Stephen King once said ““No one can tell what goes on in between the person you were and the person you become. No one can chart that blue and lonely section. There are no maps of the change. You just come out the other side. Or you don’t.” King means that when an individual goes through an experience, the emotions and distress that one might feel is elusive and you either change for the better or worse. Specifically, a judo practice at SJSU causes individuals to undergo a variety of challenging moments that will cause countless emotions; however, the decision to endure practice will provide mental benefits that will help in judo and in life. Similarly how King states “No one can chart that blue and lonely section”, the act of describing how a judoka feel during a moment in practice is impossible. For example, during randori every judoka feel differently when thrown by their opponent, some individuals are frustrated, some are disheartened, and some are humbled. However, as King says “You just come out the other side. Or you don’t”, and for the judoka that is thrown he either gets back up and continues the round or stays down and quit. No matter what emotion or suffering the judoka feels after being thrown, the act of deciding to stand and continuing the match strengthens the mental fortitude of the individual. There are countless moments like these in practice that benefits the judoka, from numerous uchikomies at the beginning of practice teaching mental focus and the rope climbs at the end of practice teaching perseverance. Regardless of the emotions that the judoka experiences during these instances, as long as they decide to continue on, they earn important mental traits. SJSU practices are challenging and each judoka is fighting their own battle during each moment of practice. Although intangible to describe the emotions the judoka feels during these moments, the choice to continue on in practice provides them with mental benefits that will help them in judo and life.
