AUCKLAND – 11.59 EST. Visitors to the New Zealand Judo Federation website have been registering their shock and confusion on finding that the promotion of Judo in New Zealand has been left in the hands of a muppet. A new initiative by the NZJF sees a series of flash animations used to promote Judo in this country. The animations pair slogans with Judo images. The first is uses an “inspirational” quote from the muppet designed by Jim Hansen in the 1980s called Yoda: “There is no try; only do.” It appears that the pairing of this fictional, hand-puppet and an image of a Judo player will inspire the young in their hoards to start and continue with the sport we all love.
Hard questions, however, are being asked of the campaign by existing Judoka because another of the animations looks to alienate a group that is, potentially, the largest player base in this country: “Judo – if it was easy, it would be called rugby.” Others have taken issue with the animation that uses a phrase taken from famous country music singer Gretchen Wilson about being a redneck slut:
I work hard, I play harder
I'm a good-timin' American daughter
Redneck, blue collar
And I party down to my last dollar
I work hard, I work hard, I work hard
I play harder
One can only speculate how uptight North Shore Judo MILFs will be when they become aware of that.
The only of the animations, barring the two good quotes from Kano, that has yet to draw any criticism is the one appropriated from a line of cheap, plastic “motivational” bracelets: “Dream, believe, achieve.”
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