Competition

The 2017 All-Japan Open Weight Championships are now in the books, with Takeshi Ojitani emerging as the winner, successfully defending his title. In doing so, he became one of only 8 players to have won the tournament 3 or more times (Kosei Inoue and Shinichi Shinohara both tied at 3). It was a well-deserved win in a tournament that was not lacking in drama, all the way to the end, where he beat Aaron Wolf by shido 2:20 into golden score after a testy affair that left both athletes bloody and bruised (**Ojitani tweeted that he couldn’t eat after the tournament because his lip is split open. That must be the worst! I would be starving after a tournament like that.)

Before going to bed, here are some parting thoughts about the tournament:

The rules were confusing! The AJJF and Kodokan decided that this tournament would utilize the new rule changes, while keeping the old scoring system, meaning that the yuko would still be in effect. Additionally, golden score was introduced for the first time in the history of the event. I wish they would have gone all in with either the new rules or the old rules, but the mix was a bit annoying.

For the first time in 69 years, female referees make their debut! Seriously?!?! It is 2017 and we are celebrating the first female referees (there were three this time) to officiate this tournament? While it is a step forward, one has to be a little shocked at how it could possibly have taken so long! AJJF, Kodokan, are you guys serious?!

A lightweight won’t win this tournament anytime soon. As predicted, Shohei Ono did not manage a win here today, proving the difficulty of being outweighed in modern judo. With the new rules and the introduction of golden score, I would bet my house that we will never see a sub 80kg player winning this tournament ever again. The rules make it next to impossible for a lighter athlete to compete with the heavyweights. Without leg grabs, double-hand grip breaks, only 3 shidos and an endless time limit, one of the great spectacles in judo (the smaller athlete beating up on the bigger athlete) seems to be a thing of the past.

Masaru Momose had the retirement tournament one can only dream of. If you followed my tweets during the tournament, you may recall that I mentioned this will probably be Masaru Momose’s final tournament (*I incorrectly called him Hikaru Momose in the tweeting. Forgot his name! Doh!). Before going out though, he made sure to beat the reigning Olympic silver medalist Hisayoshi Hirasawa in the process! The former junior worlds silver medalist has always been near the top of the heavyweight category, and was always a podium threat. The last years of his career saw him competing mostly for his trade team, Asahi Kasei where he was a consistent, steady member in team tournaments. He had not posted many noteworthy individual results over the past few years. Nonetheless, he must be thrilled to have beaten arguably Japan’s best judo player at the moment before finally hanging up his gi.

Daiki Kamikawa runs out of gas again. Prior to the tournament, one of the more talked about athletes was Daiki Kamikawa, who shed 20kg in less than 6 months, as he tried to regain his place as Japan’s top heavyweight. It was somewhat startling news given that I rode an elevator with him up to the Kodokan 7th floor last year, and he had a bag full of potato chips, candy and coke. I laughed at the time thinking, “I guess you don’t have to subject yourself to a life of chicken breasts and broccoli to be the best.” The consummate underachiever, Kamikawa ran out of gas in the final last year, and ran out of gas again this year, losing to Aaron Wolf in the quarterfinals by hansoku-make. I believe his days on the national team are over. We will find out soon, when Kosei Inoue announces the new national team. I will sure miss seeing him in competition. I still believe he is the most technically sound heavyweight in Japan at the moment.

Ryu Shichinohe is following in the footsteps of Yasuyuki Muneta. Like the former double world champion, Yasuyuki Muneta, Shichinohe is proving that he competes much better internationally than he does domestically. Though a third place finish here isn’t half bad, judging from his international results, one would think he would have been able to win this tournament at least once by now. Now come the tough decisions for Shichinohe. At 28 years of age, he has said he will keep his olympic dream alive until the 2020 games in Tokyo, but that goal seems to be slowly slipping away.

