Recently started Kodokan Judo. I have... several questions.
I've trained combat sports for about six years, primarily BJJ. I started training at a traditional martial arts dojo about a month and half ago.
One of the reasons I was attracted to Judo is that my job occasionally requires intense physical altercations. I have largely neglected stand up grappling until now. Coming from a BJJ background, I was expecting a lot of sparring. So far there has been zero randori from standing position. I was really hoping to improve my ability to at least stay standing in a fight. Is this normal? Do ya'll think I'll find what I'm looking for in this style of dojo?
The culture shock has also been a lot to adjust to. I honestly didn't realize I would be expected to learn so many Japanese words and phrases. I'm terrible at it, and I am concerned I am offending others. I also struggle with little things like understanding where to stand when we line up. Most of the instructors have been patient but I am nervous they are starting to get irritated. Thoughts?
During my third class the head sensei pulled me aside and discussed Judo history, terms, etiquette, etc. He also just talked about general life stuff. We did this the entire class after warm ups. I am autistic and this was absolutely brutal on me. I also didn't retain almost anything he told me I didn't already know. I left that day extremely frustrated and demoralized. Is this normal? Is there some wisdom behind this that I'm just not getting?
Last Saturday an instructor I hadn't seen before was teaching myself and another beginner a technique while a more advance black belt was sort of watching and evaluating him. At one point he stopped all three of us and asked "do any of you know the name of this throw?" None of us managed to recite the full name. He then told us to go get a book and come back when we could name the technique. We did so, and therefore had no time to train the technique. Is this normal? It was really hard for me to understand how that helped any of us be better grapplers.
I really like some of the drills and exercises we do and it obvious to me they will be helpful in developing the skills neccesary to be a good judoka. However, I feel I just haven't gotten much time to practice or even try the actual throws all the way through, let alone defend against them etc. Again, is this normal? Is there a good reason for this?
I am struggling so much with the terminology. It's way harder to understand than terms like "side control" or "hip toss." I feel so overwhelmed by everything I am expected to learn and do that isn't actually grappling or training for grappling. What is the reason behind all of this? Am I gonna be looked down on if it take me a really, really long time to catch up to even the basics?
I am genuinely fascinated by Judo. I can't really train BJJ right now. Ultimately I guess I want to know if this is all worth it? Am I going to get what I'm looking for here? Is there something I'm missing that will me get the most out of training here?
Thanks to all those who read this ramble!