For judo lovers all over the world who make the pilgrimage to Tokyo’s Kodokan Judo Institute, it is an emotional experience to tread the hallowed mats — a unique chance to train at the sport’s mecca.
It would be like a club tennis player knocking up at Wimbledon, a village cricketer striding out to bat at Lord’s or a Sunday League soccer player doing keepy-uppies at Wembley, but in judo, the “home of the game” welcomes all comers.
Many spend small fortunes just to experience the thrill of throwing opponents where judo began and others have been known to break down in tears when they realize a life’s dream.
Photo: AFP
“It’s everything that is judo,” said Emyr Rees, a 29-year-old from Llanelli in South Wales, who added that he has been dreaming of visiting the Kodokan since he started the sport 16 years ago.
“Just the chance to be on the mat here, training with all these great instructors, learning from them. People from all over the world coming together, learning from each other, which is exactly one of the maxims of judo,” Rees told reporters.
The pinnacle for any judoka is to train in the iconic kangeiko, or winter training: 10 consecutive days of judo starting at 5:30am sharp that is not for the faint-hearted.
However, despite its global fame in the world of judo, the training is open to all — no matter where they come from — and anyone can train with anyone else regardless of age or standard.
Kodokan head coach Motonari Sameshima said that many foreigners are overcome with emotion when they step onto the tatami for the first time, bowing to the statue of the sport’s founder, Jigoro Kano, before they do so.
“One French woman even cried at the entrance. She said: ‘Finally, I have got here after saving up.’ She stood there at the entrance weeping. I myself became emotional watching her. That’s what this place does,” 70-year-old Sameshima told reporters.
For the kangeiko, an English-speaking coach guides foreign judoka through the rituals and explains the various groups they can join: randori, or free practice; women’s only training; specialized throws.
However, foreigners are not excused from the traditional roll call, nor the president’s New Year’s speech in Japanese, nor the strenuous warm-up guided by one of the youngest judoka.
Sameshima said that there was a language barrier, but added that judo was “a genuinely physical activity” that transcends language.
“Even if they don’t know the language, they throw and they are thrown. We feel pain, of course, when we are thrown, but we can get a connection with each other by doing so,” he said.
Over the 10-day kangeiko, 50 foreigners had registered from 16 countries.
Nick Forbes, a 29-year-old from Sydney, decided to make the trip of a lifetime after losing his job, using the severance money to fund his travel.
“I’ve always wanted to come to the mecca of judo. This is where it all started,” said Forbes, who was sleeping in an on-site, 18-person dormitory to keep costs down.
For Sandro Endler, a 48-year-old real-estate developer from Sao Paolo, Brazil, his trip to the Kodokan was the culmination of a childhood ambition.
“I started judo when I was seven years old. Back then, there was no Internet and coming to Japan to do judo seemed like a distant dream. Now I’m 48 and I’m finally fulfilling that dream,” he said.
He now lives in the US, but made the pilgrimage especially to the Kodokan.
“It’s the place that everyone who has ever done judo wants to come, and especially for the winter training. Everyone knows about it,” Endler said.
“Right now I’m pretty excited. It’s a dream come true and I can’t wait to get out there to train with people from all over the world,” he said.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
The Minnesota Timberwolves, with so many promising performances spoiled by late mistakes fresh in their memory bank, sure timed this strong finish well. Jaden McDaniels scored a career playoff-high 30 points and spearheaded Minnesota’s stifling defense on an ailing Luka Doncic, and the Timberwolves beat the Los Angeles Lakers 116-104 to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference first-round series in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Friday night. “Jaden never looks tired. He looks like he could play 48 minutes,” said teammate Anthony Edwards, who had 29 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Julius Randle added 22 points for the Wolves, who outscored
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
RSS