USA Judo Clubs – I Challenge You to Freestyle Judo

by Vincente D’Ingianni

(Yes, I just said that.)

For years now, I have listened to judoka whine, cry, bitch, and moan about the IJF rules. Yet they have been complacent about stepping outside of their little box for fear of retaliation from the USA Judo cabal. It is BS and you know it.

The Judokai in Dallas has now hosted numerous official AAU Freestyle Judo Fight Club tournaments. In the beginning we deliberately kept our events small to make sure we knew what we were doing. We now have participants from 3 neighboring states and all over Texas at our events. We have competitors from Judo, BJJ, and Wrestling all competing safely on an even playing field with absolutely no penalties needed.

Fight Club at The Judokai is now an “official regional tournament”.

We SALUTE Fort Worth Judo, Ichi-Ni-San, RJO, Ethos, Forca, and many others for their support!

We thank the USJA for supporting our AAUJudo events.

However there is one big group missing. The USA Judo clubs in the Dallas metroplex area.

Through the rumor mill, I was told there is a club in a suburb of Dallas, sometimes referred to as “Arland” Texas, who told his students that they were not allowed to participate in AAU Judo events.  

I keep hearing about some tough “Bulldogs” out on the “Grand Prairie” who have been challenging the USA Judo establishment. We are on your side. When are we going to see you?  

There is an “Optimistic” club about an hour north of us who cheers for us on Facebook. We are still “Optimistic” that they will eventually send some people.  

There is a “Sliding” Judo club that I would love to see at our upcoming events. I will even let that nice “Yawara” lady and her family set up a booth to sell their embroidery. They know where we are located. They used to train in our same facility.  

The latest “East Side Story” is that our events are too long and they prefer events closer in length to soccer games.  

So the challenge is made.

DO THE “USA JUDO CLUBS” HAVE THE COJONES TO COMPETE IN AAU FREESTYLE JUDO?

DO YOU WANT TO STEP OUTSIDE?

We will be advertising more upcoming Freestyle Judo events soon.

#Judo, #FreestyleJudo, #USAJudo, #DoYouWantToStepOutside

(BTW, our guys and gals have been competing in IJF too. Some were in Kansas this past weekend. We pay membership fees to USA Judo and USJA. You guys can splurge a few bucks for a measly AAU Judo membership. Stop poor-mouthing.)

That’s the way it ought to be.

Robocop and the History of Judo in the Telecom Corridor

by Vincente D’Ingianni

In September 1989, I returned to Judo after spending a few years wrestling, and weight training.  I was finishing Tulane University and had just spent my second summer as an intern at Bell-Northern Research, the R&D subsidiary of Northern Telecom, in a new booming area called the Telecom Corridor in Richardson, Texas.

It all started in 1990 from a company email that I had sent out asking if anyone was interested in starting a Judo or Wrestling club.  Little did I know, there were a number of judoka that worked for our company.  The email was quickly answered by Manmohan Chima, Jim Young, and shortly later by Barney Wick.  We quickly learned that we had the talent and credentials to start a top notch Judo club.

We all chipped in some money and the company pitched in a little to buy our first mats.

Our first Judo practices, and even clinics, were literally held in the computer labs in between large telecommunication switching systems that we developed for Sprint and MCI.  These were the same computer labs used for filming data center scenes in the original Robocop movie.

 Judo is first and foremost a martial art. It is a form of self defense. It is a style of grappling that, when practiced correctly, allows the defender to utilize an aggressor’s strength and momentum against him. Moreover, for its first 43 years, Judo was viewed primarily as Professor Kano’s style of Jiu-Jitsu. So why does the martial arts world and the Judo community often get wrapped up in defining Judo by its competition rules? 

The truth is Judo has had many different competition rule sets since its inception. Being a style of Jiu-Jitsu, the original inter-dojo competitions had to take into account many different fighting styles and combat techniques. There were no restrictions on the type of gripping used. There were no restrictions on gi length, color, or style. Fighting until submission was common. Fighting without time limits was common. Numerical scoring was often used. “Ippon” (one victory) was not necessarily the end of the match. Often, competitors would continue to fight until a “Nihon” (second victory) was achieved.

Today, as a whole, the Judo community has been placing too much emphasis on one’s experience in Judo competition rather than practical application of the martial art. Let’s face it, we live in a Mixed Martial Arts world. The popularity of MMA in the United States has eclipsed any single martial art. To keep students’ interest, we must teach a more multi-faceted curriculum. Often, when my experienced adult students randori, they play “Fewer Holds Barred Judo” where we allow leg-locks and other non-competition Judo techniques with the understanding that we all tap-out early.

