José Ángel Guedea Adiego
8th Dan of Judo
These days we are seeing and hearing news, where everyone is unhappy.
And in many cases, you have to understand that people complain. The hospitality industry, those dedicated to tourism, culture, health workers who are stressed and exhausted, essential services, taxi drivers, transporters, gyms, ski resorts …
We claim even “ordinary” consumers, because the bars have been closed to us and the ones that remain open do not let us consume inside, nor can we go out to lunch or dinner with our friends. We all and everything complain.
“The issue is to complain.” And complaining in the long run is contagious.
An acquaintance who works at the Santander bank who practices taekwondo, approaches me one day at the office, asks me about the situation of the clubs, and says with sorrow: “I have a desire …” “Well imagine how we are others”, I tell him. You are lucky because you are working, others, we have not been able to work for months.
And perhaps we are not so many, we are less important, and little or nothing essential. Although if you ask many of our students with essential jobs, which have passed through our hands, they may think, remember crucial moments, and recognize how we influence at a certain moment in their life, to arrive and become what they are now: essential.
“All work is essential when a family depends on it to survive”
We want to work! We think. But ours is a drowned sector. The clubs have fixed periodic payments, taxes, that nobody forgives and that continue to happen to us. And in the meantime, zero income.
And without great prospects, because Judo is incompatible with security measures and also because we have to take into account that health comes first.
Veteran Judo Teachers, who have spent a lifetime doing it, think about the times, and the different phases we have gone through and analyze how we have conducted ourselves.
When we are young, we do not think many times about the consequences of our actions and what can happen to us. We are seeing it as we advance in life and we are acquiring experiences.
When we first started teaching classes, we were more unconscious, we did not think about the risks that some actions entailed. We handled very large classes, and sometimes out of ignorance, without having a notion of risk, we sometimes let our students carry out dangerous and risky actions.
We constantly made trips with our students to compete, train, without thinking about the risks it could entail, and now sometimes we think about it.
As we get older and go through different experiences, we are more likely to be cautious and fearful.
And Judo Teachers always feel and have the responsibility to take care of our students and avoid situations that involve risks.
And currently contracting the virus is a risk. And as I have indicated before, Judo as we understand it, is incompatible with the security measures that are required of us.
And Judo Teachers do not see a quick or easy solution to this situation. Tourism, culture, hospitality, ski resorts and other groups …, adapting and applying the established safety regulations, perhaps they can start working and moving.
If we have to keep a safe distance, it will be difficult for us to do Judo.
And after having seen all the guilds complain and protest, we are the Judo Teachers, those who, without great pretensions, if only to claim our profession, we can say:
And what about Judo?
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