Martial Arts in Japan

just-joe

Hey everyone,

so in July I will be going to Japan for a year, and being a judoka I'm quite excited about the prospect of doing some judo/whatever else while I'm there!

And so I was just wondering if anyone has any experience of doing MA in Japan (or anywhere else for that matter!), cool stories of training/competition etc would be great to hear!

corkma

Im a little off topic but does anyone know where I can get kickboxing fixtures. I'll be in tokyo soon and I'd like to go to a K1 show, or something similiar

Sid_Justice

Joe I'd say you know as much about training in the Kodokan etc. as I would. if you're looking for something different and you can get the kit I'd recommend you give Kendo a shot. Aikido in Japan is supposed to be very Judoey and might be something interesting for you. There's plenty of BJJ in the big cities in Japan too but probably not why you went to Japan for.

pearsquasher

I've been to Japan quite bit to study Bujinkan with the Japanese and can tell you that it's an amazing experience. While judo and Bujinkan are very different I can give you some tips on how to make the most of your training while there:

- train with as many Japanese seniors as possible as they are nearest the source
- do exactly what you're told training-wise, if the above works out. You're there to be a complete sponge and soak up everything... but don't over-do it either... do take a break now and then.
-In the Bujinkan at least...excesive bowing, if your not Japanese, is just plain weird - stick to normal polite/respectful behaviour in the dojo and you can't go wrong. Learn as much japanese as possible.

The general Japanese way of indicating that you're being a tosser is to let you be a tosser and to say nothing. This could lead you to think that you're behaving just fine when in fact you're being ignorant/rude/annoying etc. You'll receive far less attention to your training if you're like that and you won't even notice so avoid all that by being super-polite and chilled.

Lastly, BASICS, BASICS, BASICS. Even if you're an uber dan in Judo.. just go with the view of learning basic stuff because the dividends are huge if you have that mind-set.

In an ideal world you're teacher should have experience of training in Japan and pass on sage advice to you on behaviour etc. That how the Bujinkan does it and it leads to excellent relations with Japanese teachers that spans generations... and that is how it should be.

just-joe

Sid_Justice wrote: »

Joe I'd say you know as much about training in the Kodokan etc. as I would. if you're looking for something different and you can get the kit I'd recommend you give Kendo a shot. Aikido in Japan is supposed to be very Judoey and might be something interesting for you. There's plenty of BJJ in the big cities in Japan too but probably not why you went to Japan for.

Yeah I think a lot of schools have kendo clubs so that could be interesting! And well I'm not really going to Japan just for the judo (a one year intense training course, lol?!) so I guess I'm open to any kind of martial artsy experience.

just-joe

Thanks pearsquasher, great advice! Yeah from what I understand, the Japanese are very non-pass-remarkable, too polite, so hopefully if I do get to train I'll hit the right note.

And as for the basics, definitely - I guess I'd call myself an intermediate judoka, but probably have flaws for the most basic techniques. Would be great to learn in a way that you know what you're doing is exactly right, if that makes sense?

Thanks again.

Jayo_M

corkma wrote: »

Im a little off topic but does anyone know where I can get kickboxing fixtures. I'll be in tokyo soon and I'd like to go to a K1 show, or something similiar

http://www.k-1.co.jp/en/event/2010/

Shootboxing events for 2010 -
2/13 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
4/11 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
6/6 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
9/18 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
11/13 Korakuen Hall, Tokyo
http://shootboxing.org/english/index.html

FruitLover

just-joe wrote: »

Thanks pearsquasher, great advice! Yeah from what I understand, the Japanese are very non-pass-remarkable, too polite, so hopefully if I do get to train I'll hit the right note.

Don't worry about it. Foreigners get away with a lot of faux pas here, and if you're seen to be making an effort, that'll be enough. Just train your balls off, pay attention, and you'll have a positive experience.

Burnt

I can't help much directly but depending where you are at it's quite possible that some of the old guys have been over to japan to train. Introductions are where it's at for getting into many of the smaller machi or private dojo's.

corkma

thanks for that link