People often tell me getting a black belt in Judo seems harder than other disciplines. I can not disagree. A part of earning a black belt is possessing physical and mental toughness yet having the compassionate heart to care for others which can only be best achieved through time and experience. Rarely possible until having experienced life. We call that maturity.
Judo is translated as the 'gentle way', but it's a different type of 'gentle' than the ones you may know. I am not going to lie. Judo is always done in full contact, and 'pain' is a constant companion. You get slammed, launched, bruised, twisted, knotted, choked and pinned. But along the way, you develop the mental and physical toughness needed in life. The side effect of Judo is you get to be in phenomenal shape.
One unique aspect of Judo experience includes a simulated duel called Randori. The randori allows you to train the techniques at near 100% speed. This is how a beautiful Ippon throw is possible; seemingly effortless launching of an opponent's body in the air, because you have done it a ten thousand times before.
If the training is not hard enough, Judo still has other challenges greater than yourself. I don't believe anyone truly enjoys losing. It is the way quickly rebound from losing are true life lessons. The challenge comes at you in a form of strong opponents you could never ever beat. No matter how much you train and how much stronger you think you've gotten, there is always that one person...
Hopefully, by now you can see that Judo has almost nothing to do with getting a black belt. If you found interest in Judo, and have the will to overcome such life challenges, you will have become a better person for it; salt of the earth. Because after having done Judo, everything else seems easy.
