Japan suffer 59-year world championship low

[Shinichi Shinohara, current Japanese team coach, pictured in 1998]

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands — Japan suffered an embarrassing world championship wipeout on Sunday when for the first time in 59 years their highly-regarded men's team failed to win a title.
Their last hope, double world champion Yasuyuki Muneta missed out on a medal when he suffered a third round loss to Mongolia's Gankhuyag Dorjpalam in their +100kg bout.
The defeat completed a miserable downward spiral for Japan's men's team who until 1973 won all golds on offer at the world championships.
Shinichi Shinohara, Japanese head coach and a world champion in 1999, was shattered by the team's performance.
"It is very disappointing that the Japanese men?s team is ending the competition with no gold medals. I take responsibility.
"I wonder if the athletes really had the determination to win gold. I think they lacked this attitude. They may have their excuses but the result is everything," said Shinohara.
"Hopefully by the next Olympic Games in 2012, you will see changes. I need to train the athletes so that they are mentally stronger.
"It does not mean anything if you win against Japanese athletes. International competition is what matters. We need to focus on bouts against non-Japanese athletes."
For the rest of the story see the original at: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5geSfvBQKV7xv3fBhCbAY4bL8-jDw

Tim vs. Rick: The Infamous Ippon SeoiNage

Introducing Russian Sambo Player, Dennis

Mat Side Special of the Week

Daleside Brewery's multiple award winning ale - Monkey Wrench - quaffable at any time! A strong, smooth, malty ale with a touch of sweetness. A suggestion of dark fruits and hops. Rich ruby red colour with a hint of warm copper. A great beer at any time. Award winningly strong. ABV 5.3%. Great after training!

Sensei Rick's Pick of the Week: Olympic Champion Uchishiba Out, Fukumi Takes Gold

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands: Japan's two-time Olympic champion Masato Uchishiba crashed out of the world judo championships on Wednesday, but there was gold medal joy for Tomoko Fukumi.

Uchishiba lost to Uzbeki opponent Mirali Sharipov on an ippon in their under 66kg, second round contest.

Sharipov was then beaten by Russia's Alim Gadanov while France's Benjamin Darbelet was also suffered a shock loss, going out in the early stages.

In the absence of some of the division's big names, Mongolia's Tsagaanbaatar Hashbaatar won gold beating Spaniard Sugoi Uriarte in the final.

Uriarte took the silver while Hungary's Miklos Ungvari and South Korean Jeong-Hwan An took both bronze medals.

Masato had won Olympic gold in Athens in 2004 and successfully defended his title in Beijing last year.

The man who won silver at the 2008 Olympics, France's Benjamin Darbelet, also left the championships early when David Dubsky of the Czech Republic scored a waza-ari.

North Korea's Chol-Min Pak, one of the two bronze medal winners at the Olympics, suffered the same fate when he was ousted waza-ari by Georgian Zaza Kedelashvili.

With Uchishiba out of contention, it was left to Tomoko Fukumi to salvage Japanese pride when she clinched gold in the women's under-48 kilo class.

With seven-time world champion Ryoko Tani sitting out these championships as she awaits to give birth, Fukumi seized her moment in the spotlight by seeing off Spain's Olana Blanco with waza-ari.

France's Fredrique Jossinet, twice a world runner-up, was put out by Blanco in the early rounds.

"I'm left with a bitter taste," said Jossinet, who was regarded as one of the favourites but ended up with a bronze when Olympic champion Alina Dumitru of Romania was forced to withdraw with an injury.

"I'll take bronze. There are worse things in life."

Japan picked up a silver medal in the 60kg class with Hiroaki Hiraoka losing on an ippon to Georgii Zantaraia of Ukraine. - AFP/de
[From: http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_sports/view/1001071/1/.html]

Club News in Brief

* Sensei Rick is back from the Japan.
* Andrew Pragnell is back on the mat. He has been training in kick-boxing. He claims he weighs 110kgs . . . but who is going to argue.
* Rob Levy has been taking the Wednesday night classes.
* After years of torment, Tim the Russian has thrown sensei Rick for Ippon with Seionage on two consecutive nights. He was last seen being held down and tortured for his efforts.
* The club welcomes Dennis, another Russian Sambo player (who trained at the same gym as Vitaly). He brings a new style and has been smashing people with his many variations of Kata Garuma. Andrew has suffered extensively.
* The most talked about item in the history of the club’s website (Judokong.com) was the Ice Pack. Comments have come in from as far a field as Alaska — The Ice (man) implies that we are too hi-tech and that Peas are better and cheaper.
* Jacky Fong has returned from fighting in the Islands. She seems to have enjoyed herself

