Winning At All Costs
I must admit there has been some great discussions on The Judo Forum.
One of the more recent discussion was the one that I placed on the Forum about “Schmoozing The Refs”.
For those who have my Gold Mettle Plan, you understand exactly what I’m saying, what I mean and what I’m talking about. To the individuals on the forum who don’t know, they seemed to get very upset with the Judo Crusader, and you know what? I’m glad about it. Because they need to get excited about something. If its one thing that the sport of judo needs, it’s more EXCITEMENT! Sometimes when I walk into a tournament, I feel like I’m inside of a funeral home. But getting back to my point…
The discussion the forum was great and it not only grew but it also evolved.
I received a lot of feedback from the discussion which is attached to this blog post, but I also received a good question that I really want to answer. The question dealt with Winning At All Costs. And although I can’t answer the question as it was answered, because there is no “right” answer, I do want to provide this piece of written articulation.
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How Much Does
Winning Cost?
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In the past 72 hours, I’ve been on the phone with 2 Olympic Athletes and 2 Olympic Hopefuls. And I asked them all of them the same question. I asked them, “Would you be willing to win at all costs?” All of them answered, “No!”
Then I followed up and asked them, “How much does winning cost?” All of them replied with an answer in the neighborhood of “I’m not sure” or “I don’t know”.
Then I asked, “Do you want to make the Olympic Team in Beijing?” They all replied, “Yes”. And then I asked them, “Are you willing to pay the price to win?”
They all replied, “Yes!”
Then I said, “But you’re not willing to win at all costs?”
They paused…….. The discussion branched off here.
Disconnect #1
Most of the people who are having the discussion are traveling a moral road for which they can only walk for a certain period of time in order to achieve certain levels of personal success. This doesn’t mean that you have to be immoral or amoral, it just means that you may have to switch roads or levels. You see, the experiences which you have cause you to think and believe what it is that you believe.
Having a hardcore “this is right” and “that is wrong” mentality is for the birds. There is “right” and there is “wrong” and there are several ways to be “right” and several ways to be “wrong” and you can do the right thing at the wrong time and the wrong thing at the right time and it can be right but “wronger than a mother—–er”. Either way, more often than not the lenses which one sees the world through have been fashioned, shaped and medicated by the previous experiences.
This is why there are people on the forum who preface their discussion by saying, “As an elite player” or “as a former elite player” because their experiences are more rich. Playing judo and playing judo as a profession are different. See, if I didn’t play judo well, I wouldn’t have a place to eat or sleep, the sponsorship dollars would stop rolling in and I would have to quit, retire and stop playing. So the emphasis that I put on winning was one of survival. This brings us to the huge disconnect….. Disconnect #1 which is…
Disconnect Number One –> SOME OF YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT IN THE F—– YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT!
Disconnect #2
The “Judo” that you practice is not the “Judo” that I practice.
It’s okay, there are many types of judo. There are many styles. Jason Morris calls Jimmy Pedro style of judo “scrappy”, Jason calls my style “junk”, I call Jason’s style “impractical”, people call Ronda Rousey”s judo “sloppy”, people call Leo White judo “all strength”. At the end of the day….. who really gives a shyt?
Sloppy, junky, clean, dirty, yellow, black, orange, white, purple, strong, pretty, etc.,. Who cares? At the end of the day, you remember the people that won and you forget about the ones that lost. So the question is…..was it winning judo or losing judo?
Now understand that only .1 percent of the population ever achieve the title of Olympian and that lesser than that ever obtain a medal. And with that being said, make sure you respect the level of judoka in which you speak about before you began to criticize, scrutinize, dissect or recommend what an elite athlete should or should not do based upon your limited experience or what you think the “Japanese” do or what “Kano” would have done.
Please understand when it comes to Judo that you and I may do it differently and that doesn’t make me wrong nor you right or vice versa. It makes us different and we need different threads to weave together this diverse fabric of the martial art AND sport that we call Judo.
Disconnect Number Two –> The Judo That You Practice Is NOT The Judo That I Practice
Disconnect #3
You REALLY don’t know how much winning costs to say that you wouldn’t win at all costs.
Winning may or may not cost what you can physically, financially, morally and ethically afford.
Winning at all costs is not bad. What is bad is paying a price for something that you can’t live with.
Don’t write a check that your @ss can’t cash.
If you would have a problem with sleeping at night if you did steroids, illegal drugs, etc.,. Then guess what! DON’T DO THEM!! But don’t point the finger at anyone else, call them names, cheats, etc., because they went to that extreme. Do I think that sport enhancing drugs are bad? No! There are plenty sports enhancing drugs out there and they are not bad (i.e. Amino Acids, certains supplements, etc.,.).
Do I CONDONE the use of illegal or banned sports enhancing drugs? No I do not. Do I think that it is wrong? Let me answer like this….. It isn’t something that I would do, nor a price that I would be willing to pay! But I don’t sit in the moral or ethical seat to judge how and why another person did what they did or why they did it.
Is it fair? Who really gives a shyt!
