judo-ron 68- motivation- keeping the flame alive

Zuihitsu- random notes about judo by Ronald Désormeaux

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Judo-Ron 68- Judo Motivation-Keeping the flame alive

How often have you heard that Motivation aligned with Confidence and Abilities are the sources of

success in all endeavours? The Judo environment is no different. To place it in perspective, we can say

that judo champions or masters are formed within the dojo under the tutelage of one or several Sensei.

The Learning Milieu

The Judo teachers, instructors and senior judokas are all involved in ensuring that the Judoka perform to

their best and concurrently, they oversee the developmental process of each athlete. They provide the

necessary leadership through the use of qualitative, quantitative and historical data from each of their

athlete. From the information obtained, they suggest goals and schedule training plans for the

acceptance of each judoka. In the course of the training schedule, there is a need for the discovery of

the initial goals and the subsequent changes to original objectives as the judoka progress. These

alterations and modifications are done via a dialogue between the judoka and the teachers. This is the

main reason for teachers to possess relevant cognitive skills as well as good communication abilities.

Each of those actors may, at different time, express his or her points of view in different formats. From

the teacher’s point of view, their influence can be conveyed through many leadership styles be it:

dictatorial, people or task oriented, transactional, transformational or a combination of all the

aforementioned. With their own means and in accord with the athlete, they try to establish pertinent

goals and schedules, supervise the training sessions and coach individuals towards maximizing their

technical performance while ensuring personal growth of the judoka. For those reasons, they must be

able to communicate effectively with all the students and their entourage and ensure their feedback is

well received.

I believe that the symbiosis between the trainers and the athletes can be optimized by making greater

use of what we call the “emotional intelligence”. Let us discuss this communication factor a little more.

Capturing emotions

When we try to identify what is our emotional intelligence capacity, we normally associate it with the

following facets:

• Self-awareness – Recognizing our own emotions and how they affect our thoughts and behavior,

knowing our mental strengths and weaknesses, and projecting self-assurance.

• Self-management – Having the ability to control some of our impulsive feelings and behaviors,

by taking the initiative and following through our commitments while trying to adapt to

changing circumstances.

• Social awareness – Being vigilant in demonstrating our emotions by assessing their reach or

impact and assessing the projected emotions of others, we can better recognize the needs of

others and facilitate the communication dynamics with the group.


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• Relationship management – Being attentive to others, we should be able to entertain better

communications with the general classes while inspiring specific judoka to do their utmost.

Value in correct interpretation

When properly mastered, emotional intelligence can become a valuable asset to better identify, use,

understand, and manage the exchange of emotions occurring in a dialogue.

By understanding the visual images projected by others and capturing the essence of what their simple

or complex emotions revealed be it: fear, sadness, rage, joy, disgust, anticipation, trust, surprise, shame,

calmness, envy or indignation etc…and being sensible to the kinds of images we project in return within

that dialogue, we can be better positioned to adequately respond to the incoming messages or signals,

and improve the quality of our dialogue.

It is by being more image-sensitive or conscious and by being exposed to various forms of emotions that

we can gain the necessary knowledge and develop the abilities to distinguish between frustration,

detachment, anger, stress, confusion and other forms of emotions that are so often present in

dialogues. With a clear understanding of what is being said or expressed we can be relieved from the

pressures of potential confrontational stress. Our mode of communication should improve and we

should become more receptive to empathize with others.

The relationships between trainers and athletes are crucial for the advancement of both. We have to set

the tone and nourish the kind of relationship we will have with our judokas and athletes. Several sports

psychologistsi affirm that if we are able to make greater use of emotional intelligence we should be able

to better recognize our own emotional states thus enabling a greater harmony in our relationships and

encouraging a stronger bond through mutual confidence.


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Positive communication is a must

You may have heard from others quarters that: “It’s neither the smartest nor the strongest people that

are the most successful in life”. Those who are able to network with peers and communicate successfully

with others have a definite advantage. When attempting to express an idea and obtaining consensus,

we depend to a large extent upon our audience and the milieu. Within the judo environment, whether

we seek to be a good judoka, a champion or take a judoka under our wings to properly coach him or her

towards their goals, we need the support and the agreement of all those who will be the principal

actors.

