By Jerrod Wilson
I recently attended a Judo clinic conducted by Mike Swain at a local kenpo dojo. My sister saw a flyer in her coffee shop and told me “There is some kind of grappling thingy at a karate school I thought you might be interested in.” Doubting it would be worth attending I asked who was teaching the class. “Some guy named Swain.” was her answer. Some guy named Swain!?! This was awesome news! I had been trying to get to a clinic taught by Mike for about 4 years. He typically would teach a clinic once a year in the LA area. I live about an hour north of Los Angeles and for some reason something was always coming up to prevent my attendance. No excuses this time! I contacted the school (Sasaki Kempo in Oxnard, CA) and they informed me that this was a beginner’s class and that I might be bored. I told them I would be there knowing that I would pick up something.
As I was warming up Mike came out and introduced himself to me. He explained that I may find the clinic a little simple (I am a sankyu) at which point I told him I was there to work out with him and pick up what I could. Mike then offered to stay after the seminar to go over more advanced techniques with me! So what had started as hoping to get a couple scraps here and there turned into a mini private session! Needless to say I couldn't wait for the class to end. I ended up being uke for Mike a few times. His kuzushi was almost more powerful than his throws and illustrated to me what kuzushi is really supposed to be. I also got to have the pleasure of watching the amazement on the face of my partner (a kenpo student) as he did his first throws, pins, and armbars. Mike kept the class moving and focused while also making sure people had fun and were entertained. During the class a fellow sankyu from my club showed up and made the session after the official seminar ended that much better. Since my sensei is Neil Ohlenkamp I had hoped to get a chance to ask Mike a couple questions for JudoInfo.com. Mike was more than willing and the following interview was done via email.
JudoInfo- What do you think of the overall USA Judo team's performance in Athens this summer?
Mike Swain- The results in Athens were par for the USA. Judo has spread throughout the world faster then any other sport. We had over 50 countries participating and 180 countries doing Judo. Our USA Team Judo Budget is small compared to France and Japan however the results from France were not much better. There are seven weight classes and with the exception of Japan no other country dominated all weight classes. We still can make many improvements but the fact remains it is a tough sport with many countries involved.
JI- What does the U.S. need to do to become a truly competitive force in world Judo?
MS- Currently there is no specific USA training program to take a player from a JR all the way to become an Olympic Gold Medalist. Meaning we do not have the funds or the numbers, therefore I believe the best path after 17 or 18 is still to go overseas to Japan for high level very competitive training at the Universities and compete in Competitions in Europe where Judo is much more popular. Once you get a flavor for international Judo then it motivates the young kids to do it themselves.
Having said all that I do believe we can create a great Program/ USA Program until 18 that conditions athletes and prepares them technically to be ready for Japan and Europe. Most of the Top countries still send their team for training to Japan and Korea or France. Also many of the countries taking the Medals today are from the old Soviet Union. Understanding the sambo/wrestling moves and how to defend against them is an advantage but in the end pure speed, gripping and technique still wins the Gold in Judo.
JI- You mention money and participation as being our roadblocks to the next level for our Judo program. It seems to me that the usual "American" methods to generate either (i.e. a Red Bull logo on the tatami, kids wearing different colors of gi's) tend to conflict with traditional views of Judo. Even your Pro Sport Judo could possibly be viewed as a conflict with some of Kano's ideals by traditionalists. What should we do to capture the minds of the kids and the dollars of corporate America without getting to far from Judo's roots?
MS- Yes My Pro Judo was a conflict but at least we got Judo on TV for viewers to watch Judo. The idea was to show more action, more throws with an easy scoring system. It worked but the amount of funding needed to keep up the Programming was just too much. UNTIL you get the TV exposure the sponsors are hard to come by.