Hirotaka Kato is the best strategist in judo. The oldest member of Japan’s national team, Hirotaka Kato reminded us of the class he possesses. The 2012 champion threw Aaron Wolf in the semi-finals for a yuko, only to be penalized with 15 seconds left in the match, resulting in a hansoku-make. Though visibly slower than he was in his prime, the unorthodox Kato should serve as an inspiration to all judoka at the tail end of their careers. He shows that good newaza and savvy tactics can win a heck of a lot of matches despite physical limitations.

Where were the police?!?! The Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, one of the greatest judo clubs in the history of judo failed to place any of their members into the tournament. With the exception of Hirotaka Kato, who competes for the Chiba Prefectural Police Department, the police had a lackluster showing at this tournament.

The youngsters still have a lot of growing up to do. The only university student to make it to the quarterfinals was Aaron Wolf. Everyone else went out fairly quickly. In years past, it seems there were a lot more university students who factored into the final rounds. Yusei Ogawa, Daigo Kagawa, Yuki Isshiki and Sosuke Matsumura all lost to experienced veterans, and were more or less out gamed in each. All four have a very bright future ahead though.

The final worlds team has been announced. Harasawa still going despite loss. Ryunosuke Haga and Hisayoshi Harasawa were added to the world championship team roster, with the -90 category left vacant in the absence of the injured Mashu Baker. This is about as good a team as Japan could possibly muster, and I think they have a good shot to win in every category they are contesting except for the +100kg category. In my opinion, Teddy Riner is still the best pound-for-pound judoka in the world and neither Harasawa nor Ojitani will be able to challenge him at the moment.

 

Some final words. I want to just take a moment to say a huge thank you to the people who have helped me and supported me as I’ve built this blog up. Lance Wicks over at Planet Judo, and Dave Roman at the Judo Chop Suey podcast have helped promote my blog and their efforts have really driven a lot of traffic here.  It has been a real pleasure meeting and getting feedback from people around the world. Thanks for all of the e-mails and questions. It makes doing this all worth it.

The 2017 All-Japan Judo Weight Class Selection Championships took place in Fukuoka, Japan this past weekend. The results are up: http://www.judo.or.jp/p/40054 and though there were no major surprises, the tournament is always pivotal in shaping the future of Japan’s national team. The highlight clips, provided by All-Japan Judo Federation’s corporate sponsor, Token Corporation are here in a (very handy) playlist, and while you are there, please subscribe to the Judofan.com youtube channel.

As always, this tournament is a quasi-trials for the world championships and in an olympic year, the olympics. However, that is not without one major caveat. It’s really only a trials when the favorite wins. Otherwise, it’s more of a national championship. This was certainly the case this year, when many of Japan’s top athletes were either out due to injury, or absent due to other circumstances. In various categories, the winner was not selected for the world championship team that will represent Japan in Budapest this summer. However, the magnitude of this tournament is still quite large for many of the athletes as it will determine their place on the national team in this coming year. Though the results have mostly been determined, the official announcement will take place on April 29th, at the conclusion of the All-Japan Open Weight Championships. For a Japanese judoka, selection to the national team has huge implications in regards to sponsorship, funding, training, tournament assignments, etc. Thus, perhaps more important than determining a worlds team, this tournament can really alter the trajectory of an athlete’s career based on their results here. Here is a look at some of the winners and losers at the conclusion of this tournament.

First for the losers:

Ai Shishime (-52kg, Ryotokuji Gakuen) : Despite winning the tournament, she was passed up to represent Japan at the world championships, with the selection going to her teammate, Natsumi Tsunoda. Last year, she narrowly missed out on qualification to the olympics after finishing second in the same tournament.

Nae Udaka (-57, Komatsu) : The former world champion is the oldest member of the Japanese national team and at 32, her chances to represent Japan on the world tour are narrowing. Like Shishime, Udaka was passed up for the world championship selection despite winning, with the AJJF favoring her Komatsu teammate, Tsukasa Yoshida. 10 years Udaka’s junior, Yoshida has produced a string of podium places at grand slam tournaments, and looks to be the heir to Kaori Matsumoto at  the -57kg category.