There are still too many champions, teachers and coaches that are regarded as technically brilliant and

capable of extraordinary performances, yet, many are regarded as socially clumsy when facing others.

Some are continuously rated poorly by their peers and students for their lack the human comprehension

and their inaccessibility. It is said that:” No one is free from faults, Ketten no nai hito wa inai.”

Soliciting participation and improvement by example and or technical demonstration alone is not

sufficient; we have to be able to communicate our ideas effectively and at the most opportune time. I

believe that by being more attentive to various forms of emotional statements or expressions found in

dialogues, we, as person of influence, can better navigate within the social complexities of the dojo,

better lead and motivate others, and as such, excel as a judo teacher or coach.

Practicing to capture distinctive signs and meanings

I have previously discussed the factors of Intuition and the use of sensory perception in an article called:

Sen No Sen which illustrated a quick response of mental alertness before an opponent can become a

threat.ii It was mentioned that we need to cultivate our abilities to observe and analyse physical signs,

emotions and mental states of our adversaries in order to master the eventual combat situations. The

same is true for optimizing our relations with our peers and students. We have to observe, look, analyse

and interpret the other’s signals before we give a definite response that will score yet that it will not

offend indiscriminately. Whatever we say or do must contribute to stimulate and challenge the judoka,

make them feel part of the team or part of the family of judoka and make them proud of their

accomplishments.

In another article called Biofeedback as a tooliii, I expressed the need to make eye contact, to observe

body positions, stances and take notes of facial expressions when you are before someone. It is a fact

that all information reaching the brain comes through our senses.

When this kind of information cannot be properly interpreted, signals will be crossed and classified as

unknown threats. Face with such a misinterpretation, the brain will signal a survival instinct to take over

and our ability to react will be restricted to the fundament responses of: flight, fight, or freeze. It is

therefore important to be able to detect as early as possible all the various signals occurring within our

environment so that the brain can assimilate and classify them and that in proper time analyse and

process the correct responses mechanisms.


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Some of my former teachers emphasized that: “One must conquer self-first before trying to master

others”. It is natural that to make the good and the right decisions, we must be able to interrogate the

meanings of events or dialogues and in our search for appropriate solutions we need to be detached

from our prejudices and own emotions. In a dialogue as in life, we must try to bond with our “Vis-à-Vis”

by remaining calm and attentive. We must make the effort to remain in command of our actions and not

show bias or repeat previous mistakes in our interpretation.

Many researches have demonstrated the presence of high levels of stress occurring with hasty actions

which can overwhelm the mind and body, getting in the way of our ability to accurately “read” a

situation, hear correctly what someone else is saying or communicate our response clearly. In short,

beware of the dependence upon conditioned reflexes by developing the ability to quickly assess and

respond calmly to situations. Such behavior will diminish the level of stress and help us stay balanced,

focused, and in control.

Teacher’s responsibilities

As teachers we have to remind ourselves that the students must be placed in an ideal situation where

they are capable to see, observe, hear and feel the effects of new skills or theory and that they are

capable of storing such information for ulterior usage. This transmission of savoir and skills transfer is

partly done through dialogue and instructional techniques.

As we all know, being a good communicator requires more than just verbal skills. Often, what we say is

less important than how we say it, or demonstrate it. Incidental gestures such as the way we sit or stand

or how fast or how loud we talk and how close we stand to the other person have their impact. In order

to hold the attention of others and build the necessary connection and trust, we need to be aware of,

and in control of our own body language. Being able to connect to our emotions, having a moment-to-

moment awareness of our emotions and how they influence our thoughts and actions is the key to

understanding ourselves and others.

Now that we have some understanding of the basic ingredients we need to pay attention to render a

dialogue more interesting and worthwhile, we can devote the next portion of this essay to how we can

best keep alive the motivation of our students.


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Motivation and judo.

Students and teachers have chosen judo as their current activity. Why? What is their interest or

motivation? Are there common grounds that need to be entertained? This is the first element to

consider as all the remaining training efforts will be based upon the exact perception of the individual

goals as expressed or suggested and the response by the coach or teacher.

Motivation is often described as an individual’s inner will and dedication or focus to achieve a goal they

have set for themselves. Motivation makes you do what you do, if you’re not motivated by what you

seek or accomplish the chances are that you will never achieve your goals. At the onset of every judo

training session, it is important for all players-teachers to be in accord with the expressed goals.

