Interview With USJA President Gary Goltz (Part 2 of 2)

Here's part 2 of the interview with Gary Goltz, the current President of the USJA.  In this part, we get a bit more in to what's going on with Judo in the US vs. the rest of the world, and how it can be grown...  If you didn't catch it, you can find part 1 here.

CM:  I recall that you mentioned that there were ~25,000 registered judoka in the US. About how many of those 25,000 are registered with the USJA?
GG: We have about 9,000 active members and about 20,000 life members - though many of those are inactive. The USJF and USA Judo have about the same in terms of active members.  There are many people who are members in more than one organization, which is how we arrived at the 25,000 total amount. If you count some of the other groups that aren't recognized by the NGB there may be about 30,000.

CM: When did US Judo participation peak, and how many folks were practicing at that point?
GG:  Right after WWII during the 50's and early 60's, judo was at an all-time high in this country perhaps twice the current amount.
CM:  So while we've seen the US population almost double, we've seen judo participation cut in half.
GG:  Exactly. During the 50's and 60's, we were the martial art. There wasn't that much karate, tae kwon do, aikido, kung fu, or any Brazilian jiu jitsu. You know, when I started judo in 1965, I watched the Green Hornet with Bruce Lee and I said to my dad I want to learn how to do that stuff... The next thing I know, I'm at my local Y enrolled in a 10 week judo class as that was all they had back then!

CM:  Do you think that the competition from other martial arts has pushed Judo to the background, or is it something that we in the Judo community have done to ourselves?
GG:  I think the judo community can take much of the credit. In the early days of judo, there was an aversion to anyone trying to do it professionally or trying to make money.  Some great players like Gene LeBell were ostracized and banned from tournaments.
Karate schools on the other hand spread like wild flowers into the strip malls and many successful businesses were born. Stars like Chuck Norris and the striking arts got more popular while judo moved to the back-burner.
Since we never got connected to high schools like wrestling, we really had nowhere to go. Judo wasn't expanding commercially or non-commercially.


CM:  It's true... there are a ton of clubs - I'll even include myself in this - that just aren't trying to make any money.  You don't seem to see that in other arts.  Where did this sentiment come from?
GG:  The old AAU (Amateur Athletic Union) as I understand it was based on the notion that only amateurs could compete in events like the Olympics.  And they used to govern judo along with the JBBF (now the USJF).

CM: Do you have any sense for what is going on with Judo in other countries... France, Japan, Brazil?  Have they been growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
GG:  I'd say that judo is still growing. It's very popular in those countries, and in the former Soviet Republics - Russia, Georgia, etc., it's obviously popular in Asian as well as Central and South America, even in Africa judo is gaining ground.

CM:  So why is judo growing in these places and shrinking here?
GG:  I think we may have bottomed out and are starting to come back. One of the things that we're seeing is mixed martial arts schools and Brazilian jiu jitsu academies have begun embracing judo. In the USJA, we're trying to broaden our appeal too promoting judo as a great way to stay in shape while and learning self-defense skills.


CM:  So why do you think that Judo is so much more popular in France (and most of the rest of the world) than it is here?  Can it all be explained by cultural factors, or are there things that we should learn from their Judo community to apply here in the States?  And if so, what?
GG:  There are several reasons: They have national organizations that are supported by their governments in terms of money and authority. They have a single national standard (the judo that you learn over there is much more consistent). Their tournaments are televised and they've had a lot of success at the Olympics. Another thing that the French and the British did was from the beginning they took what they learned from the Japanese and interpreted in a manner oriented towards Westerners. For something to succeed in America, it has to be American... we have to make it a part of the American culture. If you look at Karate, they have done a great job of that. Also in other countries competition is geared towards teenagers and young adults. Here in the states we tend to push judo like a Pop Warner football league on kids. We need to be smarter in our marketing approach understanding that people come to judo for different reasons and that not everyone wants to be an Olympic champion.


