GBJC
Blog / Comment
7/6 2021 - SBE
Foreword:
This comment should NOT be seen as an endorsement of one association over another.
All the judo associations operate in a similar fashion with very little transparency & accountablility.
With their inner circle of favoured “Mates & Minions” along with the secret management of funds and the two tier rule system.
One set of rules for the “mates” and another set for the majority.
“Ass kissing”*, unethical behaviour, online bullying, etc. is commonplace and are the source of the hated judo politics.
Practised particularly by the usual “mates” online in places like GB Judo Underground (the JUG), BJC fb group, etc. –
Disappearing comments, discussions and even members along with blatant bullying.
Most members of these groups only watch discussions and won’t stand up against to bullying and the suppression of opinions.
Understandable – who needs more hassle in life or want to draw attention to themselves and receive the same treatment?
Many will choose to read this comment and point the finger at others while avoiding to focus on what they should be doing, making improvements where they can. Within their own area & association.
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* “Ass kissing” – noun, North American vulgar slang –
“the use of flattery or other obsequious behaviour in order to gain favour.”
(obsequious – obedient or attentive to an excessive or servile degree)
Which Association?
When a BJA club recently announced they were leaving the BJA and becoming a BJC club, it got my attention.
Sharing the news in the GBJC FaceBook group, non of the usual bitter & twisted “association war” broke out.
Possibly due to many in grassroot judo having stopped looking at the differences, pointing fingers and realising that no matter what association they are affiliated to, we are all in the same boat now.
I was the person that forced the BJA to release the BJA/BJC affiliation agreement (took about 3 months) and the BJA/AJA affiliation agreement (12+ months), with the BJA at one stage claiming the agreements were confidential despite the bye laws stating they are freely available.
When you incorporate the affiliation agreements into this particular club’s situation, the move makes perfect sense.
Having both BJA & BJC coaches, the club can train with both BJC & BJA members and grade them to either syllabus.
If you have competive members, train them to IJF/BJA competiton standards since there aren’t many BJC competitions and the regional ones, aren’t particularly well organised nor fair on many levels due to the low attendance.
Overall, many BJA coaches resent having trained for years, paid a small fortune to become a qualified coach and then recruiting new members, grading members and running a small bussiness and sending the money to the association while working unpaid.
Particularly if they aren’t a “favoured club”.
The useless 1/2 million pound BJADojo app isn’t user friendly, didn’t live up to the promises nor connect members & parents as “customers”.
Granted, the BJC is not a high-tech IT user friendly association, as their website and systems perfectly demonstrates, but when grading 2-3 times, the paperwork involved is probably easier for most to do than re-learning IT skills every time.
Being a BJC club doesn’t limit the coaches to only teach the BJC syllabus or to BJC competition standards.
There are actually very few BJC competitions (incl Kata) organised anyway and with the affiliation agreement in place, BJC members can compete in all but the very few BJA license closed competitions.
BJC members competing in BJA competitions are also included in any BJA ranking structures (or should be) and should be equally considered within BJA perfomance structures & selection, though this is where the “two tier mate system” starts to appear due to the involvement of money.
With the recently awarded Nobody bats an eyelid when Bishops Stortford is awarded a contract, nor after Danny Williams publicly critisises the Elite programme, that Camberley JC loses out on a contract to Core JC……..that haven’t built their Dojo yet.
Whether this club will be targeted by managment & mates to make an example for the rest of the BJA grassroot clubs?
Probably.
While all Judo association management love to quote “judo ethics”.
In reality money, power and maintaining the “mate structues”, thereby the status quo always comes first.
For only by maintaining these can management avoid being accountable & transparent.
When the BJA last raised fees, it caused much discussion and when one person in the GB JUDO UNDERGROUND FaceBook group has the “audacity” to suggest moving to the BJC.
BJA management dealt with it swiftly.
Please note, this and other sections of official documents may have been removed from the published BJA board meeting minutes.
The BJA board recently agreed that it was perfectly ok to delete things from approved and previously published BJA documents according to Andrew Scoular, BJA CEO (February 2021):
“………anything that could be seen as controversial”.
Those 15 persons that were openly critical in the JUG, may since have experienced “issues”?
Since BJA management have previously been analysing questions & comments, probably supplied to the BJA board by one of the JUG group administrators.
(At the time, Chris Milward or Paul Ajala)
You may want to discuss this issue, if so, please do be careful where you do it since freedom of expression isn’t part of the BJA chair’s manual.
Who the “management mates” were that supplied the positive comments to replace the negative ones?
You will probably be able to connect these with the 35 BJA clubs (out of 587) that attended and supported BJA management at the last AGM, November 2020.
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Returning to the subject of a grassroot judo club deciding what is best for them?
I hope this move brings a closer cooperation between clubs in the area across the old divides such as association affiliation.
Something similar to Yorkshire & Humberside area and initiatives they ran pre-covid?
With grassroot judo about to restart after such a long period of ……..nothing.
I find it interesting that both the BJA & BJC management are trying to give an impression that “we are all in this together”.
Personally, I think dual affiliation is best since this only costs the club around £60 extra per year and allows more options.
One note of caution, a BJC license abroad is no better than any of the non-BJA affiliated clubs licenses; AEJF, JFAUK, BBJA, etc. but if you raise such subject in the BJC group, comments and discussion threads are deleted.
Overall, morally and ethically, there is little difference between BJA and BJC management. The big difference is the BJA has the money.
There is little difference with the BJC trying to avoid suspending a BJC coach despite criminal charges made and a BJC club being advised to search their female toilets for electronics by the police.
And the BJA being “unable” to do anything about a suspended BJA coach continueing to claim he is qualified, the next 15 months, on all his social media platforms along with Comberton Judo Club making the same false claim on their website and in communication with the public.
This might be connected to the coach appealing his initial expulsion from the BJA and the BJA Chair, Ronnie Saez, overturning the expulsion to 2 year’s suspension while allowing the suspended coach to remain an ordinary BJA member.
Imo, even basic safeguarding is secondary to maintaining the management “mate & minion” system for both BJA & BJC management if it secures their position & power.
SBE – 7 June 2021
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You are welcome to comment below or to join the GBJC FaceBook group for judo discussions in accordance with ethical group rules.
Ronnie Saez did apply to join the GBJC fb group but was unwilling to confirm he would abide by the rules and not repeat some of his previous unethical behaviour.
This had nothing to do with his previous record of handling other’s money since the FaceBook group doesn’t have any financial structure.
PS………………..many have asked why I bother to research and publish information about the rot in British judo?
Others question why keep quiet
now that there isn’t much more to lose?
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