I'd like to start a internet meme ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_meme ), who are your top 5 most influential people in Judo today?

I'll start, in no particular order:

Mike Callan (Judo Leader)
Mike is the Director of Judo at the University of Bath, he is also President of the International Association of Judo Researchers (IAJR). Mike is responsible for the EJU Level 4 (Foundation Degree) coaching award. Which is a unique Judo specific coaching course. He was key to the development of the Judo programme at the University of Bath; a programme which is now World Class, in fact it is the European Judo Union’s first officially recognised international training centre.
http://www.teambath.com/?page_id=267
http://www.judoresearch.com

AnnMaria De Mars (Judo Blogging Queen)
AnnaMaria is one of the loudest Judo voices on the internet. She regularly posts long well thought out posts on her website ( http://drannmaria.blogspot.com/ ).
As well as producing web content, she also holds a variety of roles in US Judo, is a key player in the West Coast Training Center and is mother of the USA's first female to win an Olympic Judo medal, Ronda Rousey.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ann_Maria_Rousey_DeMars
http://drannmaria.blogspot.com/


Rhadi Ferguson (Judo Entrepreneur)
Rhadi "The Judo Crusader" Ferguson is probably selling Judo harder than any person on the planet. He and his protege Taraje Murray-Williams, post regular messages (sales messages mainly) on their websites and seem to be producing DVDs and other products like other people have hot dinners. He may be a bit over the top in terms of spamming your mailbox, but he is selling Judo more than the rest of us!
http://www.rhadi.com/
http://www.thejudocrusader.com/


Mike Darter (Judo Innovator)
Mike is the creator of the original Judo podcast www.thejudopodcast.com and my collaborator and main motivator in setting up www.thejudopodcast.eu
He continues to try new things and think outside the box. He is posting videos on YouTube, creating new websites, trying new things in his club. He is also building his own Dojo in Oklahoma City. If that was not enough he tried his hand at event management this year with considerable success. His Heartland tournament innovated in a number of areas!
http://www.okcdt.com


Marius Vizer (IJF President)
This list would not be complete without the new president of the IJF. Obviously as the IJF president he has huge influence, which we are only just starting to see the results of.
I don't know the man, but it is obvious that anyone who gains the presidents position is a person of influence. Especially given the history of his taking the role and the departure of the previous president it is clear to me that Marius is a man of influence in our Judo world. Anyone who sits next to Vladimer Putin ata Judo event must be pretty darn influential.
http://www.ijf.org


Obviously the list above is mainly based on my personal contact and opinion and of course web presence. Your list will vary greatly I would hope!

So, heres what I want you to do, write your own list of 5 influential people in Judo and post it on your blog/website. Or even on a forum like www.judoforum.com

Then "tag" five people you want to create a top 5 list too, here are the 5 people I want to tag:

Mike Darter, Bob Challis, AnnMaria DeMars, Judo Kong and Rhadi Ferguson.

Lets see if this meme spreads. :-)

Hello Everyone,

this post is a promo for the European Judo Union Level 3 Advanced Coach Award course you can do via the University of Bath.

As regular readers will know, I completed the EJU Level 4 course and am reaching the end of the BSc/Level 5 course at the moment. As such, I know what the value of the courses being offered in Bath are. I am really excited by this Level 3 course!

Unlike the course I have done, which were residential (4 weeks a year), the level three is being done via "Distance Learning" and as such is available to virtually anyone, worldwide!

I am fortunate that I have been invited to assist the programme as a tutor. Which I am really pleased to be given the opportunity to help with. I hope that my internet geekness will be helpful on the course. I suspect I shall be quite involved in helping the course students interact via the internet.
I really hope that the students on the Level 3 gain the connections with other coaches that the courses I have attended have given me.

The course consists of the following modules:

Module 1	Principles of Coaching Gokyo	Module Convenor: Mr Patrick Roux
	To understand and be able to identify the key teaching points of techniques from the Kodokan Gokyo. To understand the principles of Grip entry: kuzushi, tsukuri, kake, renzokuwaza, renrakuwaza (technical/tactical system). To understand the principles of Osaekomiwaza, shimewaza and kansetsuwaza (technical/tactical system).
Module 2	Planning and Physiology	Module Convenor: Mr Jürgen Klinger
	To understand the long term development of the judo player. To understand the creation of session plans, with respect to goal setting, and player profiling. To understand the fundamental components and physical factors required for judo, as a complex sport.
Module 3	Culture of Judo (Ethics, Safety and Etiquette)	Module Convenor: Mrs Jane Bridge-Charlot
	To understand the ethical principles of Olympism and judo. To explain to candidates individual coaching philosophy. To understand the specific safety issues of judo.
Module 4	History and Development of Judo	Module Convenor: Mr Mike Callan
	To describe the evolution of competition judo. To describe the historical development of judo, pre-Kano, during Kano’s life, post-Kano.
Module 5	Communication	Module Convenor: Mr Patrick Roux
	To understand the role of the coach. To be able to analyse and communicate in relation to specific situations. To understand and analyse the coach-athlete relationship process, identifying issues and suggesting solutions. To understand the principles of communication (Clear message, efficient emitters & receptors). To be able to effectively communicate with the player specific objectives.
Module 6	Competitive Judo	Module Convenor: Mrs Jane Bridge-Charlot
	To be able to identify & coach effective competition techniques. To understand the duties & skills of a coach at a competition (including weight management). To be able to transfer of judo principles into an applied competitive situation. To recognise different judo styles.