CM:  Changing gears a bit - or maybe not - what is your personal opinion of the IJF rules, particularly the latest leg-grab changes? 
GG:  After these rules went into effect, I became much more serious about refereeing. I didn't want to be teaching my students something that would get them disqualified in a tournament. I have mixed feelings about the new rules. I like them in some ways - the quality of judo that you see in tournaments is better overall. You really are seeing more quality throws. On the other hand, I think that leg grabs are important. When I started judo, I did it for self-defense. Well, people grab your legs in a fight and you need to know how to handle that situation. There has to be some moderation where you encourage good stand-up judo, but you don't take so much out of it that it becomes unrealistic. Another thing for people to realize is that there are now many grappling and no gi tournaments outside of the main stream of judo which provide opportunities to still use these leg grabs, pick-ups, and even some striking techniques.
CM:  That's true, but like you said, people are going to end up teaching what is legal in a tournament, and most coaches are only sending people to IJF-rules judo tournaments.  So tournament-legal judo is all they are being taught, and that, then, doesn't work well in these other competitions...
GG:  You can always teach your students based on what tournament they are going to. Versatile instructors should be able to make the adjustments to fit each situation.


CM:  So if you could design the rules, how would you do it?  What would the Gary Goltz judo rules be?
GG:  Instead of hansokumake [immediate disqualification] for the leg grabs, I'd make it a shido [a lesser penalty]. It’s pretty devastating to hansokumake somebody because they got excited and grabbed a leg. It's too extreme and shido should be used as a warning to put the rule back in their head and let them continue with the match.

CM:  Does the USJA sanction tournaments that don't use IJF rules?
GG:  It depends on the situation. If they just want to use just ippon and wazari like in the olden days sure, we'll sanction it. However, if somebody wants to allow kawazu gake [leg entanglement, a dangerous banned technique] then we won't sanction it. It really depends on whether we can in good consciousness support it and provide liability insurance.
CM:  But it's not a matter of "If it's not IJF, we won't sanction it"...  But if it's safe and reasonable...
GG:  Almost all tournaments deviate from the IJF standards in one way or another. For example, the IJF requires a huge mat area for the Olympics, but at most local events they use smaller mat areas. So there are almost always some modifications.  Bottom-line is if it's dangerous regardless of the IJF rules, we won't sanction it.


CM:  What is the significance of IJF rules to most US Judoka?  That is, should we pay any attention to them, given that most of us will never compete in an international tournament? 
GG:  Well, they are relevant because most tournaments in the US use those rules. But like we said most competitors don’t think about competing in the Olympics and world championships. They compete within their local area and that's it. These are the people the USJA needs to focus on. To this end, the USJA and USJF formed its Grassroots Judo alliance with the goal of fostering participation in all aspects of judo. 

CM:  When I started Judo in the 90s, it seemed that the 3 big Judo organizations were constantly competing with one another, likely to the detriment of Judo.  I know nowadays, I can at least compete in a USJF-sanctioned tournament with my USJA membership, so it seems that there is at least some level of cooperation.  Are the other examples of such cooperation?  What, if anything, should we expect in the future?
GG:  Absolutely. The USJA and USJF the Grassroots Judo alliance now encompasses our joint Junior Nationals, Winter Nationals, and several other events. Another thing we’re doing is the USJA, USJF, along with USA Judo are communicating regularly to improve the brand of judo and we're working on a joint marketing initiative. The best part is that now if we have a problem with each other we feel comfortable picking up the phone and calling one of our counterparts to work it out.
CM:  That's great.  Are there any other examples?
GG:  Yes. Last year we issued a Triad Positioning Statement, where we said that our goal was to grow judo in the US. We no longer see pilfering members from each other’s organizations as a real growth strategy. We now defined "growing judo" as getting more (new) feet on the mat.


CM:  Is there a need for 3(+) organizations?  Do any of them serve a unique role, other than USA Judo and it's affiliation with the Olympics?  Is it better for the US to have many organizations tocan compete and hopefully innovate, or do you feel that we could get more done under one big umbrella?
GG:  The American Way is that we American's like choices. When you go to buy a car, you can look at Ford, at a Chevy, and many others. The USJA and USJF are working well together now and learning from each other. We each have different areas of expertise. I think that having the USJA and the USJF focused on growing Grassroots Judo™ with USA Judo focused on taking our best athletes to prepare them for the Olympics and the world championships as a viable plan. It would probably be cheaper if there was a single organization as there would be less overhead. But we're only going to get there by taking baby steps, building trust and letting nature take its course.


CM:  Thanks a ton for your time, Gary.  I really appreciate it.

