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Excepted from "Eagles of the Mat by Sensei Ben Campbell; This article was frst publislud in the summer of '86; We at USIA Coachfeel that it is important enough to reprint it nqa.ears ago, when JimBregmary Paul Maruyama,and I were young, halfcrazy, and in heavy trainingat Meiji University inTokyO I never thought that fifteenyears later there would ever be a daythat I was not on a judo mat! Thingshappen in life, and styles change. As Isit here in my studio that overlooks theSacred Sundance Grounds of the UteIndians, I wonder where that worldwent.An eagle, floating by the bluff where Ilive is intent on finding some'nsuspecting prey for dinner, and mylloughtsare of the great distancebetween the eagle and the world I wasin at Meiji. I reflect on the intensity ofthis eagle, and the intensity of thosejudo players aspiring to be Eagles of theMat. I remember the German saying ofan old friend when admonishingstudents not to let trifles interfere withtheir primary objectives in life - "eaglesdo not hunt flies." I still believe in it.No one accomplishes anything in life ifthey cannot focus their attention,dedicate their efforts, and sacrifice time,vanity, and in some cases, their blood.I think of all the judo men whom I metin years passed, and what separated theeagles from the rest, and find thatbarring freak accidents, the separatingfactors were really very simple:dedicatiory time, sacrifice, and someself-denial. The students at Meiji were"' :lassic example of what a judo man's'Vo.ity o.,gf,ito be. Let me tell you ashort, true story.One day fim Bregman was practicingwith a young man named Seki (whichmeans "stone" in japanese - and hecertainly was). Seki had only one thingon his mind when practicing withanyone - mayhem. In a tangle, Sekiand Jim somehow hit the mat withSeki's face on top of Jim's head,connecting with such force that Seki'sfront teeth broke off and they stuck inJim's head! They stopped only longenough to control Seki's bleeding, andfor |im to pull the teeth out of his head,and then they continued.Neither ofthem missed a day of practice. Thenext dap Seki appeared with two newgold teeth and a swollen lip, and jimappeared with a goose egg and maybea stitch or two. The point is that theyhad their priorities straight, and neitherwould let anything interfere with theirpractice. Both became Eagles of theMat. It was not an isolated incidentwith Seki's teeth in jim's head: thereare many such happenings that I knowof. There are many players that areEagles of the Mat.Eagles are very special, you know.Indians say they are very wise, andwere sent by the Creator to be keepersof the Earth, not only because of theirimpressive skills, but because of theirdemeanor, their dignity, their poise,grace and expression of freedom. Thequalities of an eagle have been held asvirtues by man since the beginning oftime. That is why he is the nationalsymbol of so many countries, and whencarefully studied, many of his virtuesare what judo players strive for. Theremay be different names for it ordifferent ways of describing what weare after, but I am certain readers knowwhat I am trying to say.Remember this: all facets of judo areimportant.toumamentwins,Physical skills, selfdefense,good health, and thegrowth of a strong organization, are allpieces of a big picture that can only becomplete if all the parts are therq justas an eagle cannot be complete withoutthe abstract facet of dignity or theconcrete facet of talons. Do not be soinvolved in what you are doing thatyou lose sight of figoro Kano's originalconcept of what judo is supposed to beabout.Remember that judo is a physicalvehicle by which to reach a mental,spiritual, and emotional ftrllness of life.Lfui' [-fi-[e*"i'il''''ry#,,,.lffiOnly $35,95 pius $zsn >&iiA,l ,l9.t'tt.rr5,D to fficrl