The BJA website has just posted that (another) fellow student of mine, Densign White, has just been re-elected as a Sports Director of the European Judo Union.

Densign is one of three Sports Directors, Daniel Lascau (Bath Graduate) and Indrek Pertelson being the other two.

This is Densign's second term (4 years per term), so obviously the EJU feel he is doing a good job!

Well Done/Congratulations Densign!

Today I am really pleased to be able to say that Danny Murphy has been appointed Hampshire Junior Squad Manager.

Danny I know via University of Bath, he is a colleague of mine on the BSc/Level 5 coaching course. I have also had the pleasure of having him mat side when I have fought. Danny is a World Masters silver medallist and a coach at the famous Budokwai Club in London.

Danny spent some time with me discussing his plans for the role before he interviewed for the role, and I think that the Hampshire Association has picked the right guy! He has the expertise and the mindset to develop players properly to progress into being Judo athletes when they get older.

So a virtual round of applause for Danny and to Hampshire, good things will follow!

This week I was very fortunate to receive direct from japan a copy of Brian N. Watson's book "Judo Memoirs of Jigoro Kano" which is available to order in the USA , and UK (think of Christmas people).


Now with my recent podcast recording with Yves Cadot on the Writing of Kano in my mind, I sat down and browsed this book.

The book is based on the interviews Jigoro Kano gave to Torahei Ochiai, which have been translated by Mr. Watson.

I suspect this is the single best book in English available if you are interested in the opinions of Jigoro Kano. It covers a really broad range of areas a small subset (as mentioned by Neal of www.judoinfo.com in his positive review of the book on Amazon are:

Establishment of the Kodokan
Pain is a Good Teacher
My Study of Kito Jujutsu
The Inspiration for Seiryoku Zenyo
The Kodokan Oath
Correct Randori Posture
Competitive Judo
Kodokan's First Foreign Trainees
Kodokan Ascendancy
The Ideal Judo Instructor
Itsutsu no Kata
Purpose of the Judokai
Ju no Kata and Go no Kata
Benefiting Oneself and Others

In my review on amazon I mentioned the Glossary, as I was pleasantly surprised by the contents there. Not only are some of the words defined, many of the people mentioned in the book have small summaries in the glossary too. This was really a great find, as it gave context to many of the names who are important figures in the history of Judo of course.

I have only browsed the book so far, and am just about to start reading it cover to cover. As it is broken down into articles, it is quite easy to pick up for a short period, get something useful out of it and put it down again. Once I have read it properly I shall review it again here, but on first impressions, I have to say this book should be in EVERY Judo persons library!

Finally I must thank Brian (and Neal) for my advance copy of the book. I feel immensely honored to be given the privilege to see the book early! Many Thanks!

Lance

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