Forms of games and romping.

 

Far too often people are of the opinion that games and romping are a preparation to  ‘real ’ judo. The opposite is true, however. Games and sport are un undividable whole, in which four areas can be distinguished, but these areas are tied together inseparably,.

That playing is one of the pillars of sport will not come as a surprise;

 

Playing is inherent to men, it is a fundamental human occupation.

 

What is a game?

As soon as the first rules are formulated, playing becomes a game.  Animals know how to play; they do not know games. Playing is inherent; it belongs to men. The road from playing to playing games is a flowing process; it happens almost unnoticed; when playing becomes purposeful acting and explicit rules  are developed playing becomes a game. The most common description of a game is:  “to play games is a voluntary action, acted within certain boundaries of time and place according to voluntary but restrictive rules with an inherent purpose, accompanied by a sensation of excitement and joy and a realisation of being “different from” daily life.

 

Playing is a voluntary action. Being forced to play is impossible. As soon as there is an obligation to play because material  incentives are involved, play stops being play.

 

An intellectually disabled person who has to start playing without being able to mentally adjust  will mentally ‘freeze’. He will want to get  rid of his ‘daily baggage’ and will want to ‘forget’ before he is able to play. Judo lessons for people with an intellectual disability will start with a chat and a cup of coffee.

 

Conclusion:

Playing is devoid of pressure and  makes powerless the unrelenting ‘have to’. This have to is oppressing when it cannot be changed into another way of being; that of not wanting anything, not demanding anything, not being forced to do anything, where only a being together exists which allows for an ‘opening out’ of one’s personality.

 

The voluntary character can be accentuated  by not suppressing the input of the players, but on the contrary, by  making use of this input. This can be achieved by using ‘open’ tasks through which creativity is stimulated. Start out with one theme and while playing ‘the’ game, one or more than one game will develop, so that in every situation and in every group different games and forms will develop.

 

“Finally it's very simple, logical method for learning skills in judo make students better perform and helps them to learn the art of judo quicker. This way of teaching let the students have more fun and more motivated to learn judo. When we ensure the safety of the students in our lessons, our  judo comes up to the expectations that the necessary for physical education.”

 

Sensei Anton Geesink

The old traditional judo world was shocked, at the Olympic Games in 1964 by the famous Anton Geesink. Who won the gold medal in Tokyo.  In that time judo was a sport where everybody presumed, judokas from Japan where unbeatable. It was a cultural shock for the Japanese nation that someone from Holland defeat the national heavyweight Champion of Japan. Anton Geesink is a legendary figure in Holland, by his performance in Tokyo he stimulate many people mostly children to start practicing judo.

 

After his active judo career he became a teacher at the Academy of Physical Education in Amsterdam. He writes several books about judo and education and all of his books are recognized as pioneering works.

 

In 1971 his book “Judo in evolution” was being published, in his book he reviewed several things which in his opinion must be changed:

 

1.        nomenclature

2.        grading

3.        ethical behaviour

4.        mystical culture

5.        safety of the judokas

 

 

But the most important of it all was that Geesink started his teaching from the centre of the student, he adapted the judo skills through the level of the student.

Quit remarkable in that time and the opposition was enormous and it lasted till the next generation of judo teachers before his ideas were accepted.

however states that playing does not need a reason or a deeper meaning and no stimulation from outside in order to develop. Playing is not that which is played out, it can only be understood as a way of being. Man is not only homo faber (the working man) but also homo ludens (the playing man). This is shown by the fact that a playful attitude toward life can be found in all ages, environments, cultures and eras, although some cultures offer more room for this than others.

 

That to act playfully is bound by indissoluble ties to humanity is underlined by Schiller’s much quoted lines: ‘Dasz dei- Mensch nur spielt, wo er in voller bedeutung des Wortes Mensch ist, und dasz er nur gansz Mensch ist, wo er spielt. Buytendijk rephrases this as follows: ‘Man needs bread and games. Bread in order to grow and exist, games in order to experience this existence’. The playing man is completely wrapped up in his movement and forgets the world outside himself. Playing as such is outside of ‘real’’ life, but the term ‘it is just a game’ does not mean that playing should not be taken seriously,  or that one cannot play in great seriousness.

