Judo Skill Acquisition (eBook)

What does skill include?

Being curious is the basis for learning, and there is certainly a lot to be curious about. However, defining skill and categorizing its different sub-categories is still necessary. In reality, only a single skill exists – the overall skill. However, due to the complex nature of skill, I will define it using a few different views and categorizations.

To put is simply, skill can mean a particular action that the individual can execute well. Using this definition, skill is a specific and highly specialized action that can be achieved by learning and practicing. Skillfulness is the ability to achieve the desired outcome and to reach the desired goal with the greatest reliability. Skillfulness entails the concept of cost-efficiency, which means that the outcome is reached as fast as possible and/or by minimal energy expenditure and effort.

Skill always has a definitive goal. Individual movements without a goal, such as rolling one’s limbs, can’t yet be called a skill. The goal of a judo fight is throwing one’s opponent or pinning them down. Skills can consist of several different movements, but they are all clearly connected with the singular purpose of achieving the desired goal.

Skill acquisition can be defined as a chain of events inside the mind and the body that result in permanent biological changes in the ability to perform movements and actions (Schmidt & Wrisberg). As skill level increases, the quality of actions increases, the movements become more stable and standardized, and the acquired skills can be performed successfully in new and distinct environments. Modern skills training is therefore defined as an interrelationship between the individual, the environment, and the desired goal.

”Judo skill is the ability to control the movement during the action in such a way that the desired outcome is achieved.”

In this book, judo skill is defined as the ability to control the movement during the action in such a way that the desired outcome is achieved. In judo, this desired outcome is throwing the opponent, pinning them down, performing a controlled strangulation technique, or performing a joint lock against the elbow joint.

Picture 1: The Characteristics of Skill

However, comprehensive understanding and execution of a skill in practice requires more thorough and detailed mastery of the subject. A skill can only be developed by finding the balance between the components of the skill and by optimizing them. The skill must also be applied to new and varying situations.

Furthermore, even though we often speak of natural gifts or abilities, skills are not something people are born with. Rather, they are acquired. Unlike physical attributes, skillfulness and the ability to learn skills do not have a genetic base. Even the most basic motor skills needs to be learned.

Picture 2: Fundamental motor skills as the basis for sport-specific skills (Adapted from Gallahue & Donnelly 2003)

Every sport performance consists of basic motor skills which are adapted according to sport-specific needs and goals. For example, a judo throw consists of several basic motor skills: dynamic balance, stepping, turning, squatting, extending, pulling, lifting, rotating etc. Skillfulness is not merely a single successful action or beginner’s luck. Rather, one must be able to perform the skill with similar, successful results in different situations and with different opponents.

”You can only fight the way you practice.”

- Musashi -

Skills are built on what we already know. Existing skills can help with learning new skills, but they can also hinder or slow down the learning process. The skill transfer is a central concept in skill acquisition. It means the effect that existing skills have on learning or the effect that they have on performing the skills in a new context.

The skill transfer is positive when existing skills make learning new skills easier, or when they improve one’s performance in competition. For example, knowing how to perform a hip throw helps with learning other turning throws to the front, and knowing how to perform a throw to the right helps with learning the same technique to the left (lateral transfer). A newly acquired skill can also strengthen existing skills.

The skill transfer is negative when an existing skill hinders learning a new skill. For example, a technique learned in a stationary situation can slow down the performance required in a fighting situation, because the timing and opponent’s reaction are different. A skill that has been learned in practice does not thus transfer automatically to a competition situation or work with a new opponent.

Incorrect movements or body positions can hinder learning new skills, or even lead to an injury. These movements and positions can transfer from one move to another and obstruct effective performance of moves. Movements and positions that stress the body in wrong ways can also cause repetitive strain injuries and overstrain.

Learning skills is always context-based. Therefore, skills must be practiced and used in diverse environments and in situations that closely mimic competitive settings.

Because learning happens both consciously and unconsciously, it is important to understand learning processes. It is especially important, because each coach can mold their learning and teaching methods in a way that supports individuals learning and inspires them. Current science demonstrates that most learning happens unconsciously. Therefore, teaching methods should adapt and take advantage of this phenomenon, instead of the traditional way, in which the teacher shows an example and thoroughly explains each part of the movement.

The most effective way to learn a skill is to create a goal or an assignment that the learner must reach or complete. Locke’s goal-setting theory states that goals are the greatest motivation for learning. Challenging and uncertain goals motivate more than easy goals. Self-created goals advance long-term commitment and encourage one to perform at their best again and again.

Because each skill is individual and unique, practice must correspond exactly with the desired performance. This does not mean that there are no similarities between skills, or that mastering a certain skill does not help with learning other skills or movements. However, because judo skill is so closely connected to the desired goal, it is the goal that we need to use as a measurement when evaluating the judoka’s performance and learning. The goal of a judoka in a fight is a pre-defined objective outcome, but the referees assess this outcome subjectively in the context of their own skills and observations.

The rules of a judo fight define the area and duration of the fight, and the criteria for scoring and penalties. Under the current ruleset, the fighting area defined by the rules does not have a large influence on the skills and outcomes of the fight, because the real fight and the struggle for control happens in the space between the fighters’ bodies. The duration of the fight mainly influences the outcome by defining the minimum requirements for physical attributes, and although physical attributes play their part in the execution of skills, their development is not addressed in this book.

In judo, scores are awarded when fighter throws their opponent on their back or on their side, pins them down with the opponent’s back to the mat, or forces the opponent to submit by a strangle or an armlock. The fight can also be won by fighting tactically and accumulating penalties to the opponent. Amusingly enough, the fighter does not have to actively win the fight, if their opponent loses by being passive or by committing enough mistakes that lead to penalties. In this context, it is unnecessary to thoroughly review the rules, or to consider their interpretations or competition strategies, or whether the rules are good or not. The objective is to only remind that they affect the performance of judo skills. The goal of a judo fight is therefore very simple from the perspective of skill acquisition: Put the opponent on their back.

Many kinds of techniques and types of throws are practiced during a judo practice, with the aim of technicality, safety, elegance, and the knowledge of the techniques’ names. In a judo fight, the fighters are free, within the ruleset, to carry out their judo skill and effectiveness in any way that they see fit. Safety is accounted for in the rules by forbidding certain actions and techniques, but the rules do not require elegance or knowing the techniques’ names. There are approximately 68 throwing techniques and 32 groundwork techniques depending on the list that are required in practice and graduations. However, in a fight, the same outcome can be achieved by myriad of individual choices and styles – some of which are not very aesthetic. The only indicator for the technicality or skillfulness of these techniques that is defined by the rules is their effectivity. Some top-level judo players might not have outstanding technical expertise. However, their effectiveness and fighting skills are excellent. In conclusion, although technicality is important and beneficial, success in judo depends on other skill factors, which can either strengthen or compensate each other. Thus, there are several skills and abilities that can be used to triumph in judo. The fighter can become an expert of a certain area or develop themselves as a generally...