Today was a special session.
My club has provided a self-contained weight room. So we can use it before training and work on certain muscle groups.
For me, it was a good hour of muscle strengthening and upper body work to make up for a lack of strength.
Then, with another member of the club (a brown belt), we decided to come and train in pairs every Monday (outside supervised training sessions).
The class focused mainly on the holds and immobilisations required for the yellow belt for me, and for him, it was a review of his programme and the sequences for the black belt.
It’s strange to come back to these fundamental movements at the age of 43, when I was practising them as a teenager.
My body vaguely remembers, but my muscles protest as if they’re discovering everything for the first time.
I worked on the basic holds for the yellow belt, alternating left and right sides, as well as a few ground holds.
I’ve learnt something interesting about passing the black belt: I’ll have to come up with a complete programme by selecting several techniques from the lower belts, then stringing them together in a coherent sequence.
Technical mastery remains paramount, which seems logical to me. It’s like building a house, you can’t have a solid roof without impeccable foundations.
Physically, I’m feeling fatigue in muscles that I haven’t used for a long time, particularly those deep muscles that are coming back to haunt me. Emotionally, it’s very positive.
I feel motivated by this training structure, which allows me to really concentrate on technique and strengthening.
At my age, I feel the need for a more personalised framework so that I can make effective progress without injuring myself.
To progress, I need to memorise all the yellow belt holds, because I don’t know them by heart yet.
It’s a bit unsettling to find myself a beginner again, but it’s also refreshing to adopt this learning posture.
What struck me after this first session was the crucial importance of regularity and preparation in progress.
Judo is no different from everyday life in that sense, results come with consistency, not sporadic effort.
By structuring my training, I’m better able to visualise my path to technical mastery. This methodical approach reassures me, especially coming back at 43 to a sport I left when I was 16.
Coming back to judo after so many years is like meeting up with an old friend, you recognise its essence, but you have to get to know it all over again.
I feel that this practice will not only strengthen my body, but also give me a mental discipline that I can use in all aspects of my life.
Regularity on the tatami will probably translate into more rigour in my daily professional and personal life.
“Mastery comes with repetition and patience””
I trained as a judoka with the Arlésien Judo Club in the 90s, and discovered the rigour, humility and collective spirit of this martial art at a very early age.
After a 27-year hiatus, I decided at the age of 43 to put on my judogi again and start practising again, at my own pace and with an adult’s eye.
This website is the diary of that resumption, with the rediscovery of techniques, personal reflections, physical pain and deep satisfaction.
My goal: to achieve my black belt before I’m 50 and prove that you can always progress, whatever your age or background.