FACETS OF JUDO PROF. Marcelo Ehrlich

Hello friends of the digital magazine of Martial Arts "El Camino". In this fourth installment, we will continue to show different facets of our activity, experienced personally, at a national and international level, plus the experience of all the Judoka friends we have around the world. In matters of fundamental Judo, there is much to keep writing and talking about, filling books and interviews -as we will continue to do-, but today we will touch on something more domestic, closer to daily life, to a known reality. Thanks to social networks, and the different media, we can know in most cases, where there is a place where they teach Judo. Years ago, we had to do a lot of research, visiting the big clubs, asking friends, and most of the time, when you arrived at the place that they had indicated to you, what they taught was Karate! And it also happened to those who wanted Karate and when they arrived, it was Judo or Aikido. And the misinformation was precisely because nobody informed about the differences and it was preferred that the Dojos have few practitioners! Everything has been changing and that is great, we have brought the activity closer to those who are looking for it, we have brought the information closer to everyone and we have shown a worldwide development of Judo, as had never been seen before. Since I started in Judo, until today, Uruguay received the visit of International Teachers, Trainers and Competitors, from many parts of the world. Personally, in our Dojos, I received teachings from people from Japan, China, Korea, Israel, France, Spain, Italy, Germany, the Soviet Union, Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, etc., etc., in most cases by agreements to through the Uruguayan Judo Federation and the Uruguayan Olympic Committee. I also went to numerous countries (in America and Europe), to receive teachings, to train with people of a higher level than ours, to clear up my doubts, to see other realities and to show what I did. And everywhere (With a few rare exceptions), I found camaraderie, mutual aid, and friendship. Every time he returned to the Country, he tried to teach everything he had learned. And so they do until today, everyone who goes to learn something elsewhere. When they ask me what Uruguayan Judo is like, what type of school it has (if it answers to the French or Japanese or Brazilian school), I answer that it does not follow any in particular, that although the technical guidelines are from Kodokan, from the Federation International Judo and the Uruguayan Judo Federation, we have always received and put into practice everything learned. For many years, we have carried out courses and seminars of all kinds, through the National Commission of Physical Education, the Ministry of Sports, the National Secretary of Sports, the Uruguayan Olympic Committee, the International Olympic Committee, the South American Judo Confederation, the Pan American Judo Confederation, Judo and International Judo Federation. This speaks of official training, as very few activities in Uruguay can demonstrate. Of course we are talking more than anything about the sports part of Judo, the official competitions of all levels in Uruguay and the world, of a rich experience in South American, Pan American, World, Official International Championships and Olympic Games. The development of high-performance competitors, the training of Referees and Competition Officials and of all those who work in the development of a sports-competitive activity. We talk about the increasingly professional work and organization of the Uruguayan Judo Federation, to be in tune with the world! Of course, the foreign teachers who come to our country not only teach this sporting facet (only those who come exclusively for that purpose). It is very important to teach all the technical fundamentals, with their details, the teaching of Katas, the teaching of techniques for Security and Self-Defense, the teaching of inclusive judo, children's Judo, Social Judo, Traditional Judo. What about the categories mentioned in the previous paragraph, almost

DIFFERENT FACETS OF JUDO

Prof. Marcelo Ehrlich

unknown to the general public? That they don't have the promotional support that purely sports Judo has! The Olympic Judo, the Olympic Show, that of the great champions, the podiums, the medals, the sponsors, the brand clothing, the trips, the TV, the cables, the Networks… And is that wrong? No way! It is the visible face of a first class international activity! And now, going down to earth, and we can start from the bottom up, in any country: Children's Judo, for me, one of the most rewarding tasks that a good Teacher can have. Providing children with tools for their development, from order, discipline, effort, mutual help, self-confidence, seeing how Judo is progressing, how they are growing, belt pass exams, friendly competitions, trips to other friendly academies, prizes for everyone, recognition for everyone! The teaching of children's Judo, we find it in clubs, academies, schools, schools, social programs, etc. The Teacher must be qualified for this age group. The programs must be in accordance with the physical, intellectual and mental developments, the facilities must provide security to the practitioners, the Federation must supervise and support this type of enterprise. There are millions of children practicing Judo all over the world! But, if we only look for a competitive Judo at these ages, we already have the problem installed, instead of doing a Judo that helps the children, we have a Judo that is excluding many, who do not see the attractiveness of the competition like others , or that they do not have the psychological/ physical conditions, which causes tremendous pressure in their lives, and that these institutions (schools, clubs, etc.), use sports results to promote their extracurricular activities! One School against the others, to be in the table of annual awards, the clubs vying for the children's podium by institutions, etc. And dropouts to Judo classes begin, already at that stage (tragic!). And the children question: I'm not cut out for this, and the parents question, I'll keep sending my son to Judo, he can't beat anyone! And I have heard this personally from a father and I had to make him see a reality that he did not take into account and his son continued in Judo, to this day! Today in Japan, the National Judo Championship for early ages has just been eliminated, since the pressure on children to provide the best sports results was such that they realized the child desertion and the damage they were causing. . In the next installment, we will continue to break down this reality, from which our country is not exempt either.

All excesses are bad, extremes are dangerous, that's why we must walk the Middle Path, the balance in our lives, that allows us to leave others, a better world! Judo for everyone! Judo for life! See you at the Dojo and in the magazine "El Camino".

Prof. Marcelo Ehrlich