The women’s -63kg division –  The AJJF announced that they will not be sending a representative to the world championships in this category, which is a shame not just for the athletes, but for the viewers as well!

Toru Shishime (-60, Ryotokuji Gakuen) : A year ago, he won this tournament but was denied an opportunity to go head-to-head against Takato as a final appeal for a place at the 2016 Rio Olympics. This year, after going out in the first round, he must be biting his nails, waiting to see if he still has a place on the national team going into this next year.

Daiki Kamikawa (+100kg, Keiyo Gas) : For years, Kamikawa was hyped as the next great Japanese heavyweight, and he backed that up with a world championship win in 2010, defeating Teddy Riner in a controversial final. Unfortunately, that turned out to be the peak of his career and though he has been near the top of the ladder for the last few years, he needed a better result here. If he doesn’t place either first or second in the open weight championships later this month, his chances of staying on the national team are probably pretty slim. It has been difficult to watch him struggle as it’s my personal opinion that he possesses some of the best and most pure judo in the heavyweight category.

Ryu Shichinohe (+100kg, Kyushu Electric Power) : Like Kamikawa, Shichinohe has been at the very top of the judo food chain for a number of years, but he seems to perform better internationally than he does domestically. He won this tournament in 2012 and 2013, but has not been able to repeat those performances since. Due to his solid international record, he will probably stay on the national team, but the +100kg category is quickly getting crowded and one has to wonder how much longer we will be seeing him in action.

Now, on to the winners:

Nae Udaka (-57kg, Komatsu) : Yes, she was also in the losers category, but her longevity at the top of the judo world makes this achievement extraordinary and so she deserves a spot in this category as well. To stay injury free and to be competing at this level for so long is something that is rarely ever accomplished. To add to that, she won with some really attractive judo.

Uta Abe (-52kg, Shukugawa Gakuin High School) : Abe was the youngest competitor in the tournament and though she didn’t win, a third place finish here is quite an accomplishment. She has been nearly unbeatable in high school tournaments in Japan, and her performance here confirms that she is on track to be the favorite for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

Ryuju Nagayama (-60kg, Tokai University) : He proved here that his win over his university senior, Naohisa Takato at the 2016 Tokyo Grand Slam was no fluke, winning in convincing fashion for the second time in the span of a few months. There are a number of great -60kg players at the moment, but at only 20 years old, he will be awfully hard to beat for the time being. He is my pick to win the world championships this summer.

Hifumi Abe (-66kg, Nippon Sports Science University) : He won this tournament scoring ippon in all of his matches and proved without a doubt that he is the king in the -66kg category. He had three extremely tough opponents, but nobody posed a threat. At 19, he is already entering his third year on the senior national team, but will be making his world championships debut. Anything less than a gold would be surprising.

Aaron Wolf (-100kg, Tokai University) : Wolf went to war with his university elder Ryunosuke Haga in a nail-biter that went over 8 minutes into golden score. Wolf gets his first crack at the world championships this summer and he looks to be in the form of his life.

Takeshi Ojitani (+100kg, Asahi Kasei) : Post Rio Olympics, Ojitani has now won every major tournament that he could possibly win. He started with the Kodokan Cup last November, followed by wins at the Tokyo and Paris Grand Slams. Later this month, he will defend his title at the open weight championships, where he is the #1 seed. The former 2x junior world champion is slowly starting to distance himself from his rivals. During his first win at the All-Japan Open Weight Championships, a high-profile coach mocked Ojitani saying, “How can someone win the All-Japan Championships when his only technique is osoto-gari?”. That’s no longer the case with his newaza being nearly on par with his tachiwaza, adding to the fact that he’s nearly unmovable.

 

There are many more athletes missing from this list but at the risk of going on forever, I’ll stop here. Now, we wait to see how the open weight tournaments (4/16 for women and 4/29 for men) determine the rest of the world championship team roster and the national team roster going into this next year. Judofan wants to send a HUGE thank you to all of the athletes that make judo so exciting.