US Judo Clinic Caravan @ Los Angeles
This month’s stage is in Los Angeles!! Who did I meet? What did I accomplish? This edition is Megumi’s Challenge in the Wet Coast.
They even prepared a flyer for this. Is this Hollywood???
1. 102 years since its opening, 110 JUDOKAs in a legendary Dojo
Athletes lining up is the same anywhere!!
The DOJO is located in San Fernando Valley which is about a 30 minute drive north of LAX. It has a history of 102 years – which goes together with the history of the Japanese Community in Greater Los Angeles.
It was a tough schedule with 3x 3 hour sessions (Day 1: 18:00~21:00, Day 2: 10:00~13:00, 14:00~17:00,) over the course of 2 days between Nov 10th and 11th.
It was a mixture of excitement and nervousness coaching a class with people I never met with in a location I have never been in. However, in these 2 days, a total of 110 JUDOKAs ranging from Kids to Adults got together. I went with my theory of “80% preparation, 20% execution” and did my best to prepare for this event.
Downtown San Fernando Valley
The famous waffles for dinner – maybe a bit too much 😊
This, is the DOJO. It doesn’t look to be 102 years old.
The large DOJO was filled with excitement as soon as we got started.
2. Amazed at the discipline of the kids – what I learned from them –
The 2 day clinic has begun!!
Just before the start, every child that participated in the event came to greet me. I was very impressed to see this. All participants greeted me before and after the session and they all did it naturally. The attitude when listening was straightforward and their eyes were always shining.
The basis of JUDO is human education. Recently I feel that this is cherished more outside of Japan than where Judo originated. I felt a bit of determination as being a Japanese as well as a mother.
Listening to my advice. Look at their eyes!!!
3. Filled with Potential!! – US JUDO’s future is limitless –
The kids class age ranged from the youngest being 6 and the oldest at 16 – they all had high potential. They digested my coaching quickly, all being very serious and proactive. They repeatedly practiced what I told them. Honestly speaking, this group had the highest potential of all that I had coached till today.
Although I always tell myself to do this, I need to show them the “real” WAZAs and techniques and passionately coach them. There are a lot of room for improvement in my English, but I was able to convey the “real” stuff.
In this large country, if you look for them, there’s a lot of great athletes here where I was made to believe that the future of JUDO in the US is limitless.
Before UCHIMATA, use your entire body to break your opponent off balance.
Great techniques!!
Is my leg high enough??
Nice UCHIMATA from the 9 year old boy!!
16 year old girl, wonderful!!
Adults were serious too!!
Aggressive LA Kids!!
I could hold but to smile looking at the serious kids
4. Seeking Perfection!! – the endless challenge continues –
This event was an assignment from USA Judo. I was even more nervous as I heard that Robert Eriksson, the Head Training Coach from USA Judo was going to be here. Coaching content, structure, and my English – I did what I can for preparation, but lastly I need to do this lively and told myself. The tuition is somewhat costly ($20~40) but how this is evaluated is the satisfaction levels and sense of accomplishment of the participants. If its So-So, there will be no next time. It’s the brutal reality.
The kids were initially quiet, but as the practice progressed, they all came by me and at the end was told that they want to see me again. Fortunately I will be visiting them periodically starting January and continuing on till Spring. Making everyone happy is not that easy, but this success built some confidence in me.
I will be back in Japan from Nov 24th to Dec 13th but after that, in the end of December, I have a 5 day long run clinic in Washington DC. From what I learned through this event I will brush up my preparation to make more kids happier than ever.
Please support my challenge!!
Thank you to all JUDOKAs in LA. See you next time!!
