I won in minor competitions with them, then major competitions,
became Dutch champion and finally European champion. But I noticed
that my Judo was by no means perfect. In Judo circles, they had
started talking about me as " the man with Okuri-Ashi-Harai,
or De-Ashi-Harai"
The result was that they started
preparing themselves for my Ashi-Waza, which made it more and
more difficult for me to win with De-Ashi-Harai or Okuri-Ashi-Harai.
If I wanted to remain successful, I realised, I should have to
extend my competition arsenal.
To sum up, judo is a mental and physical discipline whose lessons are readily applicable to the management of our daily lives.
I am not good at blocking and fending attacks; therefore,
I lack the confidence to stand and wait to see what the opponent
is going to do. I prefer to move deliberately and quickly into
attacks. My shouts of "come on" are merely a device
to quiet my own insecurity. I am by no means embarrassed to admit
this weakness, because, as I have explained at some length, no
one is without weak points and a knowledge of them and an earnest
desire to overcome them can become springboards to the development
of greater strength.