The ‘Art’ in the Martial Art of Judo
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I’ve got some news to break to you: Judo is hard.
But so are most things that require finesse.
I bring this topic up because I have watched many people who start Judo get frustrated because they don’t see immediate results. I also struggled my first nine months or so in Judo, because I didn’t feel I was improving.
This is something that someone who really wants to learn Judo will have to be prepared for. Many martial arts are not this way… which is not to say that they are not hard, or are any less of an “art form”, but just that you may not feel quite as incompetent initially.
Let’s take karate as an example. I can take a person, and within a few hours get them good enough with a couple of punches, and a front snap kick, that if I put gloves on them, and spar for a few minutes they actually feel good about themselves. Sure, a Karate master will still beat the hell out of them, but they feel fairly competent. Add to this the fact that many karate schools advance people in belt every three months, and you have a feel-good road to fast advancement for the micro-wave and fast food culture we live in.
Even in Jujitsu: A master of jujitsu will tap out a novice every few seconds. But, put a person who has only had a few classes up against someone who has a year or so of experience, and although they will still likely lose most of the time, and may not be any good at submitting the opponent, they will still be able to hold the person down fairly well (assuming the have good balance), and can grab hold of things and squeeeeze.. which, although not always effective, at least gives the illusion of control. They feel that they’re actually accomplishing something.
Judo can be frustratingly different. So many of the moves look easy. But when a novice grabs someone and tries to do them, it just isn’t right. It takes a lot fo time to help them understand the nuances of WHY it’s not right, and to begin to improve their technique, but in the meantime they can feel that it’s wrong.
Judo isn’t a brawl. It’s an art. Now, that may seem all Judo high-and-mighty of me… but don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying Judo is the end all, be all of martial arts… There’s a rock to Judo’s scissors in any number of positions (Jujitsu is mean as hell on the ground… Muay Thai is mean as hell on the feet, etc.) But if you DO want to master the throws of Judo, you must be willing to accept that it’s an art and you’re gonna really have to work at it. Starting with the Kumikata (the grip), and then focusing on the subtle nuances of Kazushi, you’ll begin your path like a kid… stumbling and bumbling at first. But if you stick with it, the skills you learn are well worth the wait.
Just go into it realizing that when Leonardo da Vinci painted the Sistine Chapel it wasn’t a paint by numbers. This is gonna take some time 
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