Okay, so it may seem pretty grandiose of me to “define” Judo… I mean, who the heck am I anyway??  But I just want to jump in with an insight I have recently come to realize, and (at least for now) to accept.

So think of this post as “What is Judo to me” if that makes you more comfortable

I have often heard Judo called the “Gentle way.”  Well, I have been dumped on my head enough times to call bull-shit on that one

I have also heard Judo referred to as the ability to take some one’s strength and use it against them.  This is often embrace when people use Judo as an analogy of business, or conversation.  But I have to say that I don’t exactly agree with this definition either.  This seems to imply that if I fight two people of exactly the same skill level as each other, and the same size, etc, but that one is more physically strong, that when I capitalize on the mistakes of the stronger of the two I will throw more effectively than against the weak opponent.

I have not found this to be the case.

Additionally, overpowering and brute-forcing an opponent, just trying to impose your own strength is less than effective with Judo as well.

What does truly resonate to me however is what my Sensei, Mike pounds into my head, “Take what they give you.”  This may sound like “using their own strength against them,” but I put forth that I think it is not.  To me, the essence of Judo seems to be the ability to create and capitalize on opportunities.  It’s not about how strong or weak the opponent is, and rather you can use that strength against them… It’s about their Kazushi (on the feet), or “balance”.  It’s about the ability to create a situation where they are poorly balanced, and quickly identify and capitalize on that fact.

This extends to the ground game as well.  Although a portion of the ground game is about Kazushi, there are many other elements as well.  The ground is not about overpowering and choking the hell out of a person.  It is about trying things, and responding to what they try, but most importantly, to always be aware of openings that are created, and to have the ability to “snatch” them before they pass you by.

It’s the water through the mountains.

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