Introduction

I’m still on my way back from the 2010 Central American and Carribean
Games and boy oh boy am I pissed.

I really don’t have the right to be pissed but I’m pissed anyway.

I had 6 competitors fight this weekend and we lost every single match.

Every one!!!

To say we were out of our league is an understatement.

I have a team of 15 and 16 year olders and some college students who
are home for the summer competing and another dude who is a blkue
belt. For all intents and purposes I have a team full of junior and
cadet level judo players who ARE the best in the country so they get
to compete at senior level competitons such as this.

So although I really didn’t expect them to go out there and man-handle
some adults, I did expect us to take a few matches here and there.

But I had to have a MASSIVE reality check.

—————————
Reality Check
—————————

Because I’m on the service provider side of martial arts and more
specifically, judo in this case, I kinda forgot how freaking expensive
this sport is.

Winning without paying your duues in Japan, Europe, Brazil, and thru
international training camps and competitons is damn near impossible
and to expect to do so is asinine.

I’m no different than any other high achiever… I think I can fix any
and everything. I CANNOT. I can “help” to fix it and advise in the
fixing and quite frankly make some small “fixes” but I can’t fix “it”.

The grind is the grind.

You have to jump in it, love it and learn from it.

You have to learn how to manage a fight, fight a fight, emotionally
regulate yourself and fight no matter if you feel good or bad.

Now here’s what I am very happy about!!!!

————————-
On the cognitive
side, my kids are
SHARP!
————————-

It is a lot easier to fix and repair a car if you have knowledge about
its inner workings and know the make and model.

My kids know, gripping, judo and what is happening to the
strategically and tactically.

They just need the match time and experience to work on “implementing”
what it is that they know.

I was super pleased when reviewing the video that they knew what was
happening to them and could see it. One young man on the team said,
“Dr. Ferguson, everything was just like you said, but it was happening
soooooo fast!”.
I laughed.  I told him, “Unfortunately at this time you all aren’t
able to move that ‘fast’ with each other. You need more, different and
better practice partners to make this adjustments and more
competitions.”

——————————
Decreasing The
Learning Curve
——————————-

Going to a tournament and getting beat and not knowing why it
happened, or worse yet, thinking you know and then going home and
training “harder” is a waste of time.

The only problem with this, is that people “think” they know.

Case in point….

I was watching a match this weekend where a young man was standing
“righty”, gripping “righty” and tried to do a left side ouchi gari
with his left leg.

It was some of the dumbest ish I’ve ever seen.

Of course he was thrown for ippon.

After he came off the mat and was in the back warming up area I was
watching his teammate and coach try to corect him on his ouchi gari.
After being fed up with this I couldn’t help myself.  I said, “the
reason why he got thrown was because he was standing righty, gripped
as a righty and sent his left leg in to do ouchi.” I then illustrated.

The coach, then said, “that not what happened.”. LOL

I shook my head and walked off.

They WILL NEVER be able to fix their problems. We will.

I was humbled this weekend. I’m usually a miracle worker of sorts.

This will be a grind from the ground up.

I love it!

***********************
Closing
***********************

I am in the process of re-releasing Judo Sucess Secrets. It will be
here in August.  These emails are setting the tone, foundation and
conversational landscape so that I may answer your question with the
re-release of Judo Success Secrets. Many people are finally
understanding what I mean when I say that being good at judo has
nothing do to with judo. Nothing at all. Its about governing yourself
professionally and KNOWING what to do.

Take care and have a great day.

Dedicated to your success,

Dr. Rhadi Ferguson
2004 Olympian
http://www.GripToWin.com
http://www.UndergroundGripfightingSecrets.com
http://www.NewazaMadeEasy.com

P.S. We made a concentrated and concerted effort to focus on the
technical development of the team in the Bahamas. Now the strength
building phase begins. If you are a member of my eCoaching program,
get ready for a sneak-peek of the Bahamian Strength and Conditioning
Program. Remember, I’m training juniors, not adults .

