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ILLINOIS JUDO NEWSLETTER – IPPON!!!
August 16, 2007
President:
Tim Schultheis
VP:
Chuck Clark
Secretary:
Mary Gail Ford
Treasurer:
Frank Oliveri
Editor:
Kei Narimatsu
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Illinois Judo Newsletter – IPPON!! is the voice of Illinois Judo, sent whenever convenient to
members of Illinois Judo and other interested parties. All articles and content
are the opinion of the editor unless otherwise noted and do not reflect the
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Contents:
Editorial – MAT SIZE
Local News
USA JUDO NEWS
- Living the dream
- Team USA to Compete in Rio at Parapan American Games Beginning Thursday
- Judo: Samurai Legacy Airs on the History Channel on
Friday at 10 p.m. EST
- NBCOlympics.com previews the action for
the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games…
Rousey Upsets World Champion at German Open (Aaron Cohen goes 2 for 2) - Chuck Jefferson Defeats Olympic Medalist to Win
Bronze at German Open, Josh O’Neil Places
Fifth in New Weight Division
- USA Judo Introduces Scholastic
and Youth National Championships, Revises Junior Point Structure
- Fall Classic Referee Call
Something to Think About – A MAYONNAISE JAR AND 2 CUPS COFFEE
Upcoming Events
USA Judo Life Members
***************************************************************************************
EDITORIAL – MAT SIZE
Talking about mat size
would not be an issue if it weren’t for the fact that 80% of a judo match takes
place in the 3 – 4 meters at the outer edge of a competition area. It
makes no difference if the size of the mat is 8 meters square, 9 meters square
or 10 meters square – all the same. The players start in the center and
within 2 – 3 steps, they are fighting at the edge. Usually they go to the
corners because there are two edges to escape from. It is also where the
Judges are and it would not be such a problem except that invariably the chairs
at a Judo Shiai are usually about 15 pounds and one
generally gets a hernia or at least pulls their arm out of the socket while
trying to move a chair out of the way so the players will not fall on the
chairs and hurt themselves. What would even be funnier is the referee who
stumbles over the chair because it is too heavy, does a back roll fall for an
IPPON and while keeping the chair in hand, manages to get up on his/her feet
again to make the signal that the action was out of bounds or in bounds.
Or maybe the chairs should be permanent (staking them into the ground is what I
suggest) so the players would not go near them, or maybe they should get a
penalty if they throw their opponent into the chair. How about fencing
around the mat edge to keep the players in the center or at least keep them
inside the competition area? We could call it “Fence Judo” and maybe start a
new type of competition.
Perhaps, we should
re-institute the red danger zone again so that the players would be forewarned
that they are entering into a zone where they should not be. Maybe we
should even increase the danger zone to 2 meters from the edge. That way
there would be no excuse for not staying in the center. You see, when
they hit that danger zone, they would have enough room to scoot back towards
the center and away from that dreaded out of bounds area. I can see too a
need for maybe making the red danger zone a different texture – maybe squishy
and difficult to maintain stability. It would then be easier to work in
the center of the mat rather in the squishy zone (I mean red zone).
Before you get all
excited about these innovative new ideas that we should suggest to the IJF,
let’s consider what it would be like to compete in the center of the
competition area. It is likely that the art of grip fighting and taisabaki (movement) would go the way of the
dinosaur. In other words movement would be severely limited. At
Hajime (begin), the two players would likely come together and grab hold of
each other in a standard grip and start to walk around. They would take a
couple of steps either pushing or pulling but then would have to immediately do
the opposite as they approached the 6 meter danger zone. There might be stand up Judo but more likely no Judo. The Referee too
would have to adjust. If the players stayed in the center, where would
they go? Of course, they could go into the squishy red zone where they
might fall also. While folks might think that would be funny, as a
referee, I would not consider it a very dignified way to conduct a match – on
your back? I don’t think so. No we have specific rules about how scores
are made. The Ippon signal must be given with
the hand over head, palm forward – not straight up in the air while lying prone
on your back. Nope I would give that signal with my arm stretched out on
the mat – over my head. And this would not be too much of a problem, but
what happens with a waza-ari (half point)? How
do you make that ¼ turn – into the mat (face down) or away from the mat(face up)? That decision would have to be made only
at the highest level of the IJF, certainly not by some editor of a local
newsletter.
I guess we have no
choice, since my ideas are probably not going to get very far in the Judo world.
