How do I choose a Martial Arts School
The principles are the same for choosing a school for yourself or your child, so I will address the answer for parents, as there are a couple of special considerations when children are involved.
- The first stepin choosing a school is to clearly understand what you want you or your child to gain from learning the Martial Arts. Is it a light recreation? Then a community center program may suffice. Is it self-defense or personal development? If so, then a full time professional school would be more suitable. Many parents view the martial arts as a part of their child's educational development. With a good professional school, this is very possible.
- The next stepis to recognize that choosing a school is really choosing an Instructor. Be sure to visit the school and watch the Instructor work with other children of the same age. Every school is very different because every Instructor is very different. Don't get confused by claims of Black Belt degrees, tournament wins or martial art styles. The only style that matters is the teaching style of the Instructor and how your child will respond to him or her.
- Finally and most important, trust your instincts. A professional school will have a family atmosphere, lots of smiles and be well kept. You'll feel comfortable with the personnel and the facility. While this may not end up being the closest school to your house, when it comes to your safety or the safety and education of your child, an extra ten-minute drive can make a world of difference in the out come.
Joining the Purple Dragon Martial Arts School
The PDMA is truly an national martial arts organization and welcomes students regardless of age, race, creed, color, and social status. The Instructor will have an idea of the person's dedication, and whether or not they are honest and willing enough to study the Discipline. Once a membership is accepted, Purple Dragon will be happy to welcome new members into our organization, and before long we all will be breeding greater self respect, self discipline, and self sufficiency and placing our country's youth and culture on the world map.
What will Martial Arts do for my child?
A common parental worry is that martial arts training will encourage violence or aggression in their child. With rare exception, the opposite will prove to be true. Children discover an inner confidence and strength, which enables them to move beyond the need to prove themselves physically. They frequently find they have the courage to walk away from an explosive situation. They also develop higher tolerance. Remember, physical aggression is channeled positively in class and tempered with strict discipline and control. What surprises many parents is how the discipline, control and increased concentration carries over from martial arts into every day-life. You may find your child more organized in school, more respectful to others, and more goal oriented.
A brief statement of principles of Judo
Suppose we estimate the strength of a man is ten power, whereas your strength, less than his, is five power. Then if he pushes me with all his power, I will be pushed back or thrown down, even if I use all my strength against him. This is just a simple fact of physics. This would happen from opposing strength to strength. But if, instead of opposing him, I leave him unresisted, withdraw my body just as much as he pushes, at the same time keeping my balance, he will naturally lean forward and lose his balance. In this new position he may become weak (not in actual physical strength, but because of his shaken position) as to reduce his strength for the moment, say to three power only instead of ten. Meanwhile, by keeping my balance, I retain my full strength available for any emergency. Had I greater strength than my opponent, I could of course have pushed him back; but even if I wished to push him back, I should first have left him unresisted, as by so doing I should greatly economize my energy.
Judo consists primarily of nage-waza (throws), along with katame-waza (grappling), which includes osaekomi-waza (pins), shime-waza (chokes), and kansetsu-waza (joint locks). Additional techniques, including atemi-waza (striking), various joint locks, self defense and weapons are found in the Judo katas. Judo is generally compared to wrestling, but it retains its unique combat forms. As a daughter to jujitsu these techniques are also often taught in Judo classes. Because the founder was involved in education (President of Tokyo University) Judo training emphasizes mental, moral and character development as much as physical training. Most instructors stress the principles of Judo such as the principle of yielding to overcome greater strength or size, as well as the scientific principles of leverage, balance, efficiency, momentum and control. Seiryoku zenyo (maximum efficiency) and Jita kyoei (mutual welfare and benefit) are the best known of the principles of Judo.
Why Judo for Children
Judo is a good choice for most children to learn because it is safe and fun, and because it emphasizes education and proper development of the body, mind, and character.
Judo training has many forms for different interests. Some students train for competition by sparring and entering the many tournaments that are available. Other students study the traditional art and forms (kata) of Judo. Other students train for self-defense, and yet other students practice Judo for fun and recreation. Black belts are expected to learn all aspects of Judo.
A quote from the Judo founder.
"The world is changing and Ju Jujitsu has to change too. I don’t think it’s practical to limit ourselves to one particular style. I no longer see any point in keeping the techniques of each Jujitsu school a secret. It would be better to experiment with a whole range of techniques and select the ones you want to use, changing them if necessary. I’d like to take the best techniques from the Yoshin style and the best techniques from a lot of other styles and combine them all to create the ultimate form of Jujitsu. Last year after we performed for President Grant, Master Fukuda spoke of bringing Jujitsu to the rest of the world. To do that, we can’t rely on just one particular style – we need a combination of the best techniques from all the major schools of Jujitsu. That’s what I’d like to teach to the rest of the world." -- Jigoro Kano, 1880
The name Judo was chosen because it means the gentle or yielding way. Kano emphasized the larger educational value of training in attack and defense so that it could be a path or way of life that all people could participate in and benefit from. He eliminated some of the traditional jujitsu techniques and changed training methods so that most of the moves could be done with full force to create a decisive victory without injury. The popularity of Judo increased dramatically after a famous contest hosted by the Tokyo police in 1886 where the Judo team defeated the most well-known jujitsu school of the time. It then became a part of the Japanese physical education system and began its spread around the world
Judo is derived from Jujitsu. It was created by Professor Igor Kano who was born in Japan on October 28, 1860 and who died May 4, 1938 after a lifetime of promoting Judo. Mastering several styles of jujitsu including Kito-Ryu and Tenjin-shinyo Ryu in his youth he began to develop his own system based on modern sports principles. In 1882 he founded the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo where he began teaching and which still is the international authority for Judo. The photo below shows Jigoro Kano with a gathering of jujitsu leaders in 1921.
In 1928, after attending the Olympic Games of Amsterdam, Jigoro Kano conceived the idea to get Judo in the Olympic Games. In 1936 in Berlin, during the 35th session of the International Olympic Committee, the XII Olympic Games were scheduled for 1940 in Tokyo, where Judo of course would be added, but the war against China in 1937 forced Japan to withdraw from the organization of these Games and Judo was included only as a demonstration. In 1964 men's Judo competition finally became a part of the Olympics, the first asian martial art as an official medal sport. In 1992 Judo competition for women was added to the Olympics.
In closing Judo is an excellent character builder as well as a way of life for men, women and the future of our society children to learn and incorporate in to their daily lives.