————————–
Introduction
————————–

You’ve heard me say it before and I’ll say it again.

Getting or being good at judo has NOTHING to do with judo.

Just like running better has nothing to do with running.

Becoming good at judo is a choice that you have to make.

Then and only then can you or will you start to see massive
improvements in your judo.

The willingness to address and attack your sport as a professional
is the most important decision you can make.

Being a professional means a couple of things, one of them is
understanding that professional services are not cheap and “paying”
for what you want is just as much part of the process as “training”
is. Your willingness to invest in your sport is one of the key
characteristics of a “professional”.

If there is one thing that I really stress to my clients and the
athletes under my tutelage it is this…. “Be A Professional At All
Times!” If you do this, you NEVER lose! Never!”

This is only a small part of the invisible judo that will improve
your judo.  You can practice until you are blue in the face, if you
refuse to do the “little things” which quite frankly, have the greatest
impact on your career, you’ll never rrach your full potential.

————————-
What “little things”?
————————-

Well, I’ve  told you for a couple of days now that I am going to
re-release my product “Judo Success Secrets” under my new instant
gratification model. Meaning, you buy today and you access your info
today!

In Judo Success Secrets I literally exposen identify, point out and
show you all of the little things that you are not doing which can
help you, your students or your children achieve judo success.

And its drop dead simple….. Once you know these secrets.

Please read my transmission over the last couple of days and please
read the one today.

Take care and remember…. The little things are really the big
things.

Dedicated to your Improvement,

Dr. Rhadi Ferguson
2004 Olympian
World Class Strength Coach
The Best GripFighting Instructon On The Planet!
http://www.UndergroundGripfightingSecrets.com
http://www.GripToWin.com
http://www.LiveJudo.com

If you haven’t have the opportunity to read yesterday’s transmission, please check it out here: http://www.thejudocrusader.com/?p=1254

If you have…. Let’s begin..

Staying right where you are is so comfortable. And to be honest with
you, that’s why so many do it.

I remember one person telling me how they had to change churches after
going to one for 10 years. I asked them why.

They said, “well, I needed a new perspective. A new way to look at the
philosophical premise which I subscribe to.”

I immediately thought about judo and how so many people fight and
argue about what they think judo is and what they think it isn’t.

The silly thing about such arguments is this – everybody is right and
everybody is wrong.

To me, in my profession, judo is a sport. Nothing more, nothing less.
I am hired and called upon to provide results, and most of the time
immediate results.

I have been accused of providing “quick fixes” and I will admit to
that without hesitation and I’ll tell you exactly why.

When I am hired, more often than not, I am hired for a tournament, a
match, a fight and/or to have a positive impact on an upcoming event.
I don’t usually get 12 and 18 month contracts where people can wait
for results. People come to me because they want to win and they want
to win NOW!

And guess what?

I’m in business because I DELIVER!

One of the best opportunities that I had was an opportunity to train
Taraje Williams-Murray for 3 years from 2005-2008. It was good to be
able to develop a 3 year macrocycle for continuous improvement.

I also have the greatest and most fulfilling challenge in front of me
as the Head Coach for the Bahamian Judo Federation.

This due to the fact that I’m not only coaching athletes but creating
a paradigm shift culturally within and about the sport nationally.

I’m creating a foundation for success by”selling” the parents,
athletes, families and federation on what is necessary for success.

In a year’s time we have created a team that has gone from practicing
judo 2 times a week to practicing judo twice a day for 6 days.

=============
Let’s Be Honest
=============

If you are a parent, you know how stressful this can be with the commuting and the travel. But let’s face it. There’s a difference between being a recreational judoka and an elite level judoka.

Sometimes its not the kids that can’t hack it…… It’s the parents  LOL!!

I’m sure you know that my initial attrition rate was high.

Parents thought, and some still do think, that I’m crazy.

