The 31st annual Shufu Rules Clinic was held on Saturday, February 6, 2016 at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. The Washington Judo Club’s dojo in the Yates Field House afforded plenty of room for a full-sized mat and a lecture area, accommodating more than 60 judokas from scattered points along the east coast. The attendees hailed from Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
The head clinicians were IJF-A referees Sharon Landstreet, sensei at the Arlington Judo Club in Northern Virginia, and Karl Tamai, sensei at the College Park (Maryland) Judo Club, both in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area. These new IJF-A referees joined an illustrious line of clinicians from across the country who have been guests of Shufu for this highly anticipated annual event.
Roy Englert, IJF-A referee and chair of the Shufu Referee Committee, opened the day dedicating the event to Gaile Spadin, the founder of the Rules Clinic (formerly the Referee Clinic) and its leader for the first 11 years, who was the United States’ only female Olympic Judo Referee, and to James Takemori, the nationally prominent and internationally acclaimed sensei who passed away last year.
When asked later to reflect upon the 2016 seminar, he said, “This is my twentieth year leading this seminar, and I am thrilled to be starting the transition to the next generation. I’m not going away yet, but I want to work with Sharon and Karl as the next generation of refereeing in Shufu”
Mr. Tamai and Ms. Landstreet guided the group through a highly informative day, beginning with a wide range of
presentations and discussions including the ratings of referees, advice on advancing through the referee hierarchy, being effective in national and international refereeing situations, and other matters that extended even beyond the strict definition of “rules”, but very important in ensuring the best opportunities for advancement.
Other topics included pre-tournament preparations, interactions with table workers, examining the physical characteristics of the mats, and even the topics of reviewing one’s own hand signals and body positioning by downloading one’s own matches onto a small flash drive, creating a personal portfolio of matches to review, have critiqued, and to learn from.
Just before the lunch break, Cathleen Clancy, M.D., Board Certified in Emergency Medicine and Medical Toxicology, and a black belt at the Washington Judo Club, reviewed the topic of safe resuscitation of individuals who had been rendered unconscious by shimewaza, advising referees to take a careful, unrushed approach to the judoka. Of particular importance was the lack of medical basis, and the danger, of Kappo, the traditional Japanese method of reviving judokas.
Dr. Clancy also spoke briefly about the recent revisions of basic life support (BLS) programs, particularly the absence of assisted breathing which is now considered unnecessary or even possibly harmful during resuscitation.
Pizza was served for lunch, rapidly consumed by the judoka hungry for knowledge as well as for carbohydrates and pepperoni.
The afternoon was conducted on the mat, with instruction in many of the subtleties of rule interpretation, with the able assistance of Steve Matias of Pure Performance Judo in New Jersey and Edwin Vallejo of the Washington Judo Club.
Finally, the group reviewed selected video selections of the most recent annual IJF Referees and
Coaches Seminar held this year in Tokyo, Japan, and other selected clips from international tournaments as well as from local events. The group appeared to enjoy the videos of real matches and how real-life, difficult
questions of accuracy in refereeing can easily arise no matter what level of judo is being contested.
As the participants were combining efforts to put the mats away and clean the room, Karl Tamai considered the importance of the annual event. “The important thing about having a referee/rules clinic is to try to get us all on the same page. We would like to have consistency here in the U.S. with what’s happening internationally. So by disseminating both difficult as well
as easy situations we can use that as a measuring stick so that we’re all evaluating throws and penalties in situations in the same way.”
And when asked to give a quick snapshot of the position of the U.S. referees internationally, Tamai said that “We have a number of high-level referees that are working in the international circuit in an effort to qualify to referee at the Rio Olympic Games in 2016. That’s the ultimate goal of any referee, to referee in the Olympics, and we have a referee that is potentially eligible to go.”
Sharon Landstreet, still energetic and rushing about taking care of the video and other electronics after the adjournment, also reflected on the annual series of clinics. “We’re trying to get all the coaches, athletes, and referees on the same page. When there’s a better understanding, we all work together to understand why things are called, and how to look at them. Then when it happens on the mat
there’s a little bit more understanding between the referees, coaches, and athletes.
“It also gives them a chance to see resources you can use to prepare for (matches). If you know and understand the rules, it helps (them) train better.
“This is important for Shufu to get people to come in and share opinions so that we grow as an organization and understand the judo from the bigger picture. To take the experiences that people have when they travel, both from the referees’ and the coaches’ perspective helps everyone grow as competitors and gives them someone to look at and to develop.
above story, photos by Chuck Medani
Roy Nanjo’s Photos
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