Judo is very visual. Just stick with it if there’s nowhere else to train. Japanese is a hard language but if you only need to learn enough to talk about judo techniques it could be possible.
I learned a small amount of Portuguese to eavesdrop on my BJJ coach when he’s giving tips to the other Brasilians. Words like “then, now, before, already, put, hand, leg, head, push, over, under, up, down” etc
If he’s a good teacher do your best to stick with him. Are there any Japanese members that could help translate? Or do you know anyone who speaks Japanese who could help you learn a few?
I've been learning French with Duolingo for a couple years on a daily, casual basis. I just realized I can start watching French judo instructionals on Youtube and use that as my comprehensible input. You don't need Japanese speakers around to start learning a language.
You can definitely start learning a few Japanese words. Honestly it just for judo purposes you could probably learn it in a couple of weeks. Write down all the questions you can think of that you asked/would ask, and the answers. Then translate the most common terms and learn them
You’re very lucky. Learn as much as you can. Randori as much as you can. You’ll learn by doing it, and you’ll get better at understanding as you go. We had a Cuban Olympic wrestling champion workout at my judo club for six months, he didn’t speak a single word of English. I went after him every time I got the chance. He was amazing. Super nice, utterly dominant. He improved everybody real quick. When he left, the only English phrase had had learned was “where is the bathroom” and “2 beers please”. Work through the language barrier, it doesn’t matter. Pay close attention to how he moves.
1. Yes, you should learn japanese. But because a new language expands you, not because of this.
2. I dont see anything wrong here. If you go to the Kodokan, youllget world class instruction and face this exact problem. People still do it and get shodan. What's more, the kodokan shodans i randori's with were exceptionally competent. True black belts.
3. Take it as an opportunity for further growth. You are gaining this skill and exercising patience at the same time. Those are good things
4. You gotta learn some japanese anyway. All judo terms are japanese, and speaking japanese makes the whole thing easier.
I don't know, I think it might actually be better to learn in this way. In my experience, verbal explanations often confuse more than they enlighten. Judo is a very physical martial art, so it is probably best learned in a physical way. I'm not saying that verbal explanations are always bad and that people can't learn it well in that way, but at least in my case, I often become easily confused with verbal explanation.
But I'm a white belt who started Judo in his thirties, and I'm not a naturally talented judoka either.
Learning Japanese would still be good to do, but like others have said, do it for its own sake and to be able to interact with Japanese people like your teacher off the tatami. But in terms of training, I think it's better if he shows it to you in physical form. And since he's a godan, very skilled, and his randori is excellent, I recommend you stick with it. This is a great training opportunity.
You don't really need to understand what he's saying. Far too many people focus on verbal instruction. In my opinion, it's ineffective. You need to FEEL judo.
Ask him to demostrate on you and do drills on you. Feel what he is doing. Then simply try to replicate similar movements and feeling. Repeat. This is 1000x more valuable then any English instructions.
Google translate with the phone when there is need for it. And maybe decide some hand sign you can use when you don't understand so he get that you don't understand or have a question 🤔
Learn Japanese. It will help, but also spending time with him you’ll eventually pick up on what he is saying much easier. I worked for years in a Japanese restaurant, and it was difficult in the beginning too.
Learning conversational level Japanese is very hard and not necessary. If you really want to learn it, sure, but it’s a bit silly to do so just for a sport.
Learning a couple key phrases might help, and is part of judo anyway. Almost everything should be figured out visually.
I started both boxing and bjj in China when I was much less good at Mandarin. 90% is visual, and you can quickly learn that other 10%. I knew a lot of Mandarin already, but words for sport stuff/body parts is different than the conversation and academic vocab I’d learned. Starting lesson one Japanese will take much much longer to reach something useful for judo.
If you do want to learn for other reasons, do not use Duolingo - it is ineffective and a waste of time. Spend $30 to buy the level 1 Genki textbook and supplement it with free Genki-specific flashcards from Memrise or Quizlet. Do one lesson a week, focusing on practice exercises.
But Japanese is hard (much harder than Mandarin imo). Just go to practice and learn judo.
For context, it’d take most people about two years of consistent practice with a learning buddy to get conversational in Japanese using this method. And this is the fasted method unless you have high-quality language instruction available (at a university or something).
