judo at Kokushikan University,
Dr Yasuhiko Moriwaki, womens judo team coach, Kokushikan University and 1980
60Kg World Champion, and Mr. Steve Cohen, 1988 US Olympic Team member and coach
of the 2000 US Olympic Judo Team, taught a variety of standing and ground techniques
targeting the advanced competitor on the first day. On the second day participants
were able to try their new techniques in an informal goodwill shiai. Members
from the Kokushikan mens and womens collegiate judo teams also participated.
The Kokushikan mens judo team were the Japanese collegiate judo champions last
year.
Referee Development
2004 USJF Referee Seminar
Keith Hayashi, USJF
March 21, 2004
Aloha from Hawaii!!
Please follow the link to download the information on the 2004
USJF Referee Seminar that will be held on July 1 & 2, 2004, two days
before the USJF National Championships in Honolulu, Hawaii.
2004 United States Judo Federation
41st National Championships
Honolulu, Hawaii
Referee Seminar Registration Information
Thursday, July 1, 2004 and Friday, July 2, 2004
9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Registration Fee: $50.00
Site to be announced
Special Guest Clinicians:
Professor Juan Carlos Barcos, International Judo Federation Refereeing
Director
Professor Carlos Diaz, Pan American Judo Union Refereeing Director
USA Clinicians:
Professor Joon Chi, Pan American Judo Union Referee Commission Member
USJF Referee Development & Certification Committee Chairman
Professor Noboru Saito, USA Judo Referee Commission Chairman
Professor Hector Estevez, Pan American Judo Union Referee Commission
Secretary
USJF Referee Development & Certification Committee Vice-Chairman
Space limited to first 50 participants
For additional information, please contact:
Keith Hayashi, USJF Referee Development & Certification Committee Secretary
808-479-3494 or at USJFRefSemHI2004@hawaii.rr.com
USJF
USJF VISION
Judo in every American community and school
USJF MISSION/PURPOSE
To serve and support its members in the American judo community while upholding
the principles of mutual welfare and benefit
USJF STRATEGY
Create and maintain a customer service orientation Cultivate leadership at
all levels of the organization Create a positive image of judo
GUIDING PRINCIPLES
" Open communications " Clarifying before speaking (making sure you
understand what the person is saying and where they are coming from)
" Deal with facts (data) (Fact-based decision making) " Cooperation
– all working toward the same outcome
" Decision making in the best interest of grass roots judo in the US through
yudanshakais and USJF Committees – Mutual welfare and benefit
" Balanced Budget " Collaboration of activities- helping each other
out
" Inclusiveness rather than exclusiveness " Integrity – doing what
you say you are going to do
USJF GOALS AND SUCCESS MEASURES
Overall Goals Measures of Success Continue USJF membership growth 5% increase
per year
Continue with judoka, sensei, and leadership skill proficiency
10% average increase in training Increase overall yudanshakai participation
and involvement
100% participation and involvement in USJF activities from all yudanshakai
Develop a USJF brand image 5% of the population in a targeted community differentiates
judo from martial arts
Newsletter Staff
We welcome your comments about the USJF Newsletter, suggestions for future
editions, or inquiries about USJF. Please write to any of the below newsletter
staff.
Editor: Ernie Wakamatsu, etwaka@yahoo.com
USJF, PR Committee Chairperson, Vaughn Imada, vpimada@aol.com
USJF, Development Committee Co-Chairperson, Dr. David Matsumoto, dm@sfsu.edu