Times Of TIU

Author: Karen W.

Editor: Devonmartha K.

Translator: Ferano R K.

Good afternoon, everyone! As we began to get the chilly feeling of autumn, I would like to introduce a club that has been very active at TIU. It is the Judo Club, which is conducting their activities on the third floor of the gymnasium on the first campus. Initially, their activities were hindered by the recent corona pandemic. However, they have now resumed their activities following the recruitment of new members for this academic year. Therefore, I am writing this article for all of you to introduce what kind of activities the ‘Judo Club’ usually does.

First of all, I would like to highlight their activity times and location.

Time: 17:30 ~ 20:00　

(Free time until 18:00 when the club activities start)

Location: 3rd floor of the gymnasium on the first campus, small gymnasium.

Activities: staggered flooring, stretching, muscle training and warming up.

(Afterwards, the participants work in pairs according to a scheduled time. This is followed by sparring.)

Next, we interviewed the five members who organise this club activity. The four questions are as follows.

1. Why did you join the judo club?
2. What are the differences between judo and other sports you have experienced?
3. What is difficult about judo?
4. What do you do best in judo?

The first person we interview is Amal Brembaya, from Mongolia.

1. I joined the judo club because I find judo to be enjoyable to do and physical exercise is actually good for your health. I also joined the judo club because I want to live a healthy life.

2. The sports I have experienced so far are basketball and boxing. The difference with judo is that basketball is a team sport, while judo and boxing are solo sports. Judo was difficult at first because it involved movements that are unique compared to other sports I have experienced so far, but now I am getting used to it and doing better than before.

3. The difficult thing about judo is that the techniques are different from the sports I have experienced, and it takes time to master the techniques.

4. What I am trying hard to do in judo is get fitter and reach the black belt.

The second was Mario Tanaka from Indonesia.

1. The reason I joined the judo club is for my health, and I also thought that judo was cool. Besides, my friends join, and the atmosphere is beginner-friendly.

2. The other sport I have experienced so far is karate. Karate and judo have different grabbing places and techniques. Karate is mainly about striking, but judo is about using the weight of the opponent’s body.

3. The difficult part of Judo is that it is difficult to apply techniques when your opponent’s body is bigger than yours because your body is smaller. The opponent is heavier than you, so techniques are important.

4. What I am trying hard to do in judo is to learn techniques to defend myself. Judo is a self-defense art, so I recommend it to women for self-defense. Also, I would love to get a black belt.

The third person is Austin Martine from the USA. He was previously featured in the article “Beyond the Lens of Marti’s Brothers.” ‘https://onl.bz/qatNdVr‘.

1.I joined the judo club because I wanted to make a lot of friends. Judo is new for me and I wanted to challenge myself, and because we are an international group, I wanted to study Japanese. Besides, I had some experience in martial arts.

2.The sport I have experienced so far is martial arts. Martial arts is quite similar to judo. Another big difference sport I do is football, which is a team sport.

3.The difficult thing about judo is that you don’t actually know how to do it, so it trains your mentality. Judo trains your body, and it is important to have good technique and respect for your opponent.

4.What I want to do well in judo is to train my mentality.

The fourth person is Magayaneschi Emi from Japan and Peru, who previously helped with the article ‘Where Did You Make Friends? https://onl.bz/VQczDrx‘.

1. The reason I joined the judo club was because it was the sport I had originally experienced, and I thought it was fun. I am a J-track student, but when I heard that most of the other members of the club are E-track, I thought it was very international. I have been doing judo in an all-Japanese environment, but with the e-track I have to explain Japanese movements in English, which is very challenging, and I am excited to work with a lot of e-track students!

2. The other sports I have experienced so far are karate and swimming. Karate has kata, and swimming is an individual exercise under water. Moreover, when I thought about what sport I would like to continue with, judo was the best fit. Judo is fun because once you get the hang of it, you can throw your opponent, and it feels like you are fighting the most. I enjoy the feeling of pushing myself to the limit in a fight to death.

3. The difficult part of judo is learning the techniques perfectly. In judo there is a saying: ‘Shugyo sen-nichi, waza shinko’, which means that you practice the same technique every day and let your body memorize it, and if you can do this naturally and without effort during a match, it is proof that you have mastered it. If you can do this, you will feel good.

4. As a person with judo experience, I will try my best to teach judo techniques to beginners in English. The foundation of judo is deep within Japanese culture, which teaches courtesy. It is difficult to convey this to international students, and there are a lot of cross-cultural barriers.

　

Lastly, I would like to introduce Takeshi Kuwashiro, who is the head of the department.

1. The reason I joined the judo club is because my former coach quit and Andy kindly agreed to join the judo club
   
   
2. I have played various sports such as soccer, volleyball, table tennis, and of course judo. When I was in Hawaii, I played many sports. Judo is a one-man competition. But if you get stronger and work together as a team, you can get stronger.
   
   
3. The difficult part of judo is that it uses a lot of force, so it is easy to get injured. If I get injured, even though the people around me are practicing, I can’t, so it’s hard to recover mentally.
   
   
4. Everyone should be strong together.

　

Finally, we asked Takeshi about his goals for club activities.

‘My goal for the club is to create an at-home club where everyone can practice judo together, from beginners to advanced players, regardless of the club members’ borders, origin, gender or ideology.’

Thank you to the members of the Judo Club for taking part in this interview article. If you are all interested in the Judo Club, please visit the Judo Club’s Instagram or visit them on Mondays and Fridays on the third floor of the gymnasium on Campus 1. The starting time is 5.30 p.m.