Life is not fair. So what!?!?! You lost your lunch money, your car got stolen, you come from a single parent home, your parents are divorced, you got 9 years for credit card theft and your friend only got 3 years for murder one…… and the story goes one.
LIFE IS NOT FAIR. SPORTS AREN’T FAIR. JUDO AIN’T FAIR. GET OVER IT!
Who really gives a shyt!
I KNOW I competed against drug users.
Do I whine about it? No. God bless ‘em.
They were willing to do something that I wouldn’t do. Huge risk, but one I’m not willing to take.
Are they cheaters? If you ask USADA and WADA, they’ll tell you, “Yes”. If you ask me, I’ll tell you that I’m not into name calling. I guess they felt they did what they had to do to win. They may have thought that that was the cost.
Don’t ever say what you would do or what you wouldn’t do until you put yourself in another person’s shoes.
I’m not “okaying” illegal behavior, what I’m telling you is that I’m not so quick to be judgemental and point the finger based upon my ideals and my belief because everyone doesn’t believe what I believe or think what I think and I CAN RESPECT that. The question is, “Can you?”
It’s not about disagreeing and being agreeable. It’s about being able to truly respect and accept another person’s point of view, even though you don’t agree with it.
Someone asked me, “When do you start teaching people to win at all costs?”
The answer, “When you find out how much they are willing to pay.” That answer will let you know if you need to teach them, keep them or let them go.
Disconnect #4
You Don’t Know How People Acquire Things.
Some things are BOUGHT
Some things are TAUGHT
Some things are CAUGHT
Some things are SOUGHT
and
Some things are BROUGHT
You must realize what each of these means requires, implies and demands of the bearer and the recipient.
Disconnect #5
You are operating at a low level of Moral Development
(taken from http://www.vtaide.com/blessing/Kohlberg.htm)
Kohlberg’s Theory of Moral Development – Explained & Illustrated
Lawrence Kohlberg (1927-1987) was a well-known theorist in the field of moral development. He posed moral dilemmas (e.g., Heinz Dilemma) to his subjects then asked questions to probe their reasons for recommending a specific course of action.
The Heinz Dilemma
Scenario 1
A woman was near death from a unique kind of cancer. There is a drug that might save her. The drug costs $4,000 per dosage. The sick woman’s husband, Heinz, went to everyone he knew to borrow the money and tried every legal means, but he could only get together about $2,000. He asked the doctor scientist who discovered the drug for a discount or let him pay later. But the doctor scientist refused.
Should Heinz break into the laboratory to steal the drug for his wife? Why or why not?
Scenario 2
Heinz broke into the laboratory and stole the drug. The next day, the newspapers reported the break-in and theft. Brown, a police officer and a friend of Heinz remembered seeing Heinz last evening, behaving suspiciously near the laboratory. Later that night, he saw Heinz running away from the laboratory.
Should Brown report what he saw? Why or why not?
Scenario 3
Officer Brown reported what he saw. Heinz was arrested and brought to court. If convicted, he faces up to two years’ jail. Heinz was found guilty.
Should the judge sentence Heinz to prison? Why or why not?
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Here’s the Deal
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Based upon how you answer, you will know which level and stage of Moral Development you are, based upon Kohlberg’s theory. According to my discussion with the Judo Podcast, I would have to put Gene Shin………. well you listen and tell me where you’d put him and where you would put me as well.
Level I: Preconventional Morality
Stage 1:
Punishment-avoidance and obedience Individuals make moral decisions on the basis of what is best for themselves, without regard for the needs or feeling of others. They obey rules only if establihed by more powerful individuals; they disobey when they can do so without getting caught.
Stage 2:
Exchange of favors Individuals begin to recognize that others also have needs. They may attempt to satisfy the needs of others if their own needs are also met in the process. They continue to define right and wrong primarly in terms of consequences to themselves.
Level II: Conventional Morality
Stage 3:
Good boy/good girl Individuals make moral decisions on the basis of what actions will please others, especially authority figures. They are concerned about maintaining interpersonal relationships through sharing, trust, and loyalty. They now consider someone’s intentions in determining innocence or guilt.
Stage 4:
Law and order Individuals look to society as a whole for guidelines concerning what is right or wrong. They perceive rules to be inflexible and believe that it is their “duty” to obey them.
Level III: Postconventional Morality
Stage 5:
Social Contract Individuals recognize that rules represent an agreement among many people about appropriate behavior. They recognize that rules are flexible and can be changed if they no longer meet society’s needs.
Stage 6:
Universal ethical Principle Individuals adhere to a small number of abstract, universal principles that transcend specific, concrete rules. They answer to an inner conscience and may break rules that violate their own ethical principles
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Closing
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This post is part rant, part educational. I certainly hope you pull from it what you can. It is not meant to be read and to have it dissected and broken down. It was written at 4:26 am on Wednesday morning (I think I’ll go to sleep now and get up at 7am and go running). It’s all over the place and it’s supposed to be. It’s a blog post.
Take care,
The Judo Crusader
P.S. This solidifies my point about Judo. More judo happens off the mat, than on the mat. Take my advice and sign up for The Gold Mettle Plan today –> http://www.GoldMettlePlan.com
Wednesday, April 16th, 2008
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