Moments of Reflection

Moments of Shame, Punishment & Redemption

Having given his all in the age/weight contest on Saturday, the young man you see above was overcome by thirst. This was not a problem, however, as the players that make up the Japan Masters are more than hospitable (if not generous to a fault). At the after match function the warm hand of hospitality was extended to our friend. Furthermore, the Japanese Masters took care to seat him between two of the most jovial, well-mannered, good-hearted and friendly, non-English speaking Judoka you could find anywhere. But all was not what it seemed. Rather than merely quenching his thirst, our friend was exposed to a level of tag-team Judo only practised by those in and beyond their 50th year in the game. I can’t remember the exact translation but the name of their waza was something like the waza of the "ever-filling cup." Made cunning by age, the Japanese Masters raised toast after toast. "Good fight tomorrow!" "Good fight tomorrow!" How could our friend refuse? He was, after all, thirsty.
After the private toasts came the official ceremony. Beers...toasts...and clapping...followed by beers...toasts...and singing...which was, in turn, followed by Sake..toasts..and clapping...and Sake...toasts...and singing. Then, somewhere along the way (shortly after Pat Toner got dragged off the stage mid-verse singing Molly Malone), our friend met with his doom and Japanese wine. Apparently it all went sideways -- private Karaoke booths, Samurai’s, Van Halen covers, and a bottle of Sake that stood 2 foot tall. Needless to say he missed the second day of competition! There was no “good fight tomorrow.” The old Judokas had won without even stepping on the mat. Further, after the illness, spewing, spinning room and having to pay for another nights accommodation, our friend had to face the wraith and the disappointment of his team (mostly Rick). Oh the shame...the SHAME!
In the days that followed all was put right. The judiciary metered out a stern sentence, wrong’s were put right, and the boys had a beer bitch for the day!

[The judiciary]

Masters Moments of Glory I: Bob (Scar face) Mitchell Choking Opponent

NZ Masters Judo Medal Haul

Congratulations to the NZ Masters Judo Team who competed in the All Japan Masters International Judo Championships in Akita, Japan (Oct 17 – Oct 19, 2008). Special congratulations to the medal winners: Pat Toner (silver), Bob Mitchell (1* gold, 1* bronze), Graeme Culling (silver), Allan Lovell, and Rick Littlewood (bronze).

Satoshi Ishii to Debut in MMA on New Years

Satoshi Ishii won the Olympic judo heavyweight gold medal in Beijing, and that made him a star in Japan.

But the 21-year-old Ishii is giving up on judo and taking his talents to a new sport: mixed martial arts. The Japanese newspaper Sports Nippon is reporting (via FightOpinion.com) that Ishii will make his MMA debut at the New Year's Eve at K-1 Dynamite event at Saitama Super Arena.

Ishii has been talking about switching to MMA since almost the moment the gold medal was put around his neck; he challenged Fedor Emelianenko in August and has been talking about MMA regularly since then. With few opportunities to make a living in Olympic sports like judo, taekwondo and wrestling, MMA is likely to be the professional option for increasing numbers of Olympians.



[see: http://mma.fanhouse.com/2008/10/28/olympic-judo-gold-medalist-satoshi-ishii-to-make-mma-debut-on-ne/]

IJF Respond to "Boring" Oylmpics With New Rules

The following are alterations to the current rules to be tested at the WC Junior Bangkok ’08.

Scoring
The number of scores will be reduced to: YUKO, WAZA-ARI and IPPON.

Timing in Osaekomi-Waza
The time for Osaekomi will be reduced up to 20 seconds.
10 sec. = Yuko
15 sec. = Waza-ari
20 sec. = Ippon.

Scale of Penalties
The scale of penalties is reduced to 3 Shidos:
1. Shido = YUKO for opponent.
2. Shido = Waza-ari for the opponent.
3. Shido = Ippon for the opponent.
(the third Shido obviously means Hansoku-make)

Golden Score
The “Golden Score” will be reduced to 3 minutes only.


Border Line Rule
All actions may continue (no Mate) as long as either contestant has some part of the body touching the contest area.

Penalties for NEGATIVE Judo
Further, referees have been asked to strictly enforce the following penalties on NEGATIVE Judo. A shido will be given for:
* A refusal of Kumi-Kata grasp
* Blocking with repulsing (where the blue contestant pushes in a blocking position) and/or with crushing.
* Overly defensive posture.
* Taking a hold of a trouser leg to block an attack.
* Falling onto the back or dropping to one's knees without unbalancing (where there is no action or intention of projection).
* Borat style mankini's.

Uni Judo salutes Pat Toner!

