Play Judo

Actually, Judo is a game... and a sport. An official sport. An olympic sport, even.

If you are studying Judo, or practicing Judo, a Judoka, and most martial artists, would agree that you are taking classes and spend a regular amount of time developing skills and such in the martial art of Judo. This could include Kata, ne wazza, tachi wazza, etc. However, if you say "we're playing Judo", it implies that you are going to go throw each other around, or have a formal match, or even free practice, called rondori.

When I go to competitions, I play Judo. When I go to my club, I practice/study Judo.

Goodman wrote:

Interesting comments on “play Judo”…To be honest, this is the first time I hear this usage. Here is my 2 cents worth and my interpretation.    John played his piano fantastically tonight - Musical instruments used for performance, concerts and entertainment, “play” is used. But John practiced his piano during rehearsal,   Mary plays basketball/ hockey for her school team- For games and sports. We use “play” for the action.   Paul practices martial arts/ Yoga/ Judo on his spare time- “Practice” is the verb associated with mental concentration, restrain and disciplines. i.e. practice caution, practice safe sex etc..

Hi Goodman,

Interesting insight!

My newphews are learning Akido. In school, they say practice; on the grass field, they say play.

However, as Mister Micawber stated in one of his posts and I agree with him that ESL students - to effective learn foreign languages - should not hold on to the rules and nuances of their own language too tight. They should build their foundation based on what are commonly used by the native first.

Best,
Hoa Thai

Hi,

Thanks to those programs, my English is getting better. The narrators speak slowly, clearly, and precisely. My vocabulary chest is filling up gradually.

However, I wish I could watch series about relationship and interaction between family members or people in regular daily life. Members of my English club and a majority of students in the universities think they would have better feeling of the language and the culture of the native speakers by watching those shows.

I teach Vietnamese to foreigners here in Saigon. I can see their struggle with the language as I've been struggling with English. The problem is that when our brains are wired to patterns that are natural to us, it is very difficult to absorb what seemingly odd to our ears. Phrases that we don't know, we literally translate. Sometimes, I can feel the resistance from my students in accepting colloquial expressions. Once they understand a bit deeper, they try again searching in their own language for another equivalent, and another, and another ... And the more they try, the slower they acquire the language. Those who do not question early in the learning process often advance quicker. Once they get a hang of the language, they start question the details and become more attuned to its intricacies. Eventually, some even can be very innovative and surpass the majority of native speakers. From my experience, that is the reason why children acquire the language skills faster than adults do.

That said, teachers must work harder in helping learners. Simple Yes or No sometimes leads the students down a wrong road. Important to foreign language learners are examples and more examples. What you've posted about 'single/plural' or 'play Judo' are excellent.

All the best,
Hoa Thai