Fortunately, I am old enough to remember Judo when it was still a combat sport with equal emphasis on both newaza and nagewaza. I began Judo as a child in New Orleans during the late 1970s as a student of the late “Coach” Jacques Legrand, USJA 10th Dan. I was fortunate to be surrounded by many of Jacques’ black belts who were also great wrestlers. Outside of “Coach’s” club, there was not that much Judo that was easily accessible to a young kid. Consequently, when I reached high school age, I immediately joined the Wrestling team. I was quickly introduced to the team captain, another one of Jacques’ brown belt Judo students. During this time, there were far more Wrestling tournaments than Judo tournaments in which to participate. Access to Wrestling was cheap, easy, and plentiful. Does that make me not a judoka?

Over the past few years, many changes were implemented in Olympic Judo rules that have passed down to the national and local levels. Some of these changes were for safety; however, many of these changes were admittedly for TV viewing purposes. Almost all of these changes have been met with sharp criticism by coaches and players.

When you look at statistics, less than 1% of the judoka in the world make it to the Olympics. That means approximately 99% of the judoka in the world either did not qualify for the Olympics or did not aspire for the Olympics. Does that make the other 99% bad judoka? Of course not. Especially when you consider that on any given day, any competitor can defeat any other competitor at a whim or even by a questionable ruling. Moreover, champions are not made alone. It takes a large skilled team of judoka from the other 99% to make a single Olympic Judo champion.

So should we all compete using the same rule set? Why? Other sports have different rules for different types of competition. Football rules vary widely from the Pee-Wee leagues to the NFL. Wrestling has Folk Style, Freestyle, Greco-Roman, etc. Why not Judo?

A skilled grappling coach once told me that he and the experienced members of his team could compete in any grappling event as long as they had about two weeks to train and adjust to the rule set. While this may be an exaggeration and may not immediately produce the best competitors, it emphasizes the point that all grappling arts are similar. In my dojo, we jokingly say “It doesn’t matter if you prefer to fight in your pajamas or panty hose, grappling is grappling.”

The truth is there are alternatives to Olympic Judo rules. The USJA, USJF, and USA Judo offers scrimmage sanctions so clubs can compete with modified IJF, Classic Judo, or even Freestyle Judo rules. Freestyle Judo is now an alternative that is supported at the national level by AAU Judo, and is growing at the international level. Kosen Judo competitions are still held in Japan. NAGA and BJJ tournaments are extremely popular with the Jiu-Jitsu and MMA crowd. Of course, Wrestling is always a popular alternative–it worked for Jason Morris, Jimmy Pedro, and others. Crossovers from Russian Sambo have contributed a great deal to the world of Judo. Just because you train in Judo, your competition choices should not be limited to only one specific rule set.

What about MMA and professional competition? For many years, professional fighting was looked down upon by the traditional Judo establishment due to Judo’s Olympic status. But we often forget that the original Tokyo Police competition that defined our sport in 1886 was a competition between Professor Kano’s Kodokan Judo school and other Jiu-Jitsu schools. The rules they used were nothing like today’s Olympic Judo. Moreover, when you look throughout the history of Judo, many judoka competed in professional fighting. Mitsuyo Maeda was said to have won more than 2000 professional fights. Masahiko Kimura changed the history of martial arts when he fought Helio Gracie in a professional fight. AAU Judo champion Gene Lebell gets credit for the first professional MMA match in the US. Most notably, Judo Olympian Ronda Rousey has brought Judo to forefront of the modern MMA world so much so that one time critics are now sponsoring her. Moreover, it is now common for upper level amateur Judo competitions to offer prize money to the winners.

My message to Judo coaches everywhere is to embrace these new alternative competition styles. Some are older than Judo itself, while others are very new to the martial arts world. The reality is all of these competition styles are here to stay, and new ones will come every few years. Let’s all adapt for the sake of Judo to stay relevant. So the next time a new student shows up at your dojo asking for instruction because he wants to fight in MMA, Freestyle Judo, Wrestling, Sambo, BJJ, NAGA, etc., welcome him with open arms. Train him like the competitor he wants to be, but teach him Judo–all of it.

We all love his dirty, mean, and nasty groundwork tricks and humorous bullshido.  But, when it comes to teaching kuzushi, Robin is as serious as a heart attack.

So, walk, don’t run, over to The Judokai on Saturday April 29th, 2023 at 10:00 AM for a day full of old school Judo / JiuJitsu

Admission is $45 for the day for all visiting young bulls, heifers, and calves born on or after January 1st, 1960. Old bulls and heifers born in the 1950s get free admission.

Please feel honored if you are asked to show your ID.

Saturday April 29th, 2023 10AM – 3PM Murphy Activity Center 201 N Murphy Road Murphy, TX 75094

Agenda 9:30 AM – Check-in and warm up 10:00 AM – Formal Bow-in and Introduction 10:15 AM – Nage Waza and how Kata relates to Shiai 12:00 PM – Break for Lunch (or open mat) 12:30 PM – Ne Waza and other sneaky, nasty tricks 1:45 PM – Open mat and one-on-on instruction with the herd 3:00 PM – Close up

It is part of the culture, tradition, and rules of the sport. Period.

