Q and A with Shintaro Higashi : The Shintaro Higashi Show

[@SenseiSeth]

Hittin em with that SEO knowledge

[@aprilg7920]

The discussion of student goals is so important. But also it can change day to day. You have to read the room. I remember one Saturday morning at my previous dojo, we were a group of walking wounded adults, all over 35. The college kids had all slept in or something. I was nursing a hamstring, another guy was in a giant knee brace slowly coming back from surgery, and on and on. And when we got to the randori part of class, every single one of us wound up sitting down for the first round; because we didn't feel safe yet, because we were tired and hurt and wanted a bit of a break before doing anything, because we needed to. The 22 year old who was leading class that morning looked at us and got so disgusted that he said, "Ok, well if no one wants to do judo, then I guess we're done." And he bowed us out. That young man completely missed the fact that we had all gotten up early and gotten ourselves there despite the fact that we were hurt. Because we wanted to train. Because we loved judo. And instead of finding something we could do, he got disgusted and sent us home. It wasn't long before I started looking for a new dojo.

[@markd2797]

Super lucky to be able to hear you talk, don’t worry about the rambling. You’re outgoing and positive but also assertive and very knowledgeable so to have you as an… ambassador… for Judo is amazing. You are truly a great addition to Judo, Shintaro. Just wanted to say that.

[@genises200]

I have a question. Why are you built like a tank that can move like a butterfly?

[@uchidaoginome]

That's judo, bro! One of the reasons I fell in love with the sport was cuz on my first visit everyone smiled and greeted me, one of the instructors sat and talked to me, asked me who I knew (a friend of mine had been doing judo there since childhood and suggested I try it) and didn't try to sell me on it. He just explained the sport to me and invited me to watch the class. Then the main instructor came out and served me tea before starting the class. After high school I simply missed regular exercise with a group of friends. I only wanted to stay in shape. I definitely didn't wanna be any kind of fighter. The positive atmosphere, despite how dynamic and aggressive judo seemed, is what hooked me. I've heard tell from older guys that our sensei had the mentality of Shintaro's father and slowly had to change his approach to both adult and child students over the years. He's the nicest guy but that's how he was taught in Japan! If you got slammed and didn't come back, they figured it wasn't for you. By the time I started, he changed. I'm in my 40s now and still playing. Even though I've always been a big strong guy and even did a tiny bit of boxing in high school, I'm not Mr Machismo! I wanted physical fitness, a challenge and fun. For someone like me, Shintaro's approach was what got me in for life! No one beat on me or saw my size and tried to use me as their training dummy. At least not until I was about 4-kyu. But by then you can give almost as good as you can take so...

[@J3unG]

Great advice. Thank you and much success to you.

[@Leonidas3888]

Your videos don't come up in my feed anymore and I'm subscribed.

[@shannons1886]

Great business insights for the dojo owner!

[@shannons1886]

Love the student profile discussion!!

[@shahidmiah6715]

I'm baffled about black belts not paying. I do bjj but want to add judo to my game. In bjj we always have to pay mat fee regardless.

[@Haolekine888]

your dads method is so the 80's san jose method i remember

[@tk21them]

I waited for rhis video

[@buckets3628]

nice vid

[@mariogegaj3229]

First👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