From Stuff.co.nz] Pat Toner does not say much, but he can still throw you.
The 78-year-old martial arts expert has just completed the rare feat in New Zealand judo circles of graduating to a seventh dan red-and-white belt.
His judo skills - honed over six decades - have never been used in violence outside of competition, but he is definitely not a pensioner to pick on, he says.
"With judo, you've got the element of surprise on your side. Nobody expects to be thrown."
A judo black belt can choose to wear a red-and-white belt after achieving sixth dan level, and a red belt after reaching ninth dan.
The grades go up to 12th dan, though this level of excellence has never been achieved.
There are only five seventh dans, and one eighth dan, in New Zealand.
Despite the success, which "naturally" made him proud, Mr Toner is not one to push his own barrow.
"It's not so common now, I suppose. It's the result of many years of competing," he said from the small office of his martial arts store in Courtenay Place.
The native Briton and former Royal Marine started doing judo after watching a demonstration when he was 18.
"It was a sport for me. It was something I could do in the evenings that would keep me fit."
Mr Toner said the secret to his success and longevity was his discipline. He still trains daily at either the gym or the Wellington Judo Academy, where he is president and an enduring competitor.
Judo's two creeds are "to yield is to conquer" and "mutual benefit and welfare" - which Mr Toner said he had tried to follow through study and coaching.
He has a lasting bond with Japan, forged when he first visited in 1950, and kept up through several return visits for study and competitions.
"I've had this long interest in the culture and the people."
His store is full to overflowing with martial arts supplies and all kinds of Japanese paraphernalia, ranging from anime books to chopsticks, slippers and kimonos.
Judo New Zealand's Wellington director, Douglas Lloyd, said the seventh-dan achievement was "rare, even in Japan" and Mr Toner's effort was very special.
There are 2000 registered judo practitioners in New Zealand.

Ojiji Team Cultural Diplomacy Training Aid

Sensei Rick's Judo Gossip Update

TOO SKINNY? Spice Girl Geri Halliwell has reportedly dropped to just 45 kilograms after taking up an extreme diet and exercise regime (from stuff). Meanwhile, the club’s own Dennis (Deney) has taken to being beaten up by U45kg girls in Japan. She does report, however, that she has successfully smashed...a white belt. [To put this in perspective, 45 kgs is as much as a giant squid]

Ishii Expresses Desire to Smash People

TOKYO (AFP) — Japanese judo is feeling two-timed by Olympic champion Satoshi Ishii, who is getting ready for the world of mixed martial arts only two months after saving the Japanese sport's pride at Beijing.
The 21-year-old will miss the 2012 London Olympics because the tradition-bound Japanese judo authority bans grapplers from turning professional.
An enfant terrible with his no-holds-barred fighting style and rough way of speaking that upsets the sport's purists, Ishii was one of only two Japanese men to claim medals in Beijing, winning him a major fan base at home.
But the over-100kg star sat out the world judo team championships here on Sunday, citing a fresh injury, just as a press report said he was "determined" to join mixed martial arts.
The hybrid sport, which combines techniques from judo, karate, kick-boxing and wrestling, has become a popular fixture on Japanese television, with colourful personalities and rowdy battles.
Ishii sounded unusually cautious when he explained his intentions on Tuesday.
"I am interested in joining the world of mixed martial arts, but for now I'm focused on graduating from school," the crewcut-sporting judoka said.
He is due to leave Tokyo's Kokushikan University, famous for its elite athletic programmes, in March. Media reports said that several martial arts organisations are interested in him.
"I still have time and there is no use being hasty," he said.
But judo leader Kazuo Yoshimura was furious.
"This guy turns everybody into an enemy. He'd better get out without delay," Yoshimura, director of technical development at the All-Japan Judo Federation, told reporters.
He added that he had already counted Ishii out of his plan for the London Games.
It would be impossible for Ishii to win a ticket to London, anyway, if he does not regularly compete in international events to earn points under new International Judo Federation rules to make the sport a global tour.
His possible departure from judo will deprive stylish Japan of a unique weapon against doggedly unorthodox fighters from the rest of the world.
"Judo is a brawl guided by rules," the flexible and hard-working Ishii said after winning his second national championship in April to earn his first-ever spot in the Olympics or the worlds.
Relatively small at 108kg and 181cm, he can win by both perfect execution of skills and crafty tactics to pick up minimal points. He has not lost a bout since stepping up to the over-100kg late last year, sweeping the Austria and Kazakh Open titles.
He has also amused the largely self-effacing nation with a big mouth that runs counter to the etiquttes of judo.
When he shook hands with mild-mannered prime minister Yasuo Fukuda, who stepped down last month due to low approval ratings, Ishii said: "His pureness came through. He's probably not popular because he's not so wicked."
He would follow other Olympic and world judo champions into professional martial arts -- but at an extraordinary young age.
Four-time world heavyweight and open champion Naoya Ogawa turned a professional wrestler in 1997 at age 29. In 2002, Barcelona Olympic gold medallist Hidehiko Yoshida joined a mixed martial martial arts league, called Dynamite, at 32.
Dutchman Willem Ruska, the 1972 Olympic double champion, turned a professional wrestler in 1976.
In the end, Ishii may meet his own target.
"My ultimate goal is to become the strongest man in the world," he said after his triumph in Beijing. "I will become the strongest in the world."