The judoka is still a neophyte when he or she arrives at the dojo entrance. It is an imperative to identify

the reasons of their presence and their willingness to dress into a white judogi. It is paramount to set

the right stage for the ensuing months. For the teacher, a general lesson plan with specific goals

constitutes the parameters for delivering and adjusting his or her lessons plans. Student’s goals or

targets must be defined: finding friends, being part of a special social group, seeking medals, making

history, improving self, learning combat techniques etc. are all valid reasons yet each one may influence

the way the student goes about the judo activities.

For the knowledgeable student or more advanced, the return to the dojo may be attributable to a need

to improve performance, to build upon past performance and support base, to develop the competitive

skills which will eventually lead to national or Olympics levels, be in company of friendly faces and

training partners or simply a desire to excel. Their persistence show a stronger motive that need to be

correctly exploited by the knowledgeable Sensei.

It is to be remembered that each and every person has their own reasons for participating in judo. The

different background, culture, physical fitness level, experience or social needs are significant pressures

or motivators to embark upon a new process of self-improvement.

Managing aids

It is one of the tasks of instructors and teachers to assemble a program of activities with set measurable

goals to meet those needs. The accomplishment of the goal pattern is not a solo activity but a shared

responsibility between learner-teacher. A mean of identification these needs may have as a formula the

tenure of regular dialogues or by developing a session’s questionnaire or interview by which the goals,

objectives and participation levels are expressed clearly. Some teacher will resort to a physical exam

and a technical proficiency evaluation before providing their first technical session. These basic tools

help both teachers and students to define and communicate their needs or responses.


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Another way to identify the changing patterns of needs and goals is to conduct periodic discussion

periods amongst players. Through proper dialogue or questionnaire, the Sensei must be able to discover

the hidden motives if any and the degree of commitment anticipated. Amongst these hidden elements

we find: identification or emulation with a champion or role model, parental or peer pressure or the

desire or availability to obtain distinct recognition, or special prizes, medals, have access to

transportation to foreign venues and benefit from external recognition or friendship.

Types of Motivation

The sports psychologistivmake references to two different types or forms of motivation called intrinsic

motivation and extrinsic motivation. The Intrinsic motivations are results of motives that come from

within us and are not dependent upon others expectations or rewards. They are focused on the inner

goals that we wish to achieve over a longer time frame. Self-improvement, personal enjoyment and

pride in the accomplishment of the skills may fall in this category.

Extrinsic motivation is a motivation that comes from outside of us. They are only focused on the rewards

that come with being a good judoka, a fierce competitor, an accomplished athlete gaining fame, money

or being immortalized in some hall of fame. People who are extrinsically motivated still have intrinsic

reasons to participate and become better at their games because quality and quantity of successes are

worthwhile and satisfying. Taking exclusivity with extrinsic motivators can soon become a demoralizing

factor when the sources of money or fame run dry, the popularity fade or that the medals no longer

represent their true meaning.

Motivation plays an important part in all judo achievements. Be it associated with the introduction to

judo, the pursuit of the recreational facets, the dedication to the competitive route, the attainment of

the high performance podium or the realization of major self-improvements, all actors are infused with

it. Without the desire and determination to improve, all of the other mental factors such as: confidence,

intensity, focus, and emotions are thrown away. To perform well there must be an engaging process and

a willingness to endure the training process and the efforts leading to the goals.

Student’s motivation and Teacher’s responses are key factors that set the training programs and the

ensuing performances in the fields of physical conditioning, technical and tactical training, mental

preparation, and the life style that will accompany the athlete: sleep, diet, school or work, and social

relationships.

Avoiding the saturation point

In the continuum of our training we are bound to discover some black holes. We arrive at a point at

which the activity is no longer fun or fascinating. We may become saturated in the tasks and have

difficulties seeing the end. We may lack the desire to practice as often as we had planned, incline to

produce fewer efforts, skip a period or a key event or have the desire to change our goals. When this

happens, we are in a no-man-land or into a stalemate. As we find the activity more difficult to follow, we

frequently get tired, the repetitions appear to be more tedious and we have a desire to slack off for a

while.