Interview with USJA President Gary Goltz (Part 1 of 2)

When USJA President Gary Goltz paid us a visit, he agreed to an interview for the blog.  He's been really awesome, as I have had a ton of questions for him over the course of several phone calls.  I've been working on transcribing this interview in my weekly 30 minutes of free time, and it is taking a while, so I figured I would go ahead and post what I have (as it has some pretty good stuff to digest), and then I'll post the next part when I wrap it up.  Enjoy!  (Editor's note - there were some revisions added after the initial posting, as Gary wanted to add a bit more detail to some areas.  And you can find part 2 here.)

CM: Let me start with an easy one: What does the USJA do, exactly? What happens to my $45/year? I know about the insurance, but what else?
GG: We are a national accreditation body that provides sanctions as well as insurance for events. The insurance cost is around $20+ and is definitely the largest part of the $45, the remainder of the money goes towards overhead; we have an office, and executive director, a full time staff, equipment, postage, taxes, a website, and a database that we need to maintain, and lots of phones!  So in short, every penny of that $45 goes towards running the USJA.

CM: And here is another one: other than touring the country teaching fantastic clinics, what does a USJA president do? What are your responsibilities/duties/superpowers?
GG:   First and foremost, I’m a member of the board of directors - as such; it's my responsibility to promote the goals and mission of the USJA. Beyond that, a big part of the president's job as I see it is public relations. Having come into the position after being the Chief Operating Officer for 4 years, I had a lot of knowledge of what our operation entails. In addition I'm pretty much the untitled Chief Fundraising Officer, working to bring in new donors and nurturing our existing donors as well. By the way did I mention that when I went from COO to President my salary was doubled!  All kidding aside my approach towards leadership in the USJA is based on this credo -

• Honorably serving our members with communication founded on reality based information, positive, productive and ethical thinking
• Following judo’s core principles of maximum efficiency with minimum effort and mutual welfare and benefit with the goal of developing good character
• Remembering the spirit of our founders; Jim Bregman, the late George Harris, Karl Geis, and others in terms of the high standards they strived for

 
CM: Can you tell me more about the fundraising? Who are the big donors, and where does this money go?
GG:  We have companies like GTMA, Judo Unlimited, and Black Belt Magazine where the USJA gets some revenue. We have member donors like Andy Connelly our club leader in Texas who gives a donation of $100 every month on his Visa card, Dr. James Lally who is a board member has been our donor of the year for over 5 years, and there are countless others. Every donation helps defray our membership fees.
CM: I'm sure that's a big help to the organization...
GG: If we just went off of the $45, we wouldn't have enough money to run. We haven't had a price increase in years; that's where the donations come into play.

CM: Looking at this post, can you tell me what where you come out on some of the issues raised?

Technology Resources:

GG: Our Coaches Portal was the result of a complete make over of our entire database. It is now interactive so our club leaders can look up promotion information and membership expirations online.

Help for Fledgling Clubs:

GG: Beyond providing liability insurance for clubs, through our supplier partnerships our clubs can receive discounts on tatamis and gis. Another thing we've done do for our members is instituted background screening not only for coaches but for all black belts. And we’re in the process of developing a marketing manual for USJA clubs. As for your Mat Co-op Exchange idea, you're not the first person to think of that. We could definitely do something along those lines. We just need someone to take the initiative and get it going. We are always looking for volunteers.

Help to Start Tournaments:

GG: We offer sanctions for $25 and have a referee as well as a technical officials committee to help support tournaments. Our IT (volunteer) Director, John Moe developed a free Scoreboard Program for running matches. We use this at the Winter Nationals and all my club’s events.  It’s excellent, easy to use, and always up to date.   

Setting Promotion Standards:

GG: The USJA promotion system has always been one of our selling points. We're more up-front with what you have to do and more objective. If somebody meets those criteria, it's generally a done deal. Along the same lines, we try to keep our standards current. We're in the process of updating them as we speak. Sid Kelly, the creator Kelly's Capers and head of our promotion board, has revised our senior promotion system. I've had a chance to go through it and it looks a lot like the modern approaches taken by countries where judo is really proliferating. Hal Sharp, who wrote The Sport of Judo and many other books, is doing the same with our junior promotion system and junior manual. Our goal is to have these rolled out by the 1st quarter of 2012. It's been a big undertaking and those guys are doing a great job.

