Is there a registry that can be checked through the Kodokan to verify someones rank, I know in alot of martial arts anyone can say they are a certain rank, but can you check the credentials of a instructor before deciding on the club? My second question is are there any "Kosen" Judo schools in the US, Is Freestyle Judo the US version?
Thanks
as far as i understand is grapplecop, some shodan or higher decide to get a kodokan certificate, which means that kodokan probably keeps records of those people. however, some people just get a black belt and they are registered with the USJI, which in part makes them registered with the IJF. so either way there should be proof of rank, be it Kodokan or not. i believe this is how it works, but i may be wrong. if anyone knows different, please feel free.
GORBAR
Kosen judo has no ranks outside of Kodokan judo. If you are a Kosen player (ie. belong to one of the 6 national universities in Japan which still do some Kosen competitions are belong to a gym that has a guy who teaches people to compete in Kosen judo, ANY rank that you have will have been given to you by the Kodokan as the Kosen isn't seperate style).
Every shodan in Japan should be registered with the Kodokan in theory. In Canada, every shodan should be registered with Judo Canada. If you are learning judo from someone who immigrated to Canada, then they might not be, but for insurance reasons, they probably should be. Judo Canada is still under the Kodokan, so the ranks get registered with them.
The USA has three judo organizations. USJF, USJA, and USJI (the 'main' one that deals more with competitive athletes while the other two are more at the grassroots level...they should have one ;o)
Anybody who is a shodan in the USA should be registered with one of those three bodies. Unless they immigrated to the USA, but then they should be with one of them for insurance reasons (as was noted in the Canadian example).
I have no idea what freestyle judo is.
all i know is with my most recent kodokan certificate, i was issued a wallet size identification with a kodokan registry number on it..so i am thinking that this is registered somewhere within the vastness of the kodokan, can anyone else verify this as well?
Check their rank certificate (should be on the wall of thei dojo!), if they have one through usja,ji,jf, usually they are legit..That dosnt mean they will be a terror on the mat though, just that they passed the requirements of those organizations..
I am ranked through the usja, mostly because my sensei has faith in them...He was around back in the day when the japanese wouldnt give proper rank to americans..The usja then started giving the proper rank to the americans...I guess (according to my sensei) the usja ranked guys made up the whole olympic team at one time. There was a time when usja guys had to wear whitebelts in competition because their ranks where not recognized by the powers that be in judo.Well, until the usja guys kicked the living crap out of everyone here wearing their whitebelts..I think that is when usja got recognized and now usja ranked is accepted by everyone as legit..
My sensei now only gives rank through the usja, I think because he feels a certain amount of loyalty to them due to their loyalty to us americans..Even though my sensei has rank certificates straight from japan...
Funny thing, When we had a couple of world BJJ champs at our school, one of the things they where most amused with was Osaekomi's kodokan certficate. They where like "Man come look at this shit, this is the real deal man!!"...Haha..They where stoked about that..I dont think they have seen very many of them....
you most likely will not find anything "kosen" in the US or canada.
if you want to know if a club is truly reputable then you should look for certain things.. like, is the club a JI, JA, JF member or an AAU member.. the AAU isnt recognized at all in the state of judo in the USA. i would be weary about joining an AAU club.
if you want to know about the coach, then ask him first and foremost. no coach should get defensive about somebody asking where he learned judo, how long, what his players have done, what he did competitvely or whatever, etc.
once you have his claims then come back here and we can easuly help you figure what is accurante, what might not be and where to find supporting data if possible.
-resnick
Thanks Guys, my story is that have been studying a style of hapkido for the past 7 years that is heavily influenced by Yudo (Korean), major emphasis on grappling (don't know if thats something my instructors added to the curriculum) but anyway I am in the midst of opening my own Hapkido School and contacted the U.S. Yudo Association to see if I could get rank validation through them, not nec. to promote students in Yudo but to add some more credability along with my skills on the mat, but anyway come to find out technique wise I exceed their minimum requirement but you have to have a college degree, which I don't, so I've been checking around with Judo clubs and associations but every where seems to place all emphasis on the sport aspect of it, which I love to watch, but my joy is throwing and being thrown and choked for the fun of it and the work out. I just wanted to know what to look for when talking with judo people.
Yudo IS Judo.
if you go to korea and do judo they will call it Yudo becuase they say the J differently. it isnt anything more than that. i was there last year, forum member Rhadi was there 2 years ago. we can both attest to this, its the same thing.
if you enjoy judo just for it being judo then teach that. you dont have to compete and do whatever just becuase a large part of the national organizations are committed to it. their insurance will cover you all the same, in fact, even better than it would if you were not considered a sport.
as far as getting rank goes, that isnt going to be a simple thing. nobody is going to just say "oh, here you go. this is your shodan/nidan/whetever." and it isnt possible to become a certified coach without the proper ranking for each coaching level.
my suggestion to you would be that you either join a local judo club and go though some type of ranking system when the coach there fells you are ready, or when the state has their next exams, or you forget about teaching "judo" in the way you orginally wished to.
-resnick
JR
Thanks for your advice, I wouldn't want to be given any rank with out working for or demonstrating proficency in it, but with all the self proclaimed "masters" out there I wanted to know what to look for in reference to a credible teacher to train under to obtain the proper ranking, if I chose that path.
Thanks again
GC, what area re you in? i am sure that there are people on this forum who can advise you about a club in your area. you can also go to the US Judo website, www.usjudo.org and look under STATES to find a person in your area to contact about clubs nearby. i am sure that the USJF and USJA have sites that offer the same service.
-resnick
JR
I am in the N/W Chicago Suburbs, I did check out some sites, there is a park district class close to me, but have been told by people I train with that It would not be for me. The only other clubs are an hour south and an hour north of me. Alot of BJJ clubs with in spitting distance, but not intersted or able to afford the rates.
well, there is the cohen's dojo which is just unreal. there is also tohkon dojo on clarke ave in downtown chicago-- just past montross. i know the cohen's charge a bit more per month, not sure what exactly, and tohkon is reasonable at about $40 a month.
i believe you can find websites for them at www.thebraveway.com and www.tohkon.com
-resnick
lol, why is there a US Yudo Association? Who is making on that one I wonder...
lol, is there a Russian Judo Association in Korea while we are at it...