Quote:
Walter Martindale wrote:
My first judo sensei spent 5 or more years in Japan, right about the time Isao Okano was (at the time) the smallest person (80 kg-176lb) to win the All Japan Judo Championships. Late 1960s.. I started Judo in 1972.
Dave (my sensei) had told me that on one occasion he came across Okano in the Kodokan weight room (yes, there was one back then, can't speak for now) throwing massive amounts of steel around in bench press, squat, etc... He asked something like "I thought you didn't do weight lifting" and Okano is supposed to have replied along the lines of "I don't lift weights.. this is judo". No sense of irony, no joking around - the training was part of being all-round the best judo competitor of the day.
Hours of judo training each day.. AND weights.. AND a hard-a$$ attitude.
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I would wonder if Olympic champions train that way today. We've learned a lot over the last 30 some years. Heck when I was a kid playing football it was all about no water until after practice and salt tablets.
For a young judo athlete in his prime, sure, I'd say that weight training is important to some degree. I'd be interested on what the kodokan and others actually do today. Same with sumo, I wonder.
That said, how many of us are 20 somethings looking for a short, but stellar judo career?
That is sort of my point above about what is good for one is not good for all. I've been in the military for 27 years and I have been pretty successful and extending my career and staying fit and relevant within the special ops community. At 45 I was running around the mountains of Afghanistan with young operators holding my own. Today, I have found myself training with a bunch of over the hill operators in mid to late 40s looking at staying relevant and continuing to be able to do the physical work. Usually it is an injury that takes us out.
So, we are looking for ways to train that allow us to prolong our careers and not get hurt. Not always easy, but most of us look back on some of the things we did and reflect what a waste of time it was and in some cases see how that led to the degenerative disc disease we have or how those wide grip pull ups weakened the rotator cuff.
I can tell u I train much different than I did or had sense to in my 20s.