Term Limits for Any Positions of Influence:

GG: The USJA board adopted them a few years ago. I was one of the people who raised this as an issue. Now board members can only serve two terms then they have to sit out for 2 terms before they can run again. The terms are four years. This is my first term as president, so I would be eligible to come back and serve again then I'd have to bow out. You know we have a quality team of board members and Katrina Davis is an outstanding Executive Director with 20 years’ experience. They are intelligent and have common sense. While there will always be some disagreements, every one of them is committed to the USJA and making good decisions

Spreading Knowledge:

GG: Our online magazine, Growing Judo is one of the greatest support arms to the membership.  Joan Love our Vice President, who is its editor, puts her heart and soul into each issue. I've seen the publications that the USJA has put out for the last 40 years, as well as the ones from other national and even international organizations and can say that "Growing Judo" is among the best judo publications ever. We cover the entire geography of the USJA. There's a section on new clubs, promotions, human interest stories, articles on how to grow your club, etc.  Among the clinics we offer are coach certification, referee certification, kata certification, Kelly’s Capers, and just about anything you want to learn we try to find someone within a stone's throw of our clubs who could come in and teach.

OK, so that's our ballgame for part one. I hope you enjoyed it, and stay tuned for part 2...  It gets even better!

Interview with "Rowdy" Ronda Rousey

Ronda "Rowdy" Rousey, World Championships silver medalist and the first-ever US woman to medal at the Olympics - not to mention undefeated MMA wrecking ball, was kind enough to grant me an interview.  Read on...

Chad:  First question: Is the "Rou" in Rousey pronounced like the "row" in rowdy, or the "roo" in rooster? I am embarrased to say that I have been to one of your clinics (in Fredericksburg, VA), and while I did come away with some awesome drills and techniques, I still thought your name was pronounced like ROO-see. Go figure.

Ronda Rousey:  It's pronounce ROW as in ROWDY - but I don't mind the ROO pronunciation, it sounds more exotic :)
Chad:  Ronda "The Exotic Rooster" Rousey - I can definitely see an apparrel line or something coming from that... 

CM:  I know that you and other top level Judoka focus a lot on the gripping in Judo. Has the lack of a gi altered how you approach applying Judo in an MMA setting? Does your approach change over the course of a match?
RR:  The lack of a gi threw me off a little at first. But once I got the hang of working with no gi, I had developed a more unorthodox style. In mma people are mostly used to dealing with wrestling/bjj style grappling, so I feel that gives me an edge.


CM:  What do you like about Judo in MMA? What do you not like? Or perhaps I should say, what has worked and not worked?
RR:  Well since people don't have handles on them anymore I can't do some of my favorite throws that involved exposing my back. But then I was able to improve a lot on foot sweeps and other techniques that I wasn't particularly good at in competitive judo. Also judo is one of the few grappling arts that enforces good posture, so one with a judo background doesn't telegraph wether they're going to strike or come in to clinch in the way wrestlers do - cause they don't have to change levels before going for a takedown.

CM:  Were there any surprises in your transition over to MMA? Was anything easier or more difficult than you expected? Had you done much kicking and punching before?
RR:  No I hadn't done any striking before, but that also meant I didn't have any bad habits and I've been able to learn things the right way since the beginning. I was surprised that I could take a punch so well, and I was surprised about how much I don't know. There's so much I have to learn, it can be a bit daunting, but the process of learning an entirely new sport has been an amazing and fun experience.

CM:  How do we make Judo more attractive to the MMA crowd? Specifically, for a guy who is teaching Judo in an MMA gym, do you have any advice for me?
RR:  Teach judo throws with the gi and with no gi. People often ask me what's the difference between wrestling and no-gi judo. I define the difference as all the throws that take a lot of strength to pull off are wrestling, the effortless ones are judo.

CM:  What is the future of Women's MMA, especially with the UFC having purchased Strikeforce? I think I saw that you just signed a deal with them - do you think they will keep Strikeforce around as a separate entity? Will they introduce women's divisions into the UFC?
RR:  I think they eventually will introduce women into the UFC, we'll know more two years from now when strikeforce's contract with showtime runs out. I'm doing all I can to try and make WMMA seem more profitable, I just have to perform well and look good while I'm at it. But I dunno, it's possible Zuffa will keep strikeforce around as kind of a "feeder" organization for the UFC. Like minor and major league baseball.