Simon's Pick of the Week

Club News in Brief

* Dennis[Denney] in Japan for training.
* Ojiji [masters] team leaves for Japan next week.
* Preparations start for next years All Japan Masters in Kyushu
* Mark Perkins yondan back on mat after 17yrs off
* Rames Gold returns from america
* Sensei Rick gives the uni club a list of 7 don'ts in a judo dojo.
* Subsequently, Aaron resigns himself to getting thrashed at the hands of accomplishde ex-Olympian Judo Monsters.
* President of Auckland Judo ass inc promises copies of the new constitution for all member clubs by xmas. [this was promised 2 years ago]
More soon...

He-Man's New Judo DVD

By IRINA TITOVA – ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (AP) — Vladimir Putin is out on video as a judo master. Russian state-controlled media already have shown the powerful prime minister at the wheel of massive racing truck, shirtless on a fishing excursion, and tracking a tiger through the Siberian forest — just a few of the he-man presentations designed to boost his public image.

On Tuesday, he presented an instructional judo DVD that bears his name and shows him throwing an opponent to the mat.

"Let's Learn Judo with Vladimir Putin" is the product of collaboration between Putin — a black belt — and other judo enthusiasts, including former World and Olympic judo champion Yasuhiro Yamashita. It apparently was privately made and intended mainly for Russians studying judo.

Early Tuesday morning, minutes into his 56th birthday, Putin talked about the video at a presentation before journalists and other guests at a state-owned venue. Putin said the video's title was little more than an "advertising trick." Anyone who watches it "will be learning not from your humble servant but from real geniuses" of the martial art, he said.

Portions of the promotion and the video were shown on Russian television later Tuesday. The video depicted a black-clad Putin talking about the history and philosophy of judo, as well as a white-robed Putin demonstrating moves against a practice partner — and throwing him to the mat several times.

"In a bout, compromises and concessions are permissible, but only in one case: if it is for victory," Putin says at one point in the video, as Asian-style music plays on the soundtrack.

Putin is a one-time judo champion of his home city St. Petersburg, called Leningrad at the time, and he doesn't hesitate to promote the sport.

For instance, the former Russian president has disclosed that French President Nicolas Sarkozy wants to take some martial arts lessons.

"He is interested in martial arts, and we have decided to do some training together," Le Figaro, a leading French newspaper, quoted Putin as saying in an interview published last month.

Putin also is an avid skier, and his apparent fitness and devotion to physical activity helped increase his popularity in eight years as president. This contrasted sharply with his hard-drinking and chronically ill predecessor, Boris Yeltsin, who died last year.

"The level of developing of sports undoubtedly defines the level of development of the country itself," Putin said during the video's promotion.

"Without sports, it's impossible to speak of a healthy way of life, about the health of the nation as such," he said.

AP correspondent Steve Gutterman contributed to this story from Moscow.

Japan women capture world judo team title

The Japan women's judo team claimed victory in the final over France in dominant fashion, but their male counterparts were left to rue a lackluster fifth place performance at the Judo World Team Championships on Sunday.
The Japanese female judoka steamrolled in the eight-team competition, brutalizing Germany 5-0 before booking a spot in the final with a 6-0 walloping of Algeria in the semis en route to a 5-1 win over France at Tokyo Budokan.
Ayumi Tanimoto, winner of the gold medal in the women's 63-kg category at the Beijing Olympics, settled for a draw in the final, while Olympic bronze medalist Misato Nakamura (52 kg) as well as Emi Yamagishi (48 kg) scored ippon victories.
The Japanese men's team, in stark contrast, fell 3-2 in a close battle against Brazil in the first round, with reigning open category world champion Yasuyuki Muneta losing his match on points at over 100 kg.
Appearing to rebound by beating South Korea 5-2 in the first round of repechage, the Japanese men hit another wall against Russia in a 4-3 defeat in a playoff for third place. Georgia claimed the title.
Satoshi Ishii, who won gold at over 100 kg in Beijing, cheered his team on from the sideline but did not compete, citing a groin injury.

Sabrina @ Judokwai

WORLD MEDALIST AT JUDOKWAI - TUESDAY 7th – 6.30 PM
Austrian -57kg player Sabrina Filzmoser will be our guest instructor at the club on Tuesday the 7th of October.

Filzmoser is the current European Champion, and was a bronze medalist at the World Championships in Cairo, 2005.

An invitation is extended to all women judoka in the Auckland area to come along for the session.