The modules give a good broad engagement with Judo coaching. At first I questioned the inclusion of the Go Kyo module. After all at level three the coaches should be quite knowledgable right?
But after some thought I think it is a very good idea to include it. It will mean that everyone who graduates the course will have a equal footing on the technical elements of the Go Kyo. There will be a shared knowledge between the coaches, a standard that they all share.

The other modules are all pretty self explanatory and provide a good platform for coaching and also to begin the Level 4 once completed. I wish I had had the chance to do the EJU Level 4 course before the Level 4 (It didn't exist then). The reason I say that is that I think having the background/base knowledge of the Level 3 and some experience at assignment preparation etc would have meant my progression through the Level 4 would have been easier and my grades higher. :-)

The fees for the course are pretty darn good, 65 GBP per module. Except for the final residential module which is 150GBP. For what the course offers I think its very reasonable, even if your currency is not as strong as the British pound.

I know there are students enrolled now, but there are spaces for more people.

I strongly STRONGLY recommend doing this course, to get more information look at the course website ( http://www.bath.ac.uk/sports/judolevel3/home/home.html ), where you can learn about the world class lecturers and also download an application form ( http://www.bath.ac.uk/sports/judolevel3 ... 20Form.doc ).

No doubt before you sign up, you'll have questions. Diego Scardone is the administrator for the Level Three course. So fire any questions at him ( d.scardone@bath.ac.uk ).

Of course you can ask me too.

Lance

The above video (click here if the embedded video does not show: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyKEzVMeA14 ), is a video montage of the 43rd Annual Dallas Invitational Judo Tournament, hosted by Dallas Judo. This year featured $1000 cash prizes to the Seniors Division, which brought in some great international players.

The video is posted by Mike of www.thejudopodcast.com and www.okcdt.com fame.

Excellent stuff!

This is a quick note, written on my phone.
I just wanted to thank the people who attended my talk today.

My original post about this talk, which has all the videos and the slides is here: http://www.judocoach.com/blog/index.php ... 326-043928

Here is the slide deck (actually a slightly older version):


As discussed, please do Google your own name, and the name of your athletes. I'd also suggest visiting www.planetjudo.com and reading some of the blogs listed there. Of course "Friend me" on facebook, or follow me on www.twitter.com/lancew

Lastly, if you get inspired, drop me an email and I'll help you as much as I can in getting a handle on Digital Natives and setting up websites, etc.

*UPDATE: December 2nd 2008 *

An former colleague of mine has posted a great article about how businesses are using the sorts of tools I discussed in a commercial (Click here). My favorite example is Heather Gorringe of http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/ who has turned Worm Farming into a global business. I have to suspect that more people are interested in Judo than worms, so I fail to see why we could not do what she has done, in a Judo context.

Please do email me with your thoughts now you've had some time to digest the talk. Better yet leave a comment here. :)

Lance

Hi everyone,
so tomorrow I head to Dartford Judo Club to deliver my talk on Coaching Digital Natives again to a different group of coaches. I am really looking forward to it, I have made a few small tweaks, but fundamentally the same message.

As part of the revisions I did this week for it, I looked at Facebook and realised that there was no Facebook BJA group... so I created one! ( http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50714858472 )

I created it on the 26th and 3 days latter there are 112 members and 128 pending invitations! Facebook is such a powerful tool to communicate and pull people together and to help build a community. So... go join, now, go!

Still here?


Okay, so a couple of people (one in particular) sugegsted I look at a job the BJA has going ( http://britishjudo.org.uk/home/eventspr.php ) for a Events and PR Assistant. At first I just laughed (and laughed!).

But then I thought... hang on, I spend (far too much) time criticizing the BJA and their failures in just these areas. Specifically in using the internet, just check my previous posts.

It would be an interesting proposition to become an "insider". To do some work under the banner of the BJA. To effect some positive change within the BJA. Of course my outspoken-ness probably excludes me from the role. :-)

So....

What do you think? Should I put my name in the hat?

I would genuinely appreciate your opinion, please drop me an email to lw@judocoach.com and let me know what you think.

Lance