News

Christa Deguchi leaves Japanese national team to represent Canada

March 13, 2017 By judo fan Leave a Comment

Last week, former Japanese national team member, Kaihan Takagi announced his aim to compete for Australia in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Yesterday, another national team member, Christa Deguchi announced her decision to resign from Japan’s national team in order to secure a spot on Canada’s olympic team. Unlike Takagi, Deguchi was a current member of the national team and thus, was required to formally submit her resignation to the All Japan Judo Federation, making the decision public and decisive.

A dual citizenship holder, Deguchi will be forced to relinquish her Japanese nationality before her 22nd birthday this upcoming October, which is the reason for the timing of the decision. Born to a Canadian father and Japanese mother, Deguchi told the press that she intends to continue competing for her university, Yamanashi Gakuin and her immediate aim is to lead her university to their fourth consecutive title at the All-Japan University Team Championships later this year. From there, she plans to continue her studies while competing for team Canada.

Unlike Takagi, whose best years have seemingly passed, Deguchi has posted consistent results since winning the silver medal at the junior world championships in 2014. Behind Olympic champion Kaori Matsumoto and world champion, Nae Udaka, Deguchi is one of Japan’s top competitors in the -57 category. Both Udaka (32yrs) and Matsumoto (29yrs) are nearing the end of their careers and it seemed Deguchi would be in prime position to take the number #1 spot on the Japanese team when the Olympics come to Tokyo in 2020. However, she stated to the press that, “I wavered between competing for Japan or Canada while pursuing my university studies, but I chose the route that gives me a slightly better chance. I want to represent Canada in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020” (rough translation: original quote here).

Here she is competing for her university in last year’s final of the All-Japan Students Team Championships where she displays a masterful transition from tachiwaza into newaza:

https://youtu.be/djiEe94oL3w?t=9m38s

Judofan.com would like to wish Christa Deguchi all the best in making her Olympic dream come true.

Judge orders Masato Uchishiba’s employer to pