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It’s
official - heterosexual guys know what we do: grappling
is gay. And it seems that, knowing this, they're doing everything
possible to exorcise the ground game from judo. In
recent years, the gap between the amount of ne-waza displayed
in judo textbooks/videos and that displayed in the real
world has widened considerably.
Even a cursory glance at the annals of history make it clear
that this sea change was coming. Jigoro Kano never intended
judo to be a grappling sport - MatBattle.com has the proof:
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Look at what
Olympian Jimmy Pedro writes in Judo -Techniques and Tactics:
‘...he
(Kano) prized throwing more than he did any other skill of judo.
He found in throwing a challenge and aesthetic quality not found
in other forms of training...As he developed his form of randori,
he emphasized the techniques of throwing...From 1882 to 1900,
judo contests were primarily throwing contests...Kano originally
intended judo to be a standing martial art, an art that emphasized
throwing skills and included no mat work...’
Kano’s
original aspiration, then, coupled with the aesthetic concerns
of sport on TV and the omnipresent fear of homosexuality, are
doubtless responsible for what has happened to judo in the late
nineties/early twenty-first century. In dojos the world over,
judo is increasingly taught as a standing art, with groundwork
lobbed in as an afterthought, as something that must be endured,
not enjoyed. On television, it’s being portrayed in a similar
fashion: the Olympic Games of the year 2000 featured virtually
no groundwork; the referees had become tougher, less forgiving,
sometimes allowing as little as five seconds before standing players
up. Five seconds! Barely enough time to take grips!
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But
that doesn't conclude our litany of evidence: Judoinfo.com
has published a report by Dr Stanislaw Sterkowicz of the
Cracow Academy of Physical Education, Poland detailing performance
differences between male and female judoka. To the dismay
of groundwork devotees the world over, the contents of his
paper make for seriously grim reading.
Based
on observations made during the 1996 Olympics, the statistics
are startling - men employ a markedly smaller quantity of
groundwork in competition than their female counterparts,
scoring consistently lower in all areas of
ne-waza usage apart from armlocks.
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To quote from the report itself, ‘There was a dependency between
the contestants' selection of means of fight and their sex. The
essential difference was in the women's frequent use of the holding
techniques (in groundwork). On the other hand, the male contestants
made a successful use of risky throwing techniques involving falls
of the attacking contestants.’
The most damning
aspect of this research is the percentile relationship between
male judoka and that most homoerotic of holds, tate-shiho-gatame.
The report states that men achieved victory with this osaekomi
only 0.3% of the time - a disaster for aficionados of gay judo
the world over, and yet another powerful reason for us all to
make the switch to Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which harbors no such
constraints. Don't get me wrong: I love judo, it's been part of
my life since I was just ten years old, but let's get real here
- this is the beginning of the end for the gentle art's relatively
short-lived stay as denizen of the wrestling habitat.
From here
on in, it’s all about the throws.
Note
of Acknowledgment:
Portions of this article were derived from
Dan 'Connell's essay, BJJ - the New Gay Judo, the complete
text of which can be located in the Web Links section below this
feature.
Web
Links:
Dr
Sterkowicz's Report in Full (Opens in
a separate window.)
MatBattle.com
Article: BJJ - the New Gay Judo
MatBattle.com
Article: All About the Ground - Diami Virgilio's Take on the Homoerotic
Nature of BJJ
MatBattle.com
Interview: Jimmy Pedro
Buy
Jimmy Pedro's 'Judo: Techniques and Tactics' at Amazon.com
(Opens in a separate window.)
Author Info:
E-mail
Aaron
Read
Aaron's Biography
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you have what it takes to write for
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