A bit of a rambling post this one.
I was sat in a room, the other night, listening to the ever present debate about grading formats. On one side there is the 'everyone should compete' camp and on the other side an 'everyone shouldn't be forced to compete' club.
So whats the answer?
As a slightly older bloke, when I first started doing Judo some time ago, I had to compete for grade advancement, and in all honesty I enjoyed it. There is nothing like the feeling of winning in a competitive environment, but on the other hand I gave up Judo when I competed at a grading and suffered a back injury.
And therein lies the problem. There was a massive drop off in the number of new players some years ago and the BJA decided that the competitive side (with possible injuries) wasn't helping the situation and in that respect they are right. The question is, has it gone to far?
My thoughts, for what their worth, is that maybe players who want to compete for grades, should be allowed to and those that don't, don't have to. Even if this wasn't a countrywide policy, couldn't clubs internally allow their Judoka to compete for grades.
Personally, I would compete, and the reason for this, is that it's nice to know on a personal level, whether i'm good enough to attain the next grade. It's one thing to be told, and another to feel it.
My thoughts won't change the system, but it would be interesting to know what other players opinions are on it?????????
Food for thought, i think this could spark a good debate!
ReplyDeleteA very good question, personally I think that the theory side has done wonders for getting basic knowledge bases built, however I too think that the competitive side has dropped too much. Since the new grading system came into place there has been a significant drop in event across the UK.
ReplyDeleteHowever throughout all the gradings there is a randori section which can be done at club level, however for those needing/wanting the additional challenge you could tie this in with a competition. Here in lies the next tripping point (excuse the pun) low and mid level competitions are few and far between in many areas across the UK. Personally, I think that the BJA should Get some funding into training new volunteers and perhaps funding for competitions ACROSS THE UK not just London.
Does anyone have any other thoughts?