Expanding Judo

Judo in the United States has historically struggled to develop popularity. American Judo is not competitive on the international stage; core to this problem has been limited access to high level instruction and limited instructor training. While there are programs through the United States Judo Federation and the United States Judo Association to train new instructors, they are often limited and poorly marketed. One of the goals for MASTERS is to ensure that students are trained from an early stage not just how to do judo but how to understand and teach it. Once instructors are certified, we will seek to help place them in locations where they can help to spread Judo. By training highly skilled instructors we can improve American Judo overall, improve visibility and international competitiveness, and reach more individuals. 

MASTERs will support both the highest-level athletes and beginners. For the former we will work to support their efforts to reach the highest levels of the sport while providing off the mat mentorship to help them continue to progress in their daily life. In return for support, these individuals will help individual communities and raise the level of judo in the United States through teaching classes and seminars. Traveling to training sites outside the U.S. will assist them in bringing back international norms and practices to the U.S. For example, representatives training in Japan or traveling to competitions in Europe will broaden U.S. perspectives in the sport.