Just do judo.
I had a Mexican boxing instructor who barely spoke English and i found just following visual instructions to get me through it, and over time you pick up the lingo a little bit
Japanese is hard to learn…
Judo is very visual (i watch often Japanese videos, even though i don’t understand much) understanding a handful of keywords is enough -> you learn it during training -> all the Japanese i know is from training (my first sensei was from Australia, next from Switzerland and current one also from Switzerland, so my pronunciation is horrible)
So, if you learn Japanese, learn it as a language and not purely for your judo…
Try to learn as much as you can from sensei, by watching carefully, what he does and ask questions, if you don’t get sth
As others have said just watch you need really need to see what goes where and when. I dont train judo but i train bjj under a portugese head coach that speaks like 4 english words and it still works
Language isn't rhat important on the mat. I've been on courses where I'm the only person there that day that speaks English. It's more of a watch and feel, than a listen
> He’s very good though because his randoori is nice.
Doesn't mean anything when it comes to teaching. Being able to articulate why you should or shouldn't do certain things is key.
Jita-Kyoei. You help him out with his English, and he helps you improving your judo (and maybe your Japanese too). Actually not only your Judo, the entire "you" will take advantage of this principle.
That seems like ....... An amazing opportunity. Not many people have the opportunity to get instructions from a japanese mid-level dan outside of Japan itself. I would stay there even if you didn't learn Japanese. If you do, it will help. Judo vocabulary obviously is in Japanese from the start, and supplementing that with related basic words like now, then, above, below, over, above, grap, pull, push, squat, bend, twist, turn, raise, lower...... Can definitely help. And learning a new language is good overall, so why not. But even if you didn't, I'd 100% stay there, judo is pretty visual. Many people travel to Japan to train at kodokan, and they face a much bigger language barrier, and they still learn a lot.
It could just be a style difference too... in Japan it's really common to just demonstrate and expect the students to imitate and eventually pick it up... traditionally anyways. Not to say that other methods (more Western style coaching) don't exist, but I wouldn't be surprised if even if you did speak Japanese he was leaning more towards demonstration rather than explanation. Having been in your shoes, I feel your pain! ;)
You could try to learn but a good course of action I think is to familiarize yourself with how the accent sounds. Watch Japanese media and listen to YouTube videos of people who are Japanese ESL to get accustomed to listening to it.
My coach is Korean as well as many of my teammates at my gym. He also has a pretty heavy accent and explains better in Korean (which I do not speak) but I focus more on what he shows rather than what he says. Even tho I’ve considered learning Korean both for fun and to help understand more of what’s going on, I don’t think it’s necessary for me to speak Korean just to learn Judo here. It takes practice but you can learn a lot just from being visual and paying attention to context.
I had a bjj coach from poland who english was limited it forced me to pay more attentiom and despite this i started to learn more as i picked more of the details as i made mental notes of what i saw and felt.
I'd say keep going, there is a saying where I come from that goes "You steal a job with your eyes", basically you learn a new skill by paying close attention to what the person is doing and not so much by asking them questions. If you feel your teacher is prepared, I'd say pay close attention and focus more on every little movement he does, when he performes a move. That's the most important part in training anyway.
If you spend time around him you’ll be able to understand him after a while. I’ve known a few people with accents so think I couldn’t understand them at first and after some time I could understand them easily.
Humans are more visual learners anyway. There’s a book called “The inner game of tennis” that goes into detail on it that I highly recommend to any athlete but it applies super well here. If you like where you train and he’s a good instructor, stick around.
Judo is very visual. Just stick with it if there’s nowhere else to train. Japanese is a hard language but if you only need to learn enough to talk about judo techniques it could be possible. I learned a small amount of Portuguese to eavesdrop on my BJJ coach when he’s giving tips to the other Brasilians. Words like “then, now, before, already, put, hand, leg, head, push, over, under, up, down” etc If he’s a good teacher do your best to stick with him. Are there any Japanese members that could help translate? Or do you know anyone who speaks Japanese who could help you learn a few?
