Learning English Through Judo & Everyday Life

Ryan
Mar 18
3 min read

When learning a new language, context matters. That’s why, in our first class, we integrated English learning with something familiar: Judo and daily life activities.

🔹 A Unique Approach: Storytelling & Judo & English

At the student's request, he wanted to read a children’s story as part of his learning process. We chose If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. To make the lesson more relevant to his Judo practice, I took sentences from the story and adapted them into actionable commands he could use in his Judo class. This method helped bridge the gap between understanding English and using it in a real-world teaching environment.

🔹 The Lesson Plan

We focused on practical vocabulary and sentence structures that apply both to Judo and everyday life. This method helps students remember words more naturally by connecting them to real-life actions.

📌 Key Vocabulary & Sentences

🟢 Ask

Story: "He's going to ask for a glass of milk."
Judo: "Ask your partner if they're ready before starting the practice."

🟢 Look

Story: "He'll want to look in the mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache."
Judo: "Look at your opponent's feet to see their next move."

🟢 Hold

Story: "You have to hold the straw for him."
Judo: "Hold your partner's gi firmly for a secure grip."

🟢 Give

Story: "When you give him the milk, he'll probably ask for a straw."
Judo: "Give your partner time to prepare before the throw."

🟢 Need

Story: "What will you need if your hair needs a trim?"
Judo: "You need to maintain balance to execute the throw correctly."

By using the same words in two different contexts, students naturally improve their comprehension and retention.

🔹 Personalized Learning: Setting Goals

At the start of the lesson, we assessed the student’s current level and learning goals using a short survey:

What is your current English level?
Which skill do you feel MOST confident in? (Speaking, Listening, Reading, etc.)
Which skill do you need the MOST improvement in?
Why are you learning English? (Travel, Career, Hobby, etc.)
How often do you use English?
How do you prefer to learn? (Conversations, Watching TV, Reading, etc.)
Have you used SMART goals or WOOP goals before?

This helps us tailor the lessons so they match the student’s learning style and real-life needs.

🔹 Teaching Approach

In this class, we combined listening, speaking, and movement to make learning more interactive and memorable.

✔️ Practical application: Using real-world situations (e.g., practicing English while giving directions in Judo).

✔️ Movement-based learning: Connecting words to actions makes retention easier.

✔️ Goal-oriented learning: Encouraging students to track their progress with SMART or WOOP goals.

🔹 Reflection: What Went Right & What Went Wrong?

✅ What Went Right:

My Master’s degree in Positive Coaching and Sports created a natural connection with the student.
The integration of movement and language learning made the session engaging.
Incorporating a children's story into the lesson made learning more relatable and helped connect classroom learning to real-world application.

❌ What Went Wrong:

Conflicting schedules made consistent lessons difficult.
My Korean level at the time didn’t match his English, which may have impacted communication.
He became too busy with work trips and Judo commitments, as he is quite well-known in the Judo world.

This experience reinforced an important lesson: Timing and availability matter as much as teaching methods.

🚀 Looking Ahead: What’s Next?

These two classes were my shortest ever in two years. I decided to start with my biggest failure first. Well, I suppose I don’t know if it was a failure because I never got the full story, but I assume I didn’t get fired for the right reasons there. Of course, there is no perfect coach, but there are times when the perfect English learner arrives to connect with the coach. It just wasn’t our time.

In our next lesson, we’ll build on these words and introduce new practical vocabulary that aligns with both Judo and everyday communication.

Each session will bring progress, challenge, and practical skills to help students become more confident English speakers.

If you’re interested in learning English through movement, context, and real-life application, let’s train together! 💪🔥

Also, if you’re looking for an incredible Judo coach, I’ll be adding his Instagram here soon—he’s truly one of the best! 🥋🔥

📩 Have a story about your English learning experience?

Feel free to write a post or record a video about your journey and share it with us!