 

People with an intellectual disability do not differ from others in that respect, though their experience is often on a different level.  Practice has shown that playing is an efficacious instrument for teaching people with an intellectual disability judo in such a manner that it sinks in properly. To the participant however playing is an aim in itself, they experience the moment, the here and now.

 

Fun and social contacts are of utmost importance – in this way playing will never be a waste of time. We (as teachers) use play as a means to achieve other goals.

 

There can be many goals:

- Play as learning by playing, for instance the technique of the holding.

- Play to achieve social goals, among which are: becoming aware of              group targets, learning to decide, learning to focus on teamwork,                learning to agree on rules and change them, to build in conflicts and            find a solution, to learns roles and act your role, the development of            an identity.

- Play to achieve personal aims which are of course inseparable from              social aims because one becomes a personality by contact with                  others.

- Play in order to achieve creative aims.

- Play to achieve conditional aims.

- Play to achieve therapeutic aims.

For almost everything we do in a judo lesson  we need organisation.  Couples or larger groups must be able to take up position and need space to move about in. Because one of the aims of recreational sport is ‘to create opportunities to have social contacts’ , we must try during the lesson to get the groups to move from form to form, from game to game and from position to position. Different forms and colours of the materials we use can play an important role.

Of course one does not get to know the other in the sense that there will be a relationship of trust, but some sort of contact is made, some boundaries explored.

 

For us to find ourselves on a judo mat is the most normal thing in the world, but try to imagine the state of mind of an intellectually disabled person who finds himself there for the first time. Imagine yourself in an unfamiliar environment and in this strange  suit of clothes and someone grabs hold of you and lies on top of you.

 

 

Especially to those who abhor being touched it must be a quite an unpleasant experience. Therefore it is advisable to start with some individual forms of games such as:

-        a naming game in a circle,

-        a game with spots,

-        a game of copy cats.

 

Here also the truism of: from easy to difficult, from low to high applies, in this case from playing individually to playing together. While playing, one should try and find out where the chances lie to get successfully to a communal game. I myself have worked for years with seriously disabled judokas and getting them to play together was a goal in itself. Only after the realisation: ‘at judo we are friends and we have to help each other’ is it time for the next phase.

Content hereThe essence of tagging games is in the element of the chase. One or more hunters chase the ‘game’ which, of course, runs for its life. The movement in space, to orient oneself, finding a position in regard to the hunter and each other and concentrating on the hunter all play an important part, besides elements present in all games such as excitement, surprise, confrontation and connection to reality. For excitement in a chasing game it is essential to create equal opportunities for everyone.

Usually we use the following tagging games with a connection with forms of romping:

 

-        Tagging game with assignments.

-        Tagging games with releasing.

 

The progress could be from tagging to grabbing someone. The teacher is the first to do this. Wiesenhaen calls this power learning games.

 

For instance: the teacher tries to get hold of and lift all participants (or throws them, depending on the skill of the participants/group). If you are lifted with both feet off the ground  you are out and have to sit down. If, however, the teacher  is lifted by one of the participants, everybody is released and the game starts all over again.

The ball is the most beautiful toy ever given to mankind.  The object is so challenging that we can hardly restrain ourselves. Sadly the most popular sport is still to hit someone else with it as hard as possible, usually because of a lack of  creativity. Soft balls can be a solution to this problem. As important as the choice of materials is the choice for the form of the game.

 

-        Ball games as a form of co-operating.

-        Ball games as tagging games.

-        Ball games as romping or territorial games.

These are very intensive games in themselves. All of one’s body power is needed to conquer one’s opponent. In a direct confrontation, many will give their all. The strongest wins, violence and brute force prevails. But this is not what it is all about. This can not be the aim of playing together, of recreation and relaxation. The atmosphere in which a game is being played will shape the game. The social contacts, the getting together is what counts. To experience the other’s resistance, to sense and feel what the other is up to. To strike when the other weakens.

 

If we really want equal opportunities for all, then power can be compensated by speed, skill by tactics. In the game: ‘tap your opponent’s foot’ a fast player will beat a clumsy one.

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