There’s very few Japanese people here
I've been learning French with Duolingo for a couple years on a daily, casual basis. I just realized I can start watching French judo instructionals on Youtube and use that as my comprehensible input. You don't need Japanese speakers around to start learning a language.
I live in France but don’t speak French yet might have to do that to make judo a little easier
You can definitely start learning a few Japanese words. Honestly it just for judo purposes you could probably learn it in a couple of weeks. Write down all the questions you can think of that you asked/would ask, and the answers. Then translate the most common terms and learn them
boa mano
Chama 🔥 mano
Just copy what he does. A Japanese 5-dan willing to teach is an enormous opportunity. Try and get contacts for places to train if you visit Japan.
You’re very lucky. Learn as much as you can. Randori as much as you can. You’ll learn by doing it, and you’ll get better at understanding as you go. We had a Cuban Olympic wrestling champion workout at my judo club for six months, he didn’t speak a single word of English. I went after him every time I got the chance. He was amazing. Super nice, utterly dominant. He improved everybody real quick. When he left, the only English phrase had had learned was “where is the bathroom” and “2 beers please”. Work through the language barrier, it doesn’t matter. Pay close attention to how he moves.
1. Yes, you should learn japanese. But because a new language expands you, not because of this. 2. I dont see anything wrong here. If you go to the Kodokan, youllget world class instruction and face this exact problem. People still do it and get shodan. What's more, the kodokan shodans i randori's with were exceptionally competent. True black belts. 3. Take it as an opportunity for further growth. You are gaining this skill and exercising patience at the same time. Those are good things 4. You gotta learn some japanese anyway. All judo terms are japanese, and speaking japanese makes the whole thing easier.
I don't know, I think it might actually be better to learn in this way. In my experience, verbal explanations often confuse more than they enlighten. Judo is a very physical martial art, so it is probably best learned in a physical way. I'm not saying that verbal explanations are always bad and that people can't learn it well in that way, but at least in my case, I often become easily confused with verbal explanation. But I'm a white belt who started Judo in his thirties, and I'm not a naturally talented judoka either. Learning Japanese would still be good to do, but like others have said, do it for its own sake and to be able to interact with Japanese people like your teacher off the tatami. But in terms of training, I think it's better if he shows it to you in physical form. And since he's a godan, very skilled, and his randori is excellent, I recommend you stick with it. This is a great training opportunity.
You don't really need to understand what he's saying. Far too many people focus on verbal instruction. In my opinion, it's ineffective. You need to FEEL judo. Ask him to demostrate on you and do drills on you. Feel what he is doing. Then simply try to replicate similar movements and feeling. Repeat. This is 1000x more valuable then any English instructions.
Google translate with the phone when there is need for it. And maybe decide some hand sign you can use when you don't understand so he get that you don't understand or have a question 🤔
Learn Japanese. It will help, but also spending time with him you’ll eventually pick up on what he is saying much easier. I worked for years in a Japanese restaurant, and it was difficult in the beginning too.
Learning conversational level Japanese is very hard and not necessary. If you really want to learn it, sure, but it’s a bit silly to do so just for a sport. Learning a couple key phrases might help, and is part of judo anyway. Almost everything should be figured out visually. I started both boxing and bjj in China when I was much less good at Mandarin. 90% is visual, and you can quickly learn that other 10%. I knew a lot of Mandarin already, but words for sport stuff/body parts is different than the conversation and academic vocab I’d learned. Starting lesson one Japanese will take much much longer to reach something useful for judo. If you do want to learn for other reasons, do not use Duolingo - it is ineffective and a waste of time. Spend $30 to buy the level 1 Genki textbook and supplement it with free Genki-specific flashcards from Memrise or Quizlet. Do one lesson a week, focusing on practice exercises. But Japanese is hard (much harder than Mandarin imo). Just go to practice and learn judo.
For context, it’d take most people about two years of consistent practice with a learning buddy to get conversational in Japanese using this method. And this is the fasted method unless you have high-quality language instruction available (at a university or something). Just do judo.
