I was refereeing at another junior event at the weekend and a few things struck me regarding the difference between the sexes. This is in regard to Junior shiai.
First of all, this is a generalisation. There are notable exceptions to all generalisations and this was also the case at the competition.
The best attitude and technique regarding shiai tended to come from the girls. This is how I lay it out:
- It was taken as a learning experience more. Win or lose. Yes, there were some tears, but it was far more common to see happy smiles even after a loss.
- There was much more reliance on standing technique rather than ‘roughing up’ the opponent. With the boys you did see a lot of wrestling grappling going on. A bit more on that later. There was a lack of kuzushi evident, but expected at the level of the competition (Classic never-ending Osoto Gari attempts from both competitors, for example).
- Related to the previous point, I saw a LOT of Tani Otoshi attacks from the boys from the wrestling approach. I’m definitely not criticising here as I have always used this a lot! But ideally we are looking for more stand-up judo at this level. Sometimes Tori would be pretty much creeping right round Uke before throwing them to the ground with this technique.
I would go so far to say that Tani Otoshi is now the new drop Seoinage, as it gets round the U12 restrictions due to sutemi-waza being permitted.
There is a lot to learn from the attitude and typically more stand-up technique from the girls. But there were some stunning throws from the boys as well, I will add. This post is all about the generalisation!
Is it time that we also disallowed sutemi-waza in the U12 category, and not just U10s?
What are the best way of encouraging students (first phases of competitiveness and testosterone getting through!) to use more technique to win and not RARRRRGH grappling?