Japanese judoka urged to use failure to fire up Rio hopes

Olympics Aug. 05, 2012 - 09:57AM JST ( 6 )

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YubaruAug. 05, 2012 - 04:01PM JST

“Our fighters depended too much on their coaches. We have failed to produce fighters who can make moves on their own,” he said.

This is part of the problem and one of the most difficult to fix as it permeates society in general. People are not educated to "think" on their own, or to react to situations, without consulting someone in authority.

As I noted in a different article, Japanese practitioners of Judo have to learn to train smarter not harder, and the coaches have to teach their students the entire range of moves associated with Judo and not just for "ippon".

It won't surprise me one bit if the same results happen in Rio.
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YubaruAug. 05, 2012 - 04:15PM JST

Oh and I hope JT puts an article up here about the Saudi Arabian girl who participated in the Tournament too!

Moderator: We already did.
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TigersTokyoDomeAug. 05, 2012 - 04:45PM JST

Get rid of the old fashioned coaches and federation management. The judoka themselves are highly talented with plenty of world number 1's. But clearly the coaches and management have let them down and there was far too much expectation of this new generation of judoka. Oh, and forget about Japanese judo. Try following Japanese Olympic football instead because both the women and men look like getting to the finals.

Fighters from Russia are prime examples as they claimed three golds, Kyodo said.

They immobilise opponents by grabbing them above the collar or hug them in close with their arm wrapped around the back, and use their power from short range.

Hiroaki Hiraoka got a heavy dose of this when he was sent sprawling to the mat in the 60-kg final by Russian Arsen Galstyan on the opening day.

Sorry to be a spoilsport Kyodo News, but I was at that final and Galstyan did not win by hugging in close with an arm around the back. It was a counter ippon throw as Hiraoka made a huge mistake by continuing with a hug grip on the edge of the mat after defending an attack, and was then foolishly thrown on a counter.
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tmarieAug. 05, 2012 - 08:41PM JST

Get rid of the coaches who are poor sports, rude and arrogant. Get in some foreign jodoka for training and rebuild the program.

The main thing? Stop assuming Japan will win medals at judo. The sport has evolved and the notion of superiority and entitlement needs to go.
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Pukey2Aug. 05, 2012 - 09:34PM JST

“In judo, only gold will do,” Japan’s chef de mission Haruki Uemura, president of the All-Japan Judo Federation, declared before their departure for London.

There, you heard it from the horse's mouth.

I just hope it doesn't mean they're going to predict a ridiculous number of gold medals for the next Olympics again. This must be a real humbling experience (to put it nicely). Sometimes, I'd wish they'd just say 'gambarimasu', a vague word which sometimes does have its uses.
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kazetsukaiAug. 05, 2012 - 10:20PM JST

The word is to "to STRIVE" and not "to expect" to win.

The value of Olympics for the world has been the "effort" put in to become better.

That "better" was meant not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, spiritually as well as socially and politically. There was fairness, sportsmanship and all those virtues mankind so proudly hold dear, as honesty, integrity, perseverance, boldness, and many more. So winning the gold was the objective to "excel" by mastering and performing the best as humanly possible, exemplifying the human potential.

It was and is in the "effort" each person made in becoming better and not what the coaches and the general public demand that has value. ALL the Olympians deserve better than the judgments made by those who have not put in that same effort.