If you ask judo coaches what's an important trait for a player to have, being coachable is usually one of the top answers.

What does "being coachable" mean? It means quite simply that you are willing to listen to instruction and do what you are told. It doesn't mean blind faith, of course, but to learn some new skill sets, you do have to trust that your coach knows what he is doing.

Assuming you do trust your coach, there should then be a certain amount of suspension of disbelief on your part. It might be counter-intuitive. Or maybe not even that logical. As long as what is being asked of you is reasonable, you should do it.

Some people are just not coachable. And that manifests itself in several ways. For example, they could be the type that just doesn't pay attention. You try to tell them something, and they appear to be listening but their mind is elsewhere. And when it comes time to do the technique, they have no clue what to do.

Or they could be the know-it-all type who think they already know what needs to be done. So, they listen to only a portion of what you have to say and then tune out the rest because, well, they already know what to do. Except they don't.

And then there are the types who just aren't bothered to learn. In all likelihood they don't even want to be there. Perhaps their parents are forcing them to learn judo. But their interest is clearly not there and they are just waiting for the class to end.

These are but three examples of players who are not coachable. There are many more examples. Such players might as well quit judo because if they are not coachable they will not go very far at all in judo.

Judo is such a tough sport. Some of the techniques are very complex and sometimes counter-intuitive. It's very hard to learn judo unless you pay serious attention during class and are willing to do what you are told to do. You have to be coachable.