But what we can do is to suggest to the players and coaches that there is no
shame in doing stand up technically correct judo in the middle of the
mat. The players who train for this are the most successful. They
know that they must do the technique correctly and commit totally, otherwise
they will get thrown (countered) themselves. Those that train to go to
the edge and scramble outside after a failed attempt at an osoto-gari
(major outer reaping throw) will continue to do so and will perpetuate a
defeatist attitude. That is right, I said it. Going to the edge
teaches defeatist attitudes – because you are teaching players that if their
attempt is going to fail, you can always get away by running away. Going
to the edge says it is OK to not have total commitment. In the center of
the mat, there is no place to hide; at the edge, you can run.
In Judo, we should teach
our students, not only proper technique but also proper attitude. We
teach our students respect and honor and duty. In Judo as in most sports,
coaches do not teach defeatist attitudes, or at least they should not.
They generally train students to be winners. In Judo, as in most sports,
players do not compete to lose. They compete to win.
Teaching/training for excellence is difficult, not only in practice but in
concept as well. Teaching perfect Judo, teaching commitment, teaching the
complete person is the way of Judo and the way of the Champions. This is
the true meaning of Judo. Are you prepared?
LOCAL NEWS
USA Judo News
Complete coverage of
these articles available at the USA Judo website. Click on the link http://www.usjudo.org/ and click on the What's New page to see all the recent news items. The
items listed below may or may not be linked already. To get further
information on any of these stories, it is better to go to the USA Judo
website.
Check out the latest feature article
on one of USA Judo’s top athletes, Ronda Rousey.
USA Judo is working closely with NBC to create new opportunities to highlight
our athletes as we lead up to Beijing.
After winning bronze at the German
Open and upsetting the reigning 70kg World Champion over the weekend, Ronda Rousey and coach Jimmy Pedro took a break after
a session at the training camp in Braunschweig to
chat with Alan Abrahamson of NBCOlympics.com…
By Alan
Abrahamson, NBCOlympics.com
Ronda Rousey
is asked about judo, a sport about which most Americans know precious little.
“It’s pretty much like wrestling,”
she says. “Except we wear a jacket.”
She tries again. “It’s like the UFC.
Except we don’t hit each other.”
No American woman has won an Olympic
medal in judo, a combat sport that originated in Japan and emphasizes throws
and grappling, since it formally became part of the Games program in 1992.
Ronda Rousey,
20 years old, is America’s best bet… more>
Team USA to Compete in Rio at Parapan American Games Beginning Thursday
The road for the U.S. Parapan American Judo Team to Rio de Janeiro has been a
long one. Although the Team doesn’t begin competition until Thursday,
this crew has been on the road since July 20 when they first left the United
States to compete at the International Blind Sports Association World
Championships in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Similar to the Pan American Games
for able-bodied athletes, this weekend’s competition will likely be the
deciding factor in which divisions the United States qualifies divisions for
the 2008 Paralympic Games in Brazil.
With the top six men and top four
women in each weight division at the Worlds already qualifying their divisions
for Beijing, rookie Greg DeWall (Chico, Calif.) is
the only one to have secured a slot for the United States following his
fifth-place finish at the World Championships in the heavyweight division… more>
Judo:
Samurai Legacy Airs on the History
Channel on Friday at 10 p.m. EST
Hosts Jason Chambers and Bill Duff
are in Japan to explore the techniques and history of Japan's national art of
hand-to-hand combat: Judo – the science of the Samurai. Derived from the bloody
battlefields of feudal Japan and jujutsu fighting styles of the samurai, judo
has an illustrious past of deadly skills and honor. Along their journey, our
hosts travel through the towering metropolis of Tokyo and the Samurai capital
of Kyoto. They'll train with an elite police force and journey to the
mountaintop hideaway of legendary master, the descendent of a 400-year-old line
of samurai. Under the intense training of the masters, Jason and Bill quickly
discover the spectacular throws, merciless pins and strangling chokeholds that
are an integral part of this powerful combat art. Jason and Bill's journey
eventually leads them to Tokai University, where one of them will muster the
strength and newly acquired judo skills required to take on a world-class judo
champion.
The show will air at 10 p.m.
EDT. Check local listings for the time in your area.
