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Biggest lesson I learnt from Judo. Context here is that Toshihiko Koga and Travis Steven’s version of ippon-seoinage is non-classical. It’s not the way it’s taught in most clubs. And yet it works, and it works incredibly well. (I do it too).

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Cedric Chin

@ejames_c

I think the thing that I internalised is to not pay attention to what experts say they do, or even to what they say when they’re teaching the technique they do. I’ve learnt to always check against their actions in the field.

3:40 PM · Aug 28, 2021Tweetbot for iΟS

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This is a deeply held belief. I spent a year not winning any competitions as a kid because I stubbornly believed that the way they taught my throw (osotogari) was the way I was supposed to do it in competition. It wasn’t. It was a lie. bestjudo.com/article/0822/c

Cedric Chin

@ejames_c

Aug 28, 2021

Ever since that experience I’ve learnt not to trust any instructional video in Judo (or any other domain) without also checking against the practitioner’s actions in the field. It’s a lesson that’s come in handy again and again.

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Isn't it more subtle than that without an accounting of why they instruct X but perform Y? The differences point to what they've become insensitive to in their expert-hood, which is harder to triangulate if one pays no attention to X.

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Oh good point. I think you’re right in general. Though in Judo, I’ve found it counter productive to pay attention to X. X tends to be the way it’s taught in the Kodokan (i.e. for 100 years). Whereas modern competitive pressures might mean Y is effectively a different throw.

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