You're Starting Late? You're Right On Time!

Anna and Team
Jul 7
2 min read

There’s a lie that floats around dojos, often unspoken but deeply felt: If you didn’t start young, you’ll always be behind.

Behind on belts. Behind on timing. Behind on everything.

(Background story for this is that I was recently told that "judo is a children's sport". WTF?)

I call BS.

This post is for the judoka who started late, came back after years away, or constantly feels like they’re playing catch-up. You’re not behind. You’re just building something different.

The Myth of Catching Up

So many adults walk onto the mat thinking they’re 10 years behind. They see teens with sharp timing, young adults with flexibility and fast recovery, and they shrink.

What they don’t realise is that others' path totally doesn't matter. We all have our own agenda we need to focus on.

Your timeline doesn’t need to match theirs. You’re not catching up to them. You’re catching up to yourself—the version of you that trains, grows, and stays in the fight.

Different Life, Different Fight

When you start later in life, you’re bringing baggage—but you’re also bringing strength.

You’ve probably:

Had kids
Changed careers
Lived through loss, stress, trauma, and joy

That all counts. That shapes how you train. You don’t just do judo for fitness or medals. You do it because it makes you feel like yourself again.

So no—you’re not behind. You’re just walking in with context and fire.

Progress Is Personal

You don’t need a medal or a belt to measure progress. Try these instead:

Did you show up when you didn’t feel like it?
Did you ask for help instead of pretending to know?
Did you stop comparing yourself—for even five minutes?
Did you grip longer, scramble harder, or shake off a bad round without spiralling?

That’s progress. The kind that sticks.

You’re not behind. You’re not broken. You’re not playing catch-up.

You’re building your path in a system that wasn’t designed for you—and doing it anyway.

That’s not behind. I say that’s pretty badass.