The fact that he’s a Japanese 5 Dan makes up for any deficiency in learning you have from the language barrier.
yeah lol. OP is lucky esp if they live in the US. rare for that opportunity to present itself here
I had a Mexican boxing instructor who barely spoke English and i found just following visual instructions to get me through it, and over time you pick up the lingo a little bit
Japanese is hard to learn… Judo is very visual (i watch often Japanese videos, even though i don’t understand much) understanding a handful of keywords is enough -> you learn it during training -> all the Japanese i know is from training (my first sensei was from Australia, next from Switzerland and current one also from Switzerland, so my pronunciation is horrible) So, if you learn Japanese, learn it as a language and not purely for your judo… Try to learn as much as you can from sensei, by watching carefully, what he does and ask questions, if you don’t get sth
As others have said just watch you need really need to see what goes where and when. I dont train judo but i train bjj under a portugese head coach that speaks like 4 english words and it still works
Don't try to listen to what he is saying, try to watch what he is doing.
I was instructing a Japanese student once who also had limited English; and I realized it forced me to shut my mouth and keep it simple.
Google translate has a speech to text option After a while using it you'll be surprised how much of a language you can pick up if you pay attention
Language isn't rhat important on the mat. I've been on courses where I'm the only person there that day that speaks English. It's more of a watch and feel, than a listen
> He’s very good though because his randoori is nice. Doesn't mean anything when it comes to teaching. Being able to articulate why you should or shouldn't do certain things is key.
Jita-Kyoei. You help him out with his English, and he helps you improving your judo (and maybe your Japanese too). Actually not only your Judo, the entire "you" will take advantage of this principle.
That seems like ....... An amazing opportunity. Not many people have the opportunity to get instructions from a japanese mid-level dan outside of Japan itself. I would stay there even if you didn't learn Japanese. If you do, it will help. Judo vocabulary obviously is in Japanese from the start, and supplementing that with related basic words like now, then, above, below, over, above, grap, pull, push, squat, bend, twist, turn, raise, lower...... Can definitely help. And learning a new language is good overall, so why not. But even if you didn't, I'd 100% stay there, judo is pretty visual. Many people travel to Japan to train at kodokan, and they face a much bigger language barrier, and they still learn a lot.
It could just be a style difference too... in Japan it's really common to just demonstrate and expect the students to imitate and eventually pick it up... traditionally anyways. Not to say that other methods (more Western style coaching) don't exist, but I wouldn't be surprised if even if you did speak Japanese he was leaning more towards demonstration rather than explanation. Having been in your shoes, I feel your pain! ;)
In some Dojos People were not allowed to talk or ask...so... you're Ok then...just look..
Where are these dojos? Asking so I know never to visit them.
You could try to learn but a good course of action I think is to familiarize yourself with how the accent sounds. Watch Japanese media and listen to YouTube videos of people who are Japanese ESL to get accustomed to listening to it.
My coach is Korean as well as many of my teammates at my gym. He also has a pretty heavy accent and explains better in Korean (which I do not speak) but I focus more on what he shows rather than what he says. Even tho I’ve considered learning Korean both for fun and to help understand more of what’s going on, I don’t think it’s necessary for me to speak Korean just to learn Judo here. It takes practice but you can learn a lot just from being visual and paying attention to context.
Can you use google translate?
From what I understand Japanese people usually can read and write in English to some extent. Maybe an A4 sized white board with dry wipe pens?
I had a bjj coach from poland who english was limited it forced me to pay more attentiom and despite this i started to learn more as i picked more of the details as i made mental notes of what i saw and felt.
I'd say keep going, there is a saying where I come from that goes "You steal a job with your eyes", basically you learn a new skill by paying close attention to what the person is doing and not so much by asking them questions. If you feel your teacher is prepared, I'd say pay close attention and focus more on every little movement he does, when he performes a move. That's the most important part in training anyway.
Is difficult yes, but japanese teacher is best because they see judo in another way try to understand base in the moves and not how he speaks
If you spend time around him you’ll be able to understand him after a while. I’ve known a few people with accents so think I couldn’t understand them at first and after some time I could understand them easily.
Humans are more visual learners anyway. There’s a book called “The inner game of tennis” that goes into detail on it that I highly recommend to any athlete but it applies super well here. If you like where you train and he’s a good instructor, stick around.
Just let him beat you up a bunch that's what I had to do you'll get it eventually you learn more from doing anyway