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It is during these particular moments that we need further mental courage, focus and additional

encouragement / motivation from our entourage in order to get the extra push so that we can keep

going past these black hours and come out stronger and more dedicated. Together, trainers and

students must apply the right solutions to overcome the obstacle.

To further increase motivation, the team work should review the specific goals and assess objectively

what weaknesses or deviations impeded the selected achievement. Together they should list the

consequences of negative results (evaluation of the tasks performed and not the comparison with what

others have done)as related with the positive pleasures to be forthcoming with the next objective:

reassess the short and long term objectives and highlight the next event that will have significant and

measurable impact; recognize the efforts made since the beginning of the exercise and develop or

modify the approach to include more creative and fun events as part of the process; add small scale

measurements which will demonstrate shorter gains; reconfirm the commitment, open relationship and

trust to be maintain amongst each other and establish new timings for appraisals and evaluations.

From the dialogues that ensued, each player must assert the direction or approach to be followed and

what is expected from each other. The Sensei or coach must pay particular attention to the type of

mental responses exhibited by the judoka. The decision to commit to the revised plan is necessary and it

should dictate the optimal performance and dedication toward the revised activities. The decision to

continue to improve and the dedication to succeed have to become a top priority.

Maintaining Prime Motivation

When in doubt about ourselves we should keep our focus on our long-term goals and when setbacks

occur we should do like in the Randori: get back up and try again. Take pride in what has been already

accomplished and generate new approaches. Try to find a friend, a coach or a training partner with

whom you can practice with and receive immediate and positive feedback.

Another way to keep the motivation level alive is to identify those other individuals who have

accomplished their goals and can become role-model. As a competitor you could try to single out the

ones you consider better than you at this time and ask yourself: "Am I working as hard as him/her?.

What is needed to outsmart and outperform them? Remember that it is only by working harder that will

you have a better chance to overcome your greatest competitor.

Another dimension in keeping the motivation up is to use self-talk and imaging techniques. Both

systems involve generating positive emotions and feelings associated with the activities. The Sensei

must be attentive to ensure that he or she suggest positive feedback and offer good examples of relaxed

situations that can predispose the judoka to build confidence and improve performance. It is known that

a greater amount of positive feedback given to an athlete encourages the belief of an eventual

successful performance and will incite the athlete towards greater efforts.


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Some athletes make use of motivational cues and inspirational phrases and photographs that they carry

or place in their frequented areas as a method of keeping their motivation alive. These reminders and

the emotions associated with them are bound to inspire and motivate the athlete to continue to work

hard toward their goals. Every day, you should ask yourself two sets of questions: In the morning: "What

is on my to-do list and how it leads towards the accomplishment of my goals? At night: “What was

accomplished today and did I give my best effort?

Conclusion

As a participating student or as a dedicated Sensei, your judo activities are motivated by both intrinsic

and extrinsic factors or anticipated rewards that are unique to both of you. Together you are interested

in mastering the individual and group challenges offered in the various facets of the judo curriculum.

Your success, involvement and your participation are entirely under your control. Motivation must

ultimately come from within and guide you along the process.

In the judo milieu, continual success is not attributed to the luck of the draw; physical performance

without set goals will not produce the desired outcomes. Everyone involved should try to set goals that

they can control and thus assume mastery over their own faith.

Sensei’s expertise and open dialogues between learner-teacher are major factors in the preparation and

eventual success of the determined and dedicated judoka.

Have a good training session.

Ronald Désormeaux, Judo Teacher

Hart House Dojo, University of Toronto

May 2013

Note: This article contains copyrights© and is registered with the National Archives of Canada, Electronic Data Bank.

Reproduction for non-commercial purposes is permitted. Should additional information be needed, please contact:

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References

i B.S Rushall, San Diego University, Coaching Abstracts 2004-2013.

Jeanne Segal, Melinda Smith, Raising Emotional Intelligence, March 2013 ii R Désormeaux, Judo Ron 30, Sen-No-Sen, Agir avant l’autre, April 2010

iii R. Désormeaux, Judo Ron 57, Biofeedback as an additional training tool, June 2012

iv L.H.Smith and T.M.Kays, Sports Psychology for Dummies. Wiley press, Canada, 2010

judo-ron 68- motivation- keeping the flame alive

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