News Flash

University judo is going to get 3 ice packs!!!
This is a substantial investment at $NZ10 each but this has been authorised by the spendthrift Rick - see picture

British Judo Asoc. New Performance Institute

[From: http://www.britishjudo.org.uk] The British Judo Association officially opened its new centralised training centre, based in Dartford yesterday, launched to ensure the sport delivers medals in 2012 and beyond.

The full-time centre of excellence will bring together, under one roof for the first time, Britain’s elite judoka under the direction of GB Head Coach, Patrick Roux (formerly of French Judo and INSEP), the British Judo coaching team and Performance Directorate, as well as sport science and medical staff.

The centralised programme will allow British Judo to concentrate the resources needed to deliver medals at London 2012, with the current target set at three for both the Olympic and Paralympics teams.

The Institute is housed within Dartford Judo Club, a £4.5 million purpose built, state of the art facility. Opened by HRH The Princess Royal in 2006, and built with the support of Dartford Borough Council, Kent County Council and Sport England, it boasts two full-sized mats, space for up to 400 spectators, a gym, seminar and meeting spaces, catering facilities and a social area.

Although already in development prior to the Beijing Olympics, the failure to win medals at the Games last Summer emphasised the need for the Institute to ensure the sport returns to its Olympic medal winning ways. Britain has won a total of 16 Olympic medals since it was introduced as an Olympic sport in 1964.

Commenting Margaret Hicks, British Judo Performance Director said, “The Institute has allowed us to bring together high level expertise to provide the best possible support and delivery to our athletes.

“We want the BJPI to become a hub of excellence and innovation not only for our players, but developing performance coaches and practitioners and also provide a resource for the talent development structures, which underpin performance.”

As well as having a focus on 2012, the Institute will also act as a legacy for British Judo, providing a system which consistently generates Olympic and Paralympic medals through to 2016 and beyond.

British Judo has worked closely with Dartford Judo Club, Dartford Borough Council and more recently Kent County Council to launch the Institute.

“The desire of the Club, Dartford Borough Council and Kent County Council to make this work and help us achieve our goals in 2012 has been invaluable”, said Densign White, British Judo Chairman.

“British Judo is excited about the possibilities of how the Institute can benefit our sport both in terms of our performance in London but also how it can grow and truly benefit the performance aspirations of our young players”, he added.

Patrick Roux, British Judo Head Coach, said, "It is a great honour to help build the British Judo Performance system. I have observed that Britain has produced some good performance in the past. However, for us to reach our Olympic and Paralympic targets we needed to set up a professional centralised environment. The Institute here in Dartford will give our players the best opportunity to succeed."

A Message from Sensei Rick in Japan

And while we train ... Sensei writes "ho hum I was forced to eat and drink free at this place tonite only $300 each, life's a bore!"

An Interview with Sensei Isao Okano

Mr. Isao Okano is considered one of the greatest Judo competitors of all time. He won the gold medal at the 1964 Olympics and the World Championship in 1965. However many would agree that his greatest achievement and the competitions that sealed his status as an all-time great was winning the All-Japan Championship - twice. What makes the All-Japan Championship such an important tournament? Although the competition is only limited to Japanese players, it has no weight classes or weight limits - it is truly a test of the ability of the smaller player to use his techniques and skill to defeat the best players that Japan has produced. Sensei Okano was able to win it as a 78Kg [172lb.] player - surely one of the lightest players ever to win the tournament. He defeated multiple opponents that out weighed him by up to 100 lbs.

The full article is available here.

Judo Jono from TV3 vs King Vladimir

It’s official. University Judo’s own Jono Hutchison of TV3 fame has challenged Vladimir Putin to a Judo bout. In a statement released yesterday, Jono said he had taken steps to contact the Russian embassy and was looking forward to matching his unique skills on the tatami against the mighty Putin. The significantly lighter Hutchison, who holds a yellow belt in Judo, appears confident that his flying arm bar will be enough to secure victory against the accomplished, black-belt Judoka Putin. Neither fighter has said anything more about the pending bout but there is no shortage of speculation on the outcome on various social media sites. The basic consensus is that we should look to enjoy Jono’s company while he is still breathing. Watch this space as more details become available.

