Joining the group:

We accept new inexperienced people in the first few weeks of each semester. We ask that people watch the first couple of practices so that they know what type of exercise they are undertaking.

Current Starting Date for new members:
January17th and 19th, 2012

Sorry, we do not start new members in the middle of a semester, even if you have some experience.

Regular PracticeTime: Tuesdays and Thursdays
6:15 to 8:30pm

Where: IM Building Wrestling Room

What You Need:
Good Attitude.
Commitment.
Willingness to work very hard.
Try a few workouts.
If you decide to stay, you will need a judo gi (uniform-$50) and club dues..
We expect members to manage their time and do well academically so that they may make every workout..

What is our club like?
We are a club that always has a lot of beginners and we spend a lot of time on the fundamentals and the culture. We do not have many adavanced players, we do not have a team, and we are not a competition oriented club. We do have some people that compete on their own and we do try to develop people at all levels, but the majority of our people have very little experience in judo and we try to keep people safe in practice.

Judo Club Expectations

Keep an open mind.
You may not understand why we do some things, and we will not take the time to explain the reasons for everything we do.   Eventually you will understand if you are patient, work hard, and keep an open mind.

Make the time commitment. 
You can’t really learn anything by doing it once a week.  Twice a week is not really enough.  We are only able to practice twice a week.  Missing practice sets you back, and makes it very difficult to keep up. It becomes a safety issue.   Manage your time and don’t get behind in your studies.
 
Show Respect.
Don’t try to impress us with what you know.  Impress us by working hard, being in control and not getting injured or causing injury others.
Bowing is a show of respect.  Bow before you walk on to the mat.  Bow to your partner before and after working them.  Don’t walk between people working together, go around them. 
Also, please let us know (send us an email) if you cannot make a practice.  It is just courteous.

Trust:
You cannot practice judo alone.  You need a partner to practice and learn.  Trust is very important.
You need to trust your partners, so get to know them.
You need to trust the instructors. 
The instructors need to trust that everyone will follow instructions, which is very important for safety.
Without trust, safety will be a problem.

How to learn:  
Learn by watching.  Don’t ask questions during class, wait until after class.  Watch very closely.  Learn by doing over and over.  The harder you work and the more effort you put in, the more people will want to help you.  Don’t talk during practice: it distracts others, and is not safe.  Use your eyes to learn, not your mouth. We don’t expect you to do everything well, but we do expect you to make a good effort, keep trying, and don’t give up.  Don’t teach others - let them learn by watching.

What to learn:
There are many things to learn.  We will only use a small number of techniques that are appropriate and safer to use with the skill level of the type of people in our club.  World championships have been won with the same basic techniques that we practice. You only need a couple of techniques, a strong body, and a good attitude.  Quality is better than quantity.  Get good at a few basic techniques, and the others become very easy to learn.

Support each other:
Be friendly and social.  Smile a lot. Say hello to everyone when you come in.  Take the time to get to know everyone.  This is good in all aspects of your life.
Support and encourage each other.  Exercise with each other outside of practice to get in better shape. 

Be flexible:
If we do things a different way than you have learned at other clubs, we ask that you keep an open mind and try to do things the way we show you.  We are not saying that other ways are wrong and we do not mean any disrespect to other instructors or clubs.  There are reasons we ask you to do things a certain way.  We are looking out for your safety.

Give back:
Many people make an effort so we can have a club, and the way to give back to the club is to show up on time, show up regularly, and follow the expectations above.

 

Questions?
judo@psu.edu