Presentation
The study presented here raises a fundamental question: that of teaching “how to fight” in judo and, consequently, the apparent dichotomy that exists between technique and tactics. How do teachers view tactics in judo? How is this knowledge passed on to judoka throughout their training? What models does the federal institution propose, how and why?
The theme chosen for this contribution to the 8th dan grade is at the crossroads of experiences I have acquired in different fields, ranging from simple practitioner to competitor, teacher-researcher, and leader.
The demonstration is organized in two parts. The first examines a century of judo teaching in France. It begins in 1925, the date of the oldest archive available today relating to a judo class in Paris. The historical perspective connects different eras, concepts, and trends. It reveals the drivers of change and places the role of individuals within the general framework of cultural, economic, and political influences. It provides a framework without which the analysis would be merely descriptive. The second part is the study itself. The teaching content is examined in detail from the point of view of the juxtaposition or integration of technical and tactical concepts in the successive official methods.
The oral tradition that dominates judo is a source of richness but also a weakness. The sources used aim to fill the gap in the archives. I therefore had no hesitation in drawing on influential publications, which are the true handwritten legacy of experienced teachers. Internationally, Japan has long been considered the fundamental reference point, but Japanese judo is far from offering the unity of conception that is attributed to it from abroad. A careful observer cannot fail to notice the differences in trends. French judo is also a model that is envied, copied, adopted and adapted. Nowadays, some countries do not hesitate to propose alternatives. Like France, which has managed to break away from Japan, certain nations are asserting themselves by producing their own teaching approaches. The purpose of this contribution is also to highlight and compare the different existing approaches.