People thought such practice was abusive but yet and still they would welcome 2 hour track
practices in 103 degree heat in order for their kids to have a chance
to grab a spot on the Bahamas track and field 4×400 meter team.

Or 4 hour baseball practices in the heat.

Why?

Well….culturally these are acceptable and judo just was not.

But that’s part of being successful in judo.

You MUST sell judo everyday.

You have to sell it to the parents, the kids and quite honestly sell yourself on the idea that you are doing the right thing
for “the program”.

As the National Team Coach, it is also my charge to make sure that the
grassroots program has multiple channels of inclusion and 2 of
exclusion.

Meaning, we must make the grassroots programs available for all and
create activities, teachable moments and learning activities to keep
the students in the program. If they want to remain as grassroots
players they should be able to do so for life. With 2 exit option but
3 real ones. Those are to:
1.) Continue as a grassroots player
2.)Quit
or
3). Move to the elite level program.

The educational process of all of this is difficult but amazing.
Making quality choices so that the practitioners have options is
important as well as educating them on what it means to be a
grassroots level player (club player) and what it means to be an elite level player.

Simply put, you have to change the minds of the parents and the players.

What they thought was “good” before, in terms of being REALLY GETTING GOOD, is not “good” at all.

And then whats even harder to get people to buy into is that we don’t really want to be “good”. We want to be GREAT.

Well, being good sometimes comes with getting kicked in the “teeth” being great….. kicked in the neck!!! LOL

Everybody wants the SUGAR, but nobody wants to eat the s–t!  LOL

Kinda like what they say in church…..”everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to die.”

WE had to kill and are still killing the old way of thinking about judo…. (for the elite players). WE LEAVE THE RECREATIONAL PLAYERS ALONE!!!!! YOU MUST!!!! (I won’t get into that but I cover that in Judo Success Secrets for the school owners).

Tomorrow’s topic: “How To Develop Effective Judoka: Teaching Invisible Judo”

***********************
Closing
***********************

I am in the process of re-releasing Judo Sucess Secrets. It will be
here in August.  These emails are setting the tone, foundation and
conversational landscape so that I may answer your question with the
re-release of Judo Success Secrets. Many people are finally
understanding what I mean when I say that being good at judo has
nothing do to with judo. Nothing at all. Its about governing yourself
professionally and KNOWING what to do.

Take care and have a great day.

Dedicated to your success,

Dr. Rhadi Ferguson
2004 Olympian
http://www.GripToWin.com
http://www.UndergroundGripfightingSecrets.com
http://www.NewazaMadeEasy.com

For Immediate Release

*Bahamas Judo Team Tackles Crime with Conflict Resolution Summer Camps*

While many students are relaxing during the summer holidays or working
summer jobs, members of the CAC Bahamas Judo team have decided to do their
part to stem the violence in society by offering summer camps in the combat
sport of Judo with the theme of conflict resolution.

Training with Dustin Dennis >>

As a community service project, over 300 students are being trained for free
in the sport of Judo at various camps. The Bahamas Judo Federation has
partnered with the Catholic school system, Queen’s College, Bayview Academy,
St. Anselm’s and St. Bede’s parishes to provide classes to all interested
students during the summer.

Nathan Attacks >>

“Many kids can not walk away from conflict, because they lack the confidence
within themselves to not feel disrespected by any slight. Much of the
violence in our society stems from the lack of understanding of the dignity
of the human person and our own insecurities. Judo gives the kids a chance
to test themselves safely and more importantly to belong to a constructive
process that is empowering them to better understand themselves,” says
D’Arcy Rahming, President of the Bahamas Judo Federation.

DJ reaps opponent >>
Sponsors for these camps are BTC Bahamas, Royal Bank of Canada, and
BurnsHouse Ltd. as well as private individuals. These grants will allow for
uniforms to be purchased for children that can not afford them. “This is a
tough time for many Bahamian families, we are grateful to our sponsors who
recognize the needs of the people.” says Philip Kemp, Treasurer of the
Bahamas Judo Federation.

