Judo, a Way of Life
Friday, June 4th, 2010Published:
___
However, if that person had the chance to see judo, that idea would go right out of the window.
“Judo is a form of jujitsu that basically entails throws and grappling techniques,” said Jeff Laurell, sensei of the Suzuran Dojo in Woodland Park. “We don’t strike in judo, even though traditionally that was part of the jujitsu system, but judo has become more popular worldwide as a sport.”
Laurell wasn’t kidding about judo becoming more popular worldwide either, stating that judo is now the second most popular sport — participation wise — in the world, behind soccer.
It’s odd how different judo is from what could be expected. It is like a grappling ballet at the beginning of the match and works its way into a legitimate wrestling match — not like the WWF — it’s almost beautiful to see how good some of the quality men and women are on their feet.
On May 29 people had the chance to experience what judo is all about as many of the top competitors from Colorado and surrounding states gathered at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs to take part in a showcase tournament.
One of the teams competing in the tournament was Woodland Park’s very own Suzuran Dojo and even though they might not have any masters right now, by the way in which they competed it was obvious the future is bright for them.
The dojo, which has been in operation since 2002, has taught many different kids of all ages the art of judo and is now enjoying its second generation of students.
Included in these students are three that were able to grab silver medals in the novice section of their age groups; Emil Tapper, Halen Pailla and Santana Pailla all earned a second-place medal for their efforts.
The surprising thing about Tapper’s silver is that he is only 7-years-old, yet he loves judo nonetheless.
“[Judo’s] good,” Tapper said. “I get better by training. It felt really good to win a silver medal.”
Thomas Chisholm, a 15-year-old was also participating that day. He said he loves every aspect of judo and hopes to continue to improve in the future.
“I always have fun at practice, it’s a real blast,” he added. “It’s really fun. It keeps me in shape and I love all the people I work out with. [Judo] is like a family.”
While winning medals and working your way to a spot on the Olympic team is the dream of every athlete competing in judo, there are other aspects of the sport that might be more important, such as the life lessons one can learn participating and competing in judo.
“Judo is kind of a metaphor for life,” Laurell said. “Like a lot of sports can be where the training is rigorous. Some things that are taught besides the techniques are how to be a good person. There are things more important than your issues and gains. We always try and pass that on to the kids.”