NBCOlympics.com
previews the action for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games…
Judo: What to Watch
By Lee Ann
Gschwind, NBCOlympics.com
While the United States is still
looking for its first Olympic gold medal in judo, Japan won eight at the 2004
Games alone. Whether the U.S. - and rest of the world - can close the gap with
Japan is one of the top judo storylines to watch in Beijing… more>
Rousey Upsets World Champion at German
Open (Aaron Cohen goes 2 for 2)
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Since
she was 17, Ronda Rousey (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC
/ USA Judo National Team FORCE) has been unofficially dubbed “the one.”
“The one” to become one of the best
female judo players in the world.
“The one” to win a medal at the
World Championships.
And ultimately “the one” to become
the first U.S. woman to win an Olympic medal since judo became a full medal
sport for women in 1992.
So far she’s lived up to the hype,
winning World Cup and Pan American titles and becoming the #4-ranked player in
the world at 63kg in 2006.
But judo’s a sport with a lengthy
list of major events and fighting the top women in the world doesn’t happen
often, so the question remained: “How will she do against World Champions and
Olympic medalists in a division she’s only fought in since February… more>
Chuck Jefferson Defeats Olympic
Medalist to Win Bronze at German Open, Josh O’Neil Places Fifth in New Weight Division
(Colorado Springs, Colo.) – Five
years is a long time in judo. Champions are made and lost.
Top-ranked players win, lose, win again and retire in that amount of
time.
For Chuck Jefferson (San Jose,
Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University),
five years is how long it had been since he’d seen the view from the podium of
a major European tournament – until Saturday when he won bronze in the 73kg
division at the German Open.
“I’m happy with my performance
today. I haven’t gotten a medal in Europe in a long time and I think this
was a break through that will hopefully mean good
things down the road,” said Jefferson whose last medal win
in Europe was at the Rome World Cup in 2002.
Far from being any old European
Tournament, the German Open has historically become the unofficial tune-up for
the World Championships and has been known to rival World Cups in both size and
difficulty… more>
USA Judo
Introduces Scholastic and Youth National Championships, Revises Junior
Point Structure
On the heels of the creation of the
new Youth Olympics which will debut in 2010, USA Judo is pleased to announce an
improved system of domestic tournaments for athletes ages 19 and under that
will ultimately be used as part of the selection system for athletes participating
on national teams for events such as the Junior World Championships, Youth
Olympics and Pan American Junior Championships.
"Our junior selection system
must evolve to continue to improve our performances,” said Jim Hrbek (San
Antonio, Texas), USA Judo Chairman of Junior Athlete Performance. “We
need to look to the future with a progressive mindset and to be prepared to
shift to stay on the leading edge in the new and innovative atmosphere that
will be part of the Youth Olympic movement."
One of the key components of the
system, wherein athletes earn points at major tournaments toward rankings on
junior elite national rosters, will be the creation of a new event – the USA
Judo Youth and Scholastic National Championships... more>
Fall Classic Referee
Call
Fellow Referees,
You are cordially
invited to officiate at the Ladder Tournament and the Fall Classic, to be held
the weekend of August 31 - Sept 2 in Coral Gables FL (Miami area). See
link below for full details.
http://www.usjudo.org/documents/2007FallClassicEntryPacket.pdf
The minimum level for the
Fall Classic (Aug 1) is active N2, although all referees are encouraged to
assist as technical officials if they cannot referee on-mat. The
Ladder tournament (Sept 2) is N3, including those who wish to
reactivate from inactive status. Please 'reply' if you have any
questions about your current status. If you plan TO ATTEND, please
'reply' so we can get materials ready. 'Regrets' need NOT be sent if you
do not plan to attend.
Bill Graves
Asst to the Chairman
Referee Commission, USA Judo
Something to Think About – A MAYONNAISE JAR AND 2 CUPS COFFEE
Have seen it before but
always a good reminder to look at life in perspective.
When things in your life seem almost too much too handle, when 24 hours in a
day are not enough, remember the Mayonnaise jar and the 2 cups of coffee.
A professor stood before
his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began,
wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to
fill it with golf balls.
He then asked the
students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.
The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He
shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf
balls.
He then asked the
students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.
The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of
course, the sand filled up everything else.
He asked once more if
the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous "yes."
The professor then produced two cups of coffee from under the table and poured
the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty spaces between
the sand kernels.
The students
laughed.
'Now,' said the professor, as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize
that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things -
your family, your children, your health, your friends, and your favorite
passions--things that if everything else was lost and only they remained your
life would still be full. The
pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, and your
car. The sand is everything else -- the small stuff. If you put the sand into
the jar first, he continued, there is no room for the pebbles or the golf
balls. The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the
small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you.
Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your
children. Take time to get medical Checkups. Take your partner out to dinner.
Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the
disposal. Take care of the golf balls first -- the things that really matter.
Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.'
One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the coffee represented.
The professor smiled. 'I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no
matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of cups of
coffee with a friend.'
Please share this with someone you call a friend.
UPCOMING EVENTS - 2007
Please note the following events on the horizon for
Illinois and the Midwest. Communication and download information can be
gotten directly through this email by attachments or by going to
www.judofdl.com (Brett Wood Taylor Welcome Mat
Judo). OR www.judocalendar.com (Jim Carmer). Either site is a wealth of information on
Judo events. Both have more events listed than I have, so visit their
sites often. Thanks.
2007 dates
Sep 1 – 2
Ladder and Fall Classic – Florida
-
Referee EVALUATION Site
Contact Sherrie Phillips Wilson Phillips, Event Manager
SportsConsult@aol.com
Sep
29 “THE ROCK & ROLL
CAPITAL OF THE WORLD” JUDO TOURNAMENT - Brunswick OH – near Cleveland
Contact Joe
Schmidt
Shane Hudson
(330)
273-1573
440-781-3444
schmidtjudo@verizon.net shane-hudson@sbcglobal.net
Oct
6
LORAS
COLLEGE SHIAI – Dubuque IA
Contact Terry Smith – details to follow
Oct
20-21 USA Judo Senior Open
Atlanta, GA
-
Referee EVALUATION Site
Contact
Sherrie Phillips Wilson Phillips, Event Manager
SportsConsult@aol.com
Oct
27 Mississippi
Open Judo Tournament Clinton,
MS
NEW!!!
Contact Bob
Harvey,
601-924-3421 Cell on tournament weekend 601-260-
2514 e-mail: mississippijudo@aol.com
Nov. 2-4 3rd
Annual "All Women's Championship," Kalamazoo, Michigan
Jr.
Sr. and Master competition (Kata, Shiai) ,
Referee,
Coaches, Kata Clinics
Contact Deborah L. Fergus at defrgs6@cs.com or 269 208 1068
Nov
10 Continental
Crown – Seattle, WA
-
Referee EXAMINATION Site
Nov
24-25 Dallas Invitational –
Dallas, TX
-
Referee EXAMINATION Site
Dec
1-2 Santa’s Shiai – Fond du Lac WI
Contact Brett Wood-Taylor welcomemat@charter.net
Information available www.judofdl.com and tournament package available soon
2008 dates
Jan
2008
.LIFE MEMBERSHIPS INFORMATION – USA
JUDO
For more information on Life
Membership in USA Judo, please contact USA Judo and click on “LIFE
MEMBERSHIP”
Nat’l Order Name
030
1 Henry
Okamura(deceased)
041
2 Kei Narimatsu
065
3 James
Colgan
122
4
Richard Fukuyama(deceased)
125
5
Joanne Barthold(deceased)
139
6
George Stanich
148
7 Mary
Gail Ford
161
8 Kevin
Narimatsu (CA)
162
9 Scott
Narimatsu (CA)
164
10 Byung Chul Cho
167
11 Yung Kim
177
12 Kyu Yoon
181
13 John Bek
189
14 Quentin Thompson
201
15 Michiyuki Sasa
216
16 George Weers
271
17 Susan McConnell
289 18
William Jaconetti
291
19 Jean S Narimatsu
292
20 Susan Narimatsu
324
21 Timothy Tremaine
342
22 Stephen Bergren
349
23 Timothy Canty
355 24
Tim Schultheis
358
25 Bradford Lee
(NV)
363
26 Frank Oliveri
364
27 Michael Ogata
(FL)
370
28 Jeanette J Narimatsu
371
29 Julie K Narimatsu
374
30 Joe Kajita (CA)
378
31 Eiko Shepherd
381
32 Bill
Dunning(deceased)
382
33 Yasko Odagiri
383
34 Wren Odagiri
385
35 Cary Yamanaka
(MN)
387 36
Don Bordeau
There are currently only 36 Life
Members in Illinois. You can start a membership for $75 minimum start
payment and $25 per payment thereafter until completed. You can pay by
cash, check or credit card. For more information, please contact www.usjudo.org and select “LIFE
MEMBERSHIP” Let’s do our share in Illinois. Thanks.