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MarkF
3rd June 2001, 08:27
Since their have been discussions, rightly or wrongly, on the subject of the two organizations, and a thread which was given to me just a while ago, I thought I would post a player in the events which transpired, simply for a third view point from the past. This is from Black Belt Magazine on Mel Bruno and his take on thee problems, or non-problem. January 1971

Here is a taste:


Originally, the United States Judo Association (USJA) was called the Armed Forces Judo Association (AFJA) and developed as a branch to the old Judo Black Belt Federation (JBBF), which has since changed its name to the United States Judo Federation (USJF). The emergence of two national judo organizations-the Federation versus the Association-is generally blamed upon the impatience of youth.
As Bruno explains it, "A gradual division arose as the younger men of the USJA began to see problems within the old guard USJF. Instead of trying to work with the old regime to solve the problems, a split nominally and politically appeared. From where I stand, instead of solving the problems the younger men may have validly seen, it created confusion, frustration and dissension.
"Individuals working directly with the Armed Forces judo program felt that the USJF was not working fast enough to serve interested judoka and officials in many areas of the country where difficulties existed, such as providing for adequate recognition or the technical guidance and training of young judo students. This was some of the basis for the dissatisfaction of the Armed Services (USJA) in discontinuing their liaison of cooperation with the USJF. These were the major reasons for the split.
"The split, on the one hand, could be causing a serious detriment to the growth of future judo in both the continental U.S. and the military services. On the other hand, however, this could be a healthy ramification that the new association has been formed. Judo is not problem free, and it could be only a temporary symptom spotlighting some major problems, which may eventually make judo stronger in the long run. With this current split today, judo is only experiencing growing pains."


I wonder if "the growing pains" have stunted our growth a little.

The thread can bee located in the Hall of Fame, Black Belt Magazine on line: http://www.blackbeltmag.com or at this more direct link: http://w3.blackbeltmag.com/halloffame/achievers/mel.html

Sometimes we tend to focus on the noise makers instead of lowering the volume. The article itself is a good read.

Mark

Ben Reinhardt
5th June 2001, 14:16
Originally posted by MarkF
Since their have been discussions, rightly or wrongly, on the subject of the two organizations, and a thread which was given to me just a while ago, I thought I would post a player in the events which transpired, simply for a third view point from the past. This is from Black Belt Magazine on Mel Bruno and his take on thee problems, or non-problem. January 1971

Here is a taste:

[b]
I wonder if "the growing pains" have stunted our growth a little.

The thread can bee located in the Hall of Fame, Black Belt Magazine on line: http://www.blackbeltmag.com or at this more direct link: http://w3.blackbeltmag.com/halloffame/achievers/mel.html

Sometimes we tend to focus on the noise makers instead of lowering the volume. The article itself is a good read.

Mark

Mark,

Thanks for posting these excerpts. Yes, indeed, it did stunt our growth a lot...but maybe in the long run it will work out for the best. I'm optimistic at this point.

Ben Reinhardt