Judo educational program as a higher path of conduct

As I gather some notes to prepare a summation about my judo experiences, I came to realize that JUDO is indeed OK. Its teaching program is a path of conduct for a productive and enjoyable lifetime.  Whether you take Judo as a sport, see it as a form of recreation, practice it for the competitive experiences or study it for  its esthetic values, you will find that all the components of judo are OK because JUDO’s ensemble is far greater than all its parts. It is a natural pathway for learning and setting appropriate goals.

Let me explain: When Professor Jigoro Kano transformed the old Jujutsu techniques into his Kodokan Judo in 1882, he ensured that his invention would conserve the three principal attributes of Martial Arts of the past. These were found in the Chinese, Hindus and Japanese philosophies that were charted before and during his lifetime. He diligently garnished his curriculum with the triangular ideas of SHIN- GI-TAI. They represent the possible path towards a higher state of accomplishment through the enhancement of the spirit, the perfection of technical skills and the improvement of bodily responses.

After 60 years of being involved with the various judo spheres, either as a student, a competitor, a teacher, an administrator and as a manager, I am now better equipped to determine that Judo as an ensemble correspond to the natural paths of learning and growing as human beings. By being removed from the daily manifestations of Judo on the tatami or in the Dojo, one can appreciate that these physical and mental routes are also available for charting by all those of us who have the desires to fulfill an enjoyable and productive life.

In retrospective, I can emphasize that Judo is O.K.  With the use of this acronym, I want to emphasize that the global Judo program teaches you to OBSERVE (O) and to acquire the necessary KNOWLEDGE (K) that is thereafter usefully transforming your behavior into a natural and harmonious PATH. Such finality will last you a career and possibly a life time.  (DO) .

I am giving myself a task to develop this parallel in the coming weeks and would appreciate any feed back from the members of this forum. Thank you for your inputs.

An interesting endeavor. Have you read enough of Kano shihan's writings to detail his philosophic underpinnings of judo? You may find he did a lot of the work of what you plan.

In the past few years, I have read reports and documentations from French and English authors as I am not sufficiently proficient in Japanese to read nor interpret the writings of Kano Sensei. Nevertheless, I think that the authors have thru similar interpretations rendered a basic approach that can become a starting point to my forthcoming discussion. I do not claim to possess all the material that I would like but would welcome any additional reference points should you wish to add. Thus far, works by Alex Bennett, Naoki Murata, E.J Harrisson, Syd Oare, The Kodokan reviews and the Kano Society articles as well as the research papers done by the French judo federation historians or academic researchers have contributed to expand my knowledge of Kano Sensei.

The gist of my essay will attempt to make the parallel between learning the various judo program and the similar learning process taking life form as we grow to become better in our life. I have to keep in mind that not all judoka will have been exposed to the overall judo philosophy in their career .
thank you for your input.

With the information at hand. I produced a PDF article 12 pages  which is available for reading and download under the title JUDO-RON 78- Judo is O.K
The article is available at WWW.Scribd.com for those interested.
Hereunder is an abstract leading to my conclusion.
As of 1997, during the last revision, formal names were casted for each technique for easier recognition and universal usage. We can now say that after discounting the variations, the Kodokan Judo has 68 essentials techniques for Tachi Waza and 32 for Katame. With this technical baggage in mind which offers a substantial challenge, we enter the Judo practice hall with a Rei and terminate our practices with another profound salutation. The first is to declare our respect and show our open spirit to participate in the training with the best of our abilities. The latter is a testimony of thanks towards all those who assisted us in our chores to pursue self-development.
From the preliminary steps we are taking note of and practicing the right etiquette and respect for all things associated with our training. The cleanliness of our judogi , the salutations before and after exercises with a partner, the training care and responsiveness to instructions and the positive attitude we demonstrate are all part of the mental dimensions we personalize after pertinent suggestions and imitations. These steps will later develop into habits.
The general technical program makes us embrace hundreds of techniques, from basic movements, methods of breaking the falls, forms of holding, use of strength and flexibility, preparation for attack or defense.These are all contained in our portfolio of know-how that we acquire and which will be used to refine our attack and defense tactics.

Through information gathering, observation and imitation, we are bound to accumulate the necessary savoir faire to freely execute the techniques as part of the Randori and Shiai. The latter components force us to take command of our actions when involved in difficult situations, to analyze different risk levels and make the appropriate judgment call to act at the right moment.
Without making a detailed analysis of each component of the judo program, we can assert that the judo curriculum itself offers good opportunities for training the mental and physical endurances and those qualities can be reproduced, if need be, to meet other life challenges.

Learning of the Gokyo, practicing Randori or Kata which we complement with selected formal lectures and discussions contribute to the expansion of our technical knowledge. If we are able to add to it the frequent analysis of changing situations, we create a mental map of opportunities that can be applied to other circumstances.
Learning about the culture, the history, the vocabulary and the rules of competition contribute towards further development of our memory and reasoning process. When undertaking joint exercises, we will find the need to exhibit self-restraint and control so that the rights of others and their safety are not infringed upon. By seeking to win in fairness and learning to accept defeat with grace, we will demonstrate the true spirit of an accomplished judoka.  In all our undertakings, as we seek to take the initiative and do our best we can build strong social relations with peers and enhance our personal pride and independence. When we keep an open mind and heart, we soon can transform every encounter on the tatami into an opportunity to excel, thus becoming ourselves a Model for others to emulate.
Likewise, when involved in events outside the Dojo, our performance can render the same warrior spirit.   JUDO IS THEREFORE OK as a path of conduct.