Personal Dedication and Goals

Many adults new to judo often ask, “How long does it take to learn judo?”  The answer is very complex, and can depend, just like anything else in life, on how much you put into training.  There has to be a consistent personal dedication to judo, just like any other form of working out or study program.  To some that may mean starting out with one or two workouts a week, and build to 3 or more over time.  To others it may mean a daily workout 5 days a week, or at least time devoted to training.  This may not mean that all the workouts would take place at the dojo, but may consist of a particular workout at home or elsewhere, such as judo tube excercises on a tree, or even stretching in a livingroom.    If one chooses to pursue this latter type of training, they might find that “learning judo” may come much faster than one who chooses to practice once a week.   That said, one can still learn with only one practice a week, it just may take longer.  One class a week gains more than none. 

Scheduling often prevents more workouts as we get older, enter into careers, marry and start families, however, by making personal dedications to training and setting specific goals, I believe that one can find the time to do what they want to do.  Many children who come to judo may not want to come, but are forced to by thier parents.  In these cases, it is good to have the children try to find out why they are there, or help them to discover a personal reason, other than based on the fact that they are forced to come.  If they can discover or articulate a reason why they are in judo class, often times they become more involved and find that they actually do enjoy coming.  For adults, I believe you must ask yourself the same question.  Why are you here and what do you want to learn?  Do you want to get in better shape?  Do you want to learn how to defend yourself?  Do you want to compete in tournaments, or is it simply that you are looking for an activity with comradere?  Whatever the reason is, define it, set your goals, and make a personal dedication to scheduled training.  You will often find with children, those who are forced to come to judo are done so for the primary benefit of learning discipline, and accomplishment when you dont want to make the effort.  Again, this applies to adults the same as children.  It becomes very clear when you become an adult and have children yourself, and remember the activities that you were forced to go to as a child.  And lastly, please remember, it is not only about your training, but also about others in the class who rely on you for thier own personal training.  This is one of the strong basic foundations of judo, the principal of mutual welfare and benefit. 

(This post was originally posted at www.okcdt.com )