Does Judo attract certain "strong" character types?
Something that seems to rear its head time and again in Judo discussion is the stance some folks take that they cannot be wrong and their opinion must be the correct one.
People seem to decide that the other person MUST be wrong, rather than simply accepting either a difference of opinion, or worse still they themselves may be mistaken.
This stance is often taken by folks that have been in the game a while, including referees, coaches and players alike but also by folks that are fairly new to the game - though that's usually backed up by "xyz said this, so it must be true".
Go to any competition, at any level, and you'll see people telling others they are wrong in their understanding of rules. This could be coaches telling refs they are wrong, refs telling coaches they are wrong, players, parents, they all get in on the fun.
I can't help wondering if Judo, being the individual physical contest sport that it is, attracts a disproportionate number of such ... strong willed characters to the game.
Of course players must have a certain determination and perhaps stubbornness to progress in competitive Judo, refs must have a certain confidence in their decisions in order to be decisive during a contest, but it seems a shame that it can get in the way of a sensible discussion that everyone could benefit from.
Perhaps there is some aspect of ego in there too, can't allow themselves to feel like they have "lost" in such a discussion rather than just discussing the point, or maybe it's just part of the competitiveness needed in the sport.
People seem to decide that the other person MUST be wrong, rather than simply accepting either a difference of opinion, or worse still they themselves may be mistaken.
This stance is often taken by folks that have been in the game a while, including referees, coaches and players alike but also by folks that are fairly new to the game - though that's usually backed up by "xyz said this, so it must be true".
Go to any competition, at any level, and you'll see people telling others they are wrong in their understanding of rules. This could be coaches telling refs they are wrong, refs telling coaches they are wrong, players, parents, they all get in on the fun.
I can't help wondering if Judo, being the individual physical contest sport that it is, attracts a disproportionate number of such ... strong willed characters to the game.
Of course players must have a certain determination and perhaps stubbornness to progress in competitive Judo, refs must have a certain confidence in their decisions in order to be decisive during a contest, but it seems a shame that it can get in the way of a sensible discussion that everyone could benefit from.
Perhaps there is some aspect of ego in there too, can't allow themselves to feel like they have "lost" in such a discussion rather than just discussing the point, or maybe it's just part of the competitiveness needed in the sport.
Comments