Sensei Rick's Pick of the Week: The Story of Four Horse

A man asked an American Indian what was his wife's name.

He replied, "She called Four Horse".



The man said, "That's an unusual name for your wife.

What does it mean?"

The Old Indian answered, "It old Indian Name. It mean,



NAG, NAG, NAG, NAG!"

Scientific Study Validates University Judo's Beer Fridge

[Aug 13th 2009 By Nick Prueher]
Beer, which is already proven to boost self-esteem and make people look better, may also strengthen bones, according to a new study published in Nutrition.

Scientists in Spain found that women who were light-to-moderate beer drinkers had stronger, denser bones than non-beer drinkers.The researchers attributed the findings to beer's high levels of phytoestrogen (the plant version of estrogen) and silicon, both of which slow down bone thinning and promote growth.

"Silicon plays a major role in bone formation," the study reported. "Beer has been claimed to be one of the most important sources of silicon in the western diet."

Drinking beer regularly, the study goes on to say, makes women less likely to suffer from osteoporosis after menopause. Try out that pickup line the next time you're hitting on an older woman in a bar.

Results: Restricted Kyu contest at Judokwai, 9 August 2009.

The Club would like to offer its congratulations to Terry for getting a silver in the restricted Kyu contest at Judokwai last weekend. According to Sam, who was also competing, Terry was executing his trademarked Seionage’s with acuity. Sam, by contrast, and this is by his own admission, didn’t do so well. After beating the guy who went on to get gold, Sam says that he ran out of energy and, subsequently, got beaten by several pimply teenagers from the North Shore. Sam also had some terrible things to say about the North Shore and North Shore Judo, but these comments have been struck from the record.

Need to Move Up a Weight Class?

Perhaps the big news in the NZ Judo world this week is that one of the most guarded secrets of the fast food kingdom may have been unlocked. Ron Douglas, a former JP Morgan employee who now tries to reverse engineer recipes from chain restaurants, thinks he can create a KFC replica so good that no one will be able to tell the difference. In other words, he has discovered what those 11 secret herbs and spices are. While KFC is not confirming or denying Ron Douglas' discovery, here it is for all you inquiring minds:

— 1 teaspoon ground oregano
— 1 teaspoon chili powder
— 1 teaspoon ground sage
— 1 teaspoon dried basil
— 1 teaspoon dried marjoram
— 1 teaspoon pepper
— 2 teaspoons salt
— 2 tablespoons paprika
— 1 teaspoon onion salt
— 1 teaspoon garlic powder
— 2 tablespoons Accent (an MSG-based seasoning)

Just Like the U.N. (But We Encourage Fighting)

Some of the recent imports to New Zealand training at Uni Judo.

arab bike drift

for those of you who have been wondering where I went...I had some car trouble however everything is back to normal now, and here is a video of my new ride

Entries for the North Island Championships NOW!

Registrations are currently being taken for the NORTH ISLAND Judo Championships. You need to tell us the weight division you want to fight and front up with the cash immediately.

ICNZ 7

ICNZ is holding another MMA event on Saturday 26th of September at the ABA stadium tickets are 25$ pre sale, 35$ door sale, they're also looking for fighters to register. for more details check out their website: http://www.inspiritmma.co.nz.

Sensei Rick's Pick of the Week

With this in mind, I bought myself a new scooter. I wanted something that was easy on gas and could zip me to the store and about town. This seems to meet my EVERY need.

I love it!



Remember:

Senior Citizens Are Valuable:

We are more valuable than any of the younger generations:
We have silver in our hair.
We have gold in our teeth.
We have stones in our kidneys.
We have lead in our feet and.
We are loaded with natural gas

[The University Judo Club has become the default headquarters for Masters Judo in New Zealand. In addition to the uni students, the young, and the fit, we have a strong contingent of players with grey hair. If you were thinking of a time to get back on the mat NOW is as good a time as any! You'd be welcome to walk around the mat edge, with your thumbs in your belt, talking about how soft the new generation is. UJC is a good training environment and the beer fridge is right next to the mat]

Saturday's Session: Shinya Aoki - Flying Armbar

[object from youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJmbo9gPHjo]