It’s like a handshake.

Asian cultures have been doing this for thousands of years.

You are NOT submitting to a king, a master, or a false idol. You are NOT accepting any new religion or being blasphemous to your preferred religion.

You are simply showing respect and friendship to your training partners.

We have members of all faiths and lack thereof at The Judokai. We have Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, and even a few heathens in our Yudanshakai. They all bow.

We do not make exceptions. Everyone is equal.

But wait, you ask, “Isn’t The Judokai known for having an informal atmosphere and modern interpretation of competition rules?”

The answer is YES again, but we still adhere to the basic formalities.

The bow in Japanese is “rei” and the Kodokan standard for proper Judo etiquette is that “Judo starts with a bow and ends with a bow” (“re ni hajimari, rei ni owaru”). The rei personifies Kano Shihan’s second tenet…Jita Kyoei. That is, mutual respect and benefit, the respect that each Judoka shows another. It is respect for your training partner and respect for any opponent, no matter what the level of skill. It demonstrates a Judoka’s appreciation and humility to another Judoka who is allowing them to have someone to practice with.

We do a standing bow before stepping onto the mat. We do another standing bow as we step off of the mat.

If you intend to compete in almost all asian martial arts, the competition rules require you to bow at the beginning and end of the match. We do a standing bow at the beginning and end of standing randori/sparring. We also shake hands at the end to show extra appreciation.

Daily “rolling” newaza practice, Kata demonstrations, and formal belt promotion events require kneeling bows. No, a fist bump is not enough. Again, an additional handshake is always welcome.

At The Judokai, we teach these formalities as part of the regular class instruction. A proper understanding of martial arts tradition is a good thing.

That is the way it ought to be.

featuring John “Robin” Tidwell, Ed Carol and other old Texas Longhorns

An “Old Bull” has a special meaning at The Judokai. See the story here.

Learn the best old school Judo/JiuJitsu techniques from some of the oldest active Judoka in Texas. John “Robin” Tidwell is as serious as a heart attack and Ed Carol makes Judo as easy as “Ichi Ni San”.  

A herd of other old bulls will be available on the mat to share their wisdom.

So, walk, don’t run, over to The Judokai on Saturday May 14th, 2022 at 10:00 AM for a day full of old school techniques, and maybe a little bullshido, from some of the oldest bulls in Texas.

Admission is $45 for the day for all visiting young bulls, heifers, and calves born on or after January 1st, 1960. Old bulls and heifers born in the 1950s get free admission.

Please feel honored if you are asked to show your ID.

Saturday May 14th, 2022 10AM – 3PM Murphy Activity Center 201 N Murphy Road Murphy, TX 75094

Agenda 9:30 AM – Check-in and warm up 10:00 AM – Formal Bow-in and Introduction 10:15 AM – Nage-no-Kata demonstration 10:30 AM – Nage Waza and how Kata relates to Shiai 12:00 PM – Break for Lunch (or open mat) 12:30 PM – Ne Waza and other sneaky, nasty tricks 1:30 PM – Presentations 1:45 PM – Open mat and one-on-on instruction with the herd 3:00 PM – Close up

Congratulations to Judokai Warriors Arturo Rodriguez, Santiago Cordeo, and Jose Dano for representing The Judokai at the NAGA BJJ competition in Dallas on March 5, 2022. All competitors competed in the No-Gi division. Arturo Rodriguez won 1st place in the No-Gi Expert division at 145 lbs, Santiago Cordeo won 2nd place in the Novice division at 139 lbs, and Jose Dano took 2nd place in the Director’s Novice division at 139 lbs.

Subscribe to The Judokai Network on YouTube for more competition and instructional videos of Judo, JiuJitsu, and Wrestling, the way it ought to be.

The Judokai is proud to announce that we follow the science and the advice of one of our own Black Belts, who also happens to be a medical doctor. We support your right make your own personal health choices. We also trust your ability to determine whether or not you or your children are sick.

It is none of our business.

Judo, JiuJitsu, and Wrestling are full contact sports which require participants to be up-close and personal. The techniques and training methods we use are literally thousands of years old. If you are not getting sweat on each other, then you are probably not training properly. Consequently, we will never force a false sense of security upon a participant by requiring a useless and unsanitary mask.

Our Judokai Warriors are not afraid of getting antibodies the old fashioned way. We earn them.

If you are sick, please stay home and visit your doctor if you think it is necessary. If you are afraid to get hot and sweaty near training partners, by all means, please stay home. May we suggest trying some Tai Chi.

But if you want to train Judo, JiuJitsu, and Wrestling – The way it ought to be, then please join us at The Judokai.