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Last minute - Hot off the press 2006 All Japan Judo Championships
2004 All Japan Judo Championship 2003 World Judo Championships Report (also see Sam's Corner) Judo Masters Championship Japan 2003 European Championships Dusseldorf 2003
Ishii’s Stunning victory in 2006 All Japan Judo ChampionShip by Brian N. Watson This open weight competition is never an easy one to win, mainly because in order to do so, one has to compete alongside world and Olympic champions. This year was no exception with Hiroshi Izumi, Yasuyuki Muneta and Keiji Suzuki competing, Kosei Inoue, incidentally, was sidelined due to a shoulder injury. Therefore, few spectators at Tokyo’s Budokan Hall on April 29 gave the 2nd year Kokushikan University student much chance of advancing further than the early rounds. After all, at just 100 kilograms in weight, being the lowest grade, 3rd dan, and at 19 years 4 months this latest newcomer was the most inexperienced. And yet despite the foregoing, he has, surprisingly, become the youngest-ever All Japan Judo Champion. Until now, 1984 Olympic champion, Yasuhiro Yamashita (126 kilos), held this distinction when at 19 years 10 months he won the first of his nine All Japan titles back in 1977.
How did Ishii do it? Well, by making excellent use of his Osoto-gari and ground work skills he progressed through the early rounds. In the quarter-final he defeated with left-sided Ouchi-gari for yuko the 2005 world open-weight bronze medalist Yohei Takai, who was some 30 kilos heavier than he. In his semi-final bout he again secured a yuko to beat another well-experienced heavyweight Hidekazu Shoda. In the final contest he faced reigning Olympic champion Keiji Suzuki who was widely expected to win his third consecutive All Japan title. However, it wasn’t to be. Iishi gave Suzuki trouble by out gripping him and with no score on the board and only six seconds remaining on the clock, Ishii attacked with left-sided Ouchi-gari to send the Olympic gold medalist to the mat with a thud. Although Suzuki had managed to twist his body and landed on his side, the referee had no hesitation in awarding a well deserved yuko and with it an astonishing victory to Ishii.
Even though Ishii proved powerful in ground work and exhibited good leg throws, I was much more impressed with his fitness, confidence but above all with his formidable determination. So take note of the name, Satoshi Ishii. We may be hearing more from this young man.
Inoue 2002 All Japan Judo Champion
The 25th All Japan Women’s Judo Championships
were held at the Yokohama Sports Arena on 14 April 2002. As usual, these
championships were well attended and ASAHI TV broadcasting company televised
the day’s events. The question on everyone’s mind was would Ryoko Tamura,
from Fukuoka, Kyushu succeed in gaining her 12th consecutive All Japan title
in the 48 kg. class.
There were, however, a number of surprises;
Ayumi Tanimoto lost in the final of the 63 kg. Category and Masue Ueno
failed to win gold in the 70 kg. Category final, but by far the biggest
upset of the day was the defeat of Tamura in the first round to a
16-year-old high school girl, Tomoko Fukumi, who later lost to Tomoe Makabe
in the semi-final.
Tamura had recently resumed training after a
9-month layoff owing to an injured right knee. The contest started with
Fukumi doing most of the attacking, particularly with seoi-nage and
ouchi-gari. Tamura was kept under pressure and did not look comfortable at
all. Tamura looked sadly off form and although she attacked, Tamura’s
efforts did not trouble young Fukumi. With one minute thirty seconds to go,
Fukumi launched a full-blooded left ouchi-gari that sent Tamura to the mat.
Tamura somehow managed to twist her body and land face down. Fukumi was
awarded Yuko. Although Tamura forced the pace for the remainder of the
contest, her attacks were ineffective and she failed to score.
This loss for Tamura by a compatriot was the
first in 12 years. The long 9-month layoff seems to have affected Tamura
both physically and psychologically. She appeared to lack both stamina and
her usual firepower. Although it would perhaps be a little premature to
write off Tamura completely, at 26 years of age, it may be impossible for
her to re-gain the form that made her Olympic and winner of five world
championships. On the other hand, knowing her powers of determination, I
believe that if she remains injury free and can psychologically re-focus
herself, we may see her compete in Osaka, Japan in 2003 attempting to gain
her sixth straight world championship title.
Results: 48 kg. Winner: Tomoe Makabe Runner up: Eriko Nakajima 52 kg. Winner: Aiko Sato Runner up: Yuki Yokozawa 57 kg. Winner: Kie Kusakabe Runner up: Noriko Mogi 63 kg. Winner: Yoshie Ueno Runner up: Ayumi Tanimoto 70 kg. Winner: Haruko Kazato Runner up: Masue Ueno 78 kg. Winner: Noriko Anno Runner up: Eriko Nakajima 78+ kg. Winner: Midori Shintani Runner up: Mayumi Yamashita New York Open Judo Championship 2001The venue- the prestigious New York Athletic Club For the first time in many years the Budokwai sent a team abroad – on this occasion to the New York Open Judo championships. The Team consisted of Jim Warren -66 kg Eric Bonti -73kg Danny Kingston and Nick Collins - 81kg Bobby Rich -90kg Winston Gordon - 100kg Dominic Keen -100kg Coaches- Ray Stevens and Syd Hoare and Team Doctor Diana Birch The event was a very tough one with 165 competitors from over 16 countries – including Brazil, France, Uzbekistan, Austria, Rumania, UK, USA, Japan & Korea all fielding top players. To quote Ray Stevens “This was a very high calibre competition with a number of Olympic players who despite their standing failed to take medals in New York” Britain did well - Winston Gordon taking the silver in the closely fought final against an old rival Croitoru of Rumania. The Americans introduced at the very last minute new gripping rules which eventually worked against the British team when we were penalised for what would seem to have been doubtful decisions. $1000 was offered for each first place and Winston just lost out by a koka . Jim Warren achieved a bronze after a well fought series of contests. The matches were fought down to only one third place. After the event all the competitors and coaches were invited to a dinner in the Tap Room of the New York Athletic Club. The American hosts were well pleased with the competition. The introduction of prize money had increased participation by 60% over previous years. They said that this event was now the toughest in North America and that they intended to keep it that away and make it bigger. It is hoped that the club will participate next year in May. The prestigious venue and the exciting city of New York make it seem likely that this event will become a regular feature of the international judo calendar. NEW YORK CITY
(March 26, 2001) - The following are the Results of the 2001
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