DJ in guard>>

The team is training 30 hours a week in preparation for the CAC games and
has just returned from a two week stay in Florida where they trained with
top experts in the martial arts and top Coach and 2004 Olympian Dr. Rhadi
Ferguson.

DJ Battles Olympian>>
Persons interested in joining any of these camps or the national training
camp can contact the Bahamas Judo Federation at 364-6773.

Cynthia Knee on Belly

=========
Introduction
=========

Quite honestly becoming “good” at anything is a pretty easy task.

For example, I’m a good ping-pong player, I’m a pretty decent chess
player, I’m a good runner, a halfway decent grappler and a good
judo player.

GOOD.

Easy!

Now, with that being said, being excellent is another conversation
that includes many variables such as resources, preparedness,
chance, luck, divine intervention, hard work, smart work and a lot
of other things which we just don’t have time to cover (argue
about) in this transmission

What I really want to discuss with you right now and for the next
couple of days are how you can either become or create “Effective
Judoka” by taking or creating a great strategy and getting great
results.

So let’s dive in.

==============
Talent Identification
==============

I know you are wondering where this fits in – in our discussion.
Let me start by saying this…. Without This. There Is NO
DISCUSSION.

During my first official meeting with D’Arcy Rahming, the President
of the Bahamian Judo Federation, we sat down and we spoke about
Talent Identification.

Mr. Rahming, a Graduate of world class business school Kellogg
School of Management, understood precisely where I was coming from
and was delighted that I understood that long term sustained growth
of a program begins with a “talent identification plan” and not
“uchimata or osoto gari” .

This is a mistake that many countries make and it is due to some
coaches having a “mat side coaching” mentality and not
understanding the overall picture for effectiveness and sustained
growth.

In the past 6 months the participants in the sport of judo in the
Bahamas has skyrocketed while many other countries have seen a
decrease, sustained or stagnant growth at best.

Identifying talent is the key to success in any organization. I
don’t care if we are talking about Fortune 500 companies or the
National Football League. Talent Identification is key.

Now how that talent is identified is super important as well. Just
as in the National Football League there are some “tangibles” and
“measureables” that coaches and scouts look for we do the same. And
just like with such identification process, there will be some
mistakes made, but there must be a process in place to “tweak”. You
cannot adjust or analyze someting that is not there.

So right out of the gate, we came up with some Standards for Elite
Level Judoka. Now in all seriousness, we had to scrap the standards
as we set them, because they didn’t fit our “pool” of players. We
had to then set Standards For Elite Cadet and Junior Level Judoka.

After that, we had the “round holes” in place. The hard part was
and is pushing all the “square pegs” into the round holes.

Changing the minds of players, parents, coaches and others about
what it really takes to be good at judo was and is difficult. To
some, the training and practice seems like “too much” and in some
cases “abusive”. I guess you could say that about any elite
training program due to the amount of hours which have to be
invested in order to become “elite”.

But, your options are, limited. You either stay in your comfort
zone or operate outside of it.

In my next transmission, we will discuss, “Making A Change: What’s
Required For Success!”

==========
Closing
==========

I am in the process of re-releasing Judo Sucess Secrets. It will be
here in August.  These emails are setting the tone, foundation and
conversational landscape so that I may answer your question with
the re-release of Judo Success Secrets. Many people are finally
understanding what I mean when I say that being good at judo has
nothing do to with judo. Nothing at all. Its about governing
yourself professionally and KNOWING what to do.

Take care and have a great day.

Dedicated to your success,

Dr. Rhadi Ferguson
2004 Olympian
http://www.GripToWin.com
http://www.UndergroundGripfightingSecrets.com
http://www.NewazaMadeEasy.com

P.S. If you’ve never experience The Grind, do yourself a favor and
get The Grind today… at least check it out
http://www.TheGrindVideo.com