CM:  Have you ever gotten tired of Judo? And I don't just mean were there certain training sessions that you would have rather skipped, but have you ever just wanted to take a break from Judo? For that matter, are you taking a break from Judo now?
RR:  I'm never going to compete in judo again. Frankly I'm over that whole lifestyle of competing internationally. Towards the end I no longer enjoyed training and felt I had no say over my own career. Now I have several coaches and a manager and we all make decisions together. I feel like they really respect and listen to any input I have and we try our best to work together and make it work. I don't have to deal with anyone treating me like a child or deal with a national governing body that can't stand me. I don't have to scrape and beg for funding or deal with drama caused by living with my teammates either. All I have to worry about is fighting, and my staff takes care of everything else. Moving over to MMA is the best decision I ever made.

CM:  Do you plan to make a go at the 2012 Olympics, or is MMA the sole focus right now? And if not 2012, do you foresee maybe making a go of the 2016 games?
RR:  I did plan on going to 2012 just because I didn't know what else to do with myself besides compete in judo. It was the only real skill I had (besides bartending). I knew I didn't like it, but felt I didn't have any other options. I'm so happy with my current career now, and don't feel the slightest inclination to go back to judo. I love doing judo and teaching it, but competing is not for me anymore. That said I'm going to both the 2012 and 2016 games to cheer for team USA and party my butt off, but that's about it.

CM:  Was your mom your first Judo coach, or did she outsource it? When did you start working with Jimmy Pedro, Sr.? What other coaches have had a major impact on you, both from Judo and MMA?
RR:  My mom always volunteered to take a backseat in my training. She taught me all she could but never insisted on being my head coach. And I'm glad she did because I really needed a Mom, someone I could cry and complain to when training was over. You have to hate you coach some days, that's their job, and I didn't want to hate my mother. I started working with the Pedros when I was 16, they kicked me out and invited me back several times between 2003-2009 when I finally quit and left on my own. I've had dozens of coaches help me for shorter periods during my career, including the Cohens, Numerous coaches from Nanka (SoCal), and Isreal Hernandez who traveled with me and sat in my chair from 07-08, but I had the longest relationship with the Pedros.
In MMA Gokor Chivichyan (grappling), Edmond Taverdyan (striking), and Leo Frincu (wrestling/conditioning) are my main corners. I also receive help from Gene Lebell(grappling), Anthony Hardonk (striking) and Henry Akins (BJJ).

CM:  Along those lines, you started judo fairly late in life compared to most Olympians. How on earth did you get so good so quickly?
RR:  My first judo tournament was on my 11th birthday, my mother started when she was 12. I don't know how I made my first Olympic team in only 6 years... I guess fighting is just part of who I am and comes naturally.

CM:  How do you pay the bills? And how do you balance the need to pay bills with the need to train? Is that now easier as an MMA athlete than strictly a Judo athlete?
RR:  It is soooooo much easier making ends meet in MMA. At first it was difficult, as switching careers always is regardless of what you do. But now that I'm signed with strikeforce and have Darin Harvey, possibly the best manager on God's green Earth, I have nothing to worry about beside winning.

What I Want From a National Organization

In honor of our upcoming visit by USJA President Gary Goltz (7/16/11), I wanted to go ahead and get this post out that has been lingering in my brain since I started this blog, and I'll see what I can find out from Sensei Goltz about what the USJA does, and what on this list they may be willing to consider.

Let me preface this by saying that I don't honestly know what the USJA, the USJF, or USA Judo actually do... they may do some of this, all of it, or none of it (well, I am pretty sure that they all do at least some). 

What I Want (in no particular order):

• Technology Resources:  Web site templates designed for a judo club, templates designed for tourney hosts (including the ability for participants to register and pay), easy online forms (like registration, promotion, etc), and probably some other stuff.  And of course, a decent web site - that doesn't advertise stamp collections.
• Help for Fledgling Clubs:  Some sort of mat lend/lease program to help people get a few mats for practice (and I'd be willing to bet that there are plenty of established clubs that could donate some old mats to such a program - because how easy would it be for folks to start garage dojos at that point, which could then grow to be larger clubs), the aforementioned web site template, sample liability release forms, a "things to consider" checklist when you are starting up a club...
• Help to Start Tournaments:  As before, some sort of matt lend/lease program, though this may not be feasible since the number of mats needed would be much greater, and the duration of the need much shorter.  But perhaps in some regions, a common pool of tourney mats could be purchased, and you would just need to pay a wear and tear fee to use them when you hosted a tourney.  Also the technology stuff mentioned before.  I'd want options for the rule applicable rule set/tourney format (as described here and here) to provide standards, but also allow flexibility and creativity to meet the goals of the tourney host and participants.  And, as with starting a club, tips on how to get started would be awfully helpful.
• Setting (Flexible) Promotion Standards:  I don't think that all green belts should know exactly the same thing, but I do find it helpful to know what a standard green belt should look like.  Said differently, while I don't want an organization mandating a specific list of skills for each promotion, I do like having guidelines.  There is also a matter of quality control, particularly at higher ranks, but I am not clear on how to really achieve this.  After all, you can't really set objective criteria for what a 6th Dan should look like... at least, I don't think you can.  It starts to get esoteric after a certain point.  And you also have the clique effect that tends to over-promote some and under-promote others.  Read on for more on that point.
• Term Limits for Any Positions of Influence:  I'm not a political insider - so I honestly don't know what the state of affairs is within the USJA or any other organization, so I'm certainly not pointing fingers.  But I do know that there is a tendency for cliques to form in any organization, and when the cliques form, you start to have an environment where the clique tends to look out for its own interests at the expense of those outside the clique.  When those cliques then get in positions of power within the organization, the effect is worse.  This could manifest itself in promotions being given more frequently to insiders, or in the suppression of any "rebels" who try to affect change.  Term limits would help prevent any cliques from becoming too entrenched.  That said, it may also be that there is a shortage of folks who actually want to serve in these positions, and if that's the case, then forget the term limit idea.
• Insurance:  As far as I know, every organization provides this.  Not sure if they have pooled together yet, though, which could save us a few bucks...
• Spreading Knowledge:  Having exposure to instructors other than your "regular" one is crucial, so having an opportunity to attend clinics and camps is huge.  The national organizations should subsidize clinics, at least to a point.  Maybe if remote club X can get at least Y attendees, then the national org will fly someone out there once every other year, or something like that.  I recognize that you can't do too much of this on a limited budget, so it's more of a nice-to-have.  I think the Kelley's Capers series is a great idea that kind of gets at what I am talking about.  And while I am talking about spreading knowledge, I want to give a quick shout-out to Chuck Wall in Fredericksburg.  He's been awesome about bringing people in from all over, and I just want to say that I really appreciate it.  I've either had my kids' birthday parties or injuries during the last couple of clinics, but I'll be back up there next time.  And a big thanks to Leo Valdes for setting up our upcoming visit by Gary Goltz.

What I Don't Want (again, in no particular order, and I'll be honest, many of these are directed at the USJA):

• To have to fill out my life's history on a promotion form... I paid good money for *you* to record when I got promoted to Nikyu so that I wouldn't have to remember.
• To have to pay $150 for a stinking promotion.  That's just silly.
• A 30-page document detailing promotion requirements including such marvels as "Demonstrate Seiza."
• Too much concern about international competition.  Don't get me wrong, I am thrilled to see our folks medal in the various world championships, and I realize that it takes support to get there.  But I think right now, given the state of Judo in the US, my membership dollar would be better spent on growing the judo population (by doing things like helping fledgling clubs) and improving the quality.  Having more and better competitors will naturally lead to better international competitors, I think.  And of course, when the IJF makes some arbitrary rule change, our national organizations shouldn't then go an ram that down our throats.
• Maintaining a training center.  I think, back when I started in the 90's, the USJA had some training center in Colorado...  I'm sure it was cool, but I never could get out there.  Neither could probably 95% of the other members.  So don't take our money to pay for a training center that the vast majority will not use.  Maybe when we get our membership up to such levels that the national org has oodles of discretionary income, then we can build a "Kodokan of the US"  - but not until then.
• Competing with other national orgs.  It is silly to me that there are 3 big national judo organizations.  And sillier still that they should sometimes be working at cross-purposes.  It seems that a lot of this is getting straightened out (now a USJF member can compete in a USJA tourney, for instance), but I suspect that there is still room to improve.  Just fold them all together.  Or at least fold in the JA and JF, if USA Judo has to be separate for Olympic reasons...

So those are the things I want, and some that I don't.  What did I miss?  And where did I miss the mark?  And are there any insiders out there who can shed light on what is already being done?