Zuihitsu-Random Notes about Judo by Ronald Désormeaux Judo- Ron 75: Critical Reflection of Judo Competition (Shiai) After viewing the 2013 World Judo (senior) Championships in Rio, I decided to conduct a personal and critical reflection about the current judo concepts of Shiai and Shiai participation. This essay is the summary of my observations. These are outlined via two perspectives: a managerial approach and a technical outlook. MANAGEMENT APPROACH Definition The Shiai as defined in the Kodokan New Japanese-English Dictionary i “consists in a judo match or bout generally governed by specific rules for the purpose of awarding points and determining a winner .” The Shiai results of a completed match are determined by the referees as a win, a loss or a draw. It is to be noted that at the present, the general terms for rules, regulations and guidelines to be followed by both competitors and referees are different between the Kodokan and the International Judo Federation (IJF). For national and international competitions as well as for Olympics, the IJF rules are followed. It is generally agreed that one of the criteria used to declare a winner of a match is based on the superior performance. Other criteria include the maintaining of good posture and using good form when attacking or defending. Penalties in the form of Shido are levied against a competitor who has committed some light infringement of the rules during a match. Three warnings or calls of Shido can be accumulated before the contestant is disqualified by the award of Hansoku Gachi (win by decision for serious violation made by the opponent or simply said: Hansoku make). 1 | P a g e Zuihitsu-Random Notes about Judo by Ronald Désormeaux Recent statistics from Rio There are currently 123 countries affiliated with the IJF. 680 world class competitors were registered for the event. Japan, Brazil, Georgia, Cuba and France’s best were lined up with the 38 countries that were represented by a delegation of athletes that passed the preliminaries. Canada reached the 25 th rank with a fifth place in the individual overall standing with the crowning of Catherine Roberge who took the fifth position in the women’s division. During the week, in the assigned 13 divisions of bouts, we were able to admire the winners who advanced with their scoring techniques valued as Ippon for approximately 62%, 15% Waza-ari, and 10% for Yuko. Matches were lost by Hansoku make for 2% principally awarded for defensive stances and evasive tactics or leg grabs. 3% of the matches were extended beyond their five minutes duration for the golden score. In Katame waza or ground work, we witnessed 30 plus hold-downs, 6 strangles and 5 arm locks. Judo exploitation Pursuing their mission, the IJF organisers ensured that judo competition maintained a continuous showcase on the world sport scene. The 2013 Rio event was not an exception, it was massively covered by the media with 500 plus reporters on site and multi-TV channels chains who distributed their timely information world-wide. With this large coverage by the Mass media and the energy displayed by the IJF officials during the last decade, judo has become more popular than ever before. Thanks to the IJF determination, savoir-faire and resources, we are partially gaining the benefits from additional financial downfalls. The increased visibility and the open publicity are bound to attract more future judoka to the dojo’s doorsteps. Recto/Verso We have to be thankful to the dynamism of IJF to organize and propel judo into the forefront and compete for the attention once belonging to other spectator sports. In doing so, it secured substantial financial revenues from which some partial amount and material assistances are to be redistributed amongst the needed countries and federations. This return on investments is potentially attracting judo enthusiasts to a greater number of cities and, institutions. In the meantime, societies at large and selected institutions have discovered that judo by being in the realm of spectator sports can be managed by professionals and become a sustainable financial or political business. 2 | P a g e Zuihitsu-Random Notes about Judo by Ronald Désormeaux Dependences Judo delegations and athletes are now subjected to the directives and rules of international institutions and government policies affecting inter-relationships and groupings of nations. Judo entities are no longer immune from the financial or political pressures being exercised by those parties. Athletes, judo training and the development of competitive proficiencies are now subjected to different criteria for selection, training and financing and travel control of judoka through the respective national development programs, legislation and international lobby groups and research institutions. Athletes’ performance and standing levels are debated into corporate board rooms, publicised onto the market places in order to secure sponsorships and benefactors. Performance data are even surfacing in some financial betting/gambling parlours. Financial overtures of dissimilar forms are appearing here and there. There are even vague reports circulating which would indicate that some countries officials and or associates may have attempted to bribe officials/athletes in the past in order to influence the final decision making and/or alter possible team compositions. (L‘Esprit du Judo Actualité En Bref of 06 Sept 2013 made reference to a possible Cuban- Georgian affair) Teachers Dilemma There are thousands of judo teachers devoted to the transmission of judo knowledge and skills. Teaching is a rewarding yet complicated venture. Several generations of judo teachers or Sensei are now embattled to follow their primary roles as teachers and educators which aim to transmit the original judo values, For many, they are struggling with multiple roles by having to simultaneously cope with being official coaches, administrators, promoters, supervisors and trainers of specialised and gifted athletes. With the accrued visibility offered by competitive judo, there are constant adjustments to the rules and the recent changes forced a modification to the teaching of the Gokyo as a dozen or so of the effective techniques were eliminated from the normal repertoire in an attempt to discard the non-original waza. Furthermore, the strong attraction towards the competitive aspects of judo is overwhelming; the monetary rewards and the enhanced athlete’s status of becoming a part of the elite group are incentives that cannot be discarded. As a consequence, it appears that the other social-educational aspects of the judo curriculum are slowly parting from the original intents of its founder Jigoro Kano. 3 | P a g e Zuihitsu-Random Notes about Judo by Ronald Désormeaux The Business of judo By default, various established judo programs are slowly disappearing or merging towards becoming new activities entirely governed by outside entities of national and international tenures seeking to maximize their investment into the “OWN THE PODIUM” and “GO FOR GOLD” platforms. We have to be aware that there is an imminent danger that the coexistence between the teaching of ancestral values and the new competitive thrusts will collapse and change the veracity of judo as an art and physical education system forever. Judo competitions are an essential part of the total training program yet, viewed as an exclusive sector embedded with spectator sport they are at risk of becoming the repository of semi- professional and professional athletes camouflaged under the guise of military services, sports monitors and other professions which can financially support the athletes and free them of other responsibilities thus permitting privileged access to additional support services and specialized entourages. With the growing differences in training facilities, the equality and balance are seriously placed in jeopardy. Attached and dedicated judoka risk that sooner or later they will become the “slave” or the “gladiator” of their patrons. The stakes associated with winning or losing will surely add to the danger of becoming a high-risk, high-financial business and a political tool to the stable masters. Already, in less than a decade, the world judo competitions and the establishment of the World ranking system for athletes have laid the foundations of a new economy that has transformed some good athletes into stars, adored and nurtured by sponsors for the assets they represent and esteemed by both local supporters and the national public alike. Elitism and our heroes One is to wonder if this marriage will ever last. Taking a quick pulse at the Canadian scene, one has to dig deep to find a lasting alliance between the elite judoka and the public. Over the years, our current elite competitors and high performance team have no doubts endured monumental sacrifices in their quest for the podium. They have stretched the limits of their physical and mental potential to achieve their best. Yet, most are still unknown entities outside the immediate circles of the judo family. Current names such as: Stephanie Tremblay, Alexander Emond, Antoine Valois Fortier, Amy Cotton, Catherine Roberge, Kelita Zupancic, Joliane Melançon, Nicholas Triton, Sergio Passoa, Frazer Will, Michael Popiel, Marie Helene Chisholm and Sasha Mehmedic are nowhere mentioned in the public domain yet they all merit our recognition for their perseverance and endurance, I lament that for too many of judoka, 4 | P a g e Zuihitsu-Random Notes about Judo by Ronald Désormeaux they are still mysterious figures roaming the tatamis as they remain anonymous to the general public. Longevity Out of the current World Ranking List of judoka considered as front runners, with a few exceptions who became national heroes in their own countries, it is expected that only five to 10% will endure the Spartan regime demanded of the first division of Judoka. Most of the others meanwhile, will not last to participate in the next World Championships nor will they be seen on the next Olympics podium.