While I was a mon (child) grade, and attended a judo club at university for a few terms, I only started training in judo regularly a few years ago. I have a genetic connective tissue disorder, which (among other things) makes me hyper prone to injury, and is ‘progressive’ in the sense it gets worse with age. I found that this condition was having a negative effect on my mental wellbeing as I was becoming afraid to even do normal daily tasks for fear of injury.
To help combat these fears I wanted to do something which encouraged me to move in dynamic, spontaneous ways, and first took up BJJ and then judo. I feared that both of these sports would prove too dangerous for me, but by talking with my instructors and by training sensibly with reliable players I have found that I am able to take part in most of the core activities of both.
My first judo session as an adult was far less scary and challenging than I thought it would be. I was already lucky enough to have a gi (a training suit) so I just turned up and was immediately introduced to the lead instructor. The session began with light warm of up of jogging and joint mobilisations, followed by some team games. After that the main part of the session revolved around practising throwing. First this was done without finishing the throw, and then we took turns throwing one another onto crash mats. The class ended with some light ‘randori’ (where both players try to throw one another), which is at the core of judo. I was surprised at how, rather than being the scary trial I feared it would be, that it felt a hundred more times more like a fun game of ‘tag’than a ‘fight’. Afterwards all of the attendees who wanted to socialise went for coffee at a nearby Costa.
Thanks to judo I have met people from all walks of life, and have made many wonderful friends. Recently to the time of writing I decided I wanted to help support my club and trained to become an assistant coach. Judo is excellent exercise, fun, engaging, it is great value for money. Judo has many paths open to players in terms of personal development. You can become a competitive player, use judo as a way to meet people and socialise, view your time on the mat as a form of exercise, cross train other martial arts, practise judo as a form of self development, and any or all of the above paths and more.