Willco said:
My sensei is one of the few white guys out there in his class and he's judged for the Olympics. Each of his children have won various state titles.
First day of class he taught us how to fall. How to hit the mat. The entire duration of my run at training and competition, only one of his pupils was seriously injured because he - gasp! - fell the wrong way. Only a handful of us, myself included, ever got injured to the point where we were unable to participate for a certain period of time.
It's true, there are a lot of kids who aren't taught balance and how to properly fall. There's a definite flux in overall education from school to school, so I tell people to investigate who is teaching beforehand and their affiliation with whatever institution they represent. Part of regional competition to earn your belt is verbal, where you address certain movies and display techniques. You'd be surprised how many times I heard from various people, "I don't know" or "My sensei never taught me that."
Judo can be rough, but it's not that rough if you know the sport. And it's not like I'm a light guy who challenged lanky, skinny kids. It's no rougher than basketball or any other organized sport.
If you think I believe boxing is a bad thing, and you're wrong. It's certainly takes an incredible degree of dedication and I admire anyone who participates, because it's the single toughest sport in the world. It truly is. There are a lot of good qualities in boxing.
But let's not beat around the bush -- you're training people to beat up other people and that's it. Boxing is not about self defense or improving your body. It's about beating up other people. There's a real difference.
I disagree with almost everything you just said.
I don't know your clubs, but here in NYC I've met quite a few Judo players. Nearly all of them had various injuries that consisted of broken toes, various knee and shoulder problems, caulliflower ears, broken noses, broken arms, torn ligaments, black eyes, broken ankles, broken fingers, concussions, and broken ribs. Allot of these guys were doing Judo longer then I have been alive, and were in my opinion, damn good Judoka. It didn't have anything to do with not falling properly, and most of the injury stories were of something just happening in practice.
Hell, Higashi's in NYC have guys so rough that one of the best guys I knew at matwork just wouldn't go there. It was their way of playing Judo. Most of the guys there were supposedly pretty big and would just grab your gi and whiplash the shit out of you.
Its not like eveyr class I saw someone get injured. But hell, myself in one class I had a guy bust my lip open while going for an armbar, and the very next guy triangled me so hard that one of my ears popped and bled.
If your gonna say its no rougher then basketball, well ok. But, these have been my experiences and people really need to hear two sides of the story.
I agree with you when you say boxing is the roughest sport in the world. But, its rediculous for you to come on here and tell what boxing is and isn't and what martial arts should be about. Everyone has their own way of practicing, and everyone has their own goals. Speaking for myself, boxing has strengthend me in many ways. I see the artisty of it. I love the science of it. Beating someone up? No, I don't think about that much. As far as self defense goes, I've said it before and I'll say it again...in my opinion boxing is the single best art you can take for self defense.
I'll take a quote from a Judoka who actually helped me understand boxing, a guy whos been around doing Judo since the 50s, Mark Feignbaum. Boxing is Budo. Its just not Japanese flavored.
