Quote:
Originally Posted by Frodo
I'm a brown belt (sankyu) in judo and I like judo, but a lot of judo's problems is the "do" part. "Do" means the way, as in the way of life. Some judoka get so attached to judo as THE WAY that they end up looking down on every other way. They forget that not everyone is the same kind of person. Even in judo, different people have different tokuiwaza (favorite techniques). A taller person might prefer ashiwaza (mostly foot sweeps) while a shorter person might like koshiwaza (hip throws). So he should know that different people need different styles. Nobody is the same.
To suggest that only one way is the best way - as a way of life - is quite frankly against the spirit of judo. Namely it violates the principle of maximum efficiency with minimum effort. Even using his premises (that I also reject), which makes more sense: spending 5 years becoming proficient enough at throws to use them in an MMA fight with a possible shot at finishing the fight or 3 years to learn the "easier" sankaku jime (triangle choke) and absolutely finish fights. Obviously using his own statements, learning BJJ is more with the spirit of judo than learning judo itself!
It sounds like Pedro drank the Kool-Aid a little too much. Pity. The only absolute answer that I know of in martial arts is that personal preference is very important. Not everyone has the same attributes or the same strengths or weaknesses. Not every situation calls for the same type of thinking. So you shouldn't expect any one person, school, camp, style or philosophy to be absolutely correct. Bruce Lee said it best: be like water.
As an aside: I mean, beyond the GIA tapes, I find most BJJers more open to cross-training than most judoka. Saulo insists his students at his BJJ University do judo, for example. Pablo Popovitch has a wrestling class at his school IIRC. Many BJJ schools seem to add wrestling and judo programs to help their BJJ, but I hardly ever hear wrestling or judo schools adding BJJ to their curricula. We are an exception at Team Balance Pittsburgh - having been invited to share the facility with South Hills Judo. I wish more judoka in the States were open minded.
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Frodo, I'm not attacking you personally, because I like a lot of the things that you have to say, but I have to disagree with you about the Do comments.
Being a sankyu, you are most likely still very far away from really understanding the do. I'm also a sankyu and I know I'm still a ways off, although I'm starting to see the path. My sensei likes to say that judoka start to learn the Do around yondan and I am taking his word for it.
My disagreement is what you seem to be calling the Do. Do you mean it like the Gracie Way where the diet, lifestyle, and martial arts are all tied together? If that's what you mean, I disagree to a certain point. I see living life in a certain way is more to help understand the Do as opposed to being Do. I see the Way as being more of the intangible connections made in judo. I wish I could explain it, but like I said before, I don't really understand it yet.
Anyway, I don't see Do as a problem. I see Do as a solution.
I do agree that there is a "judo is better than other martial arts" mentality, but I don't think that this mentality and Do should be confused with one another. That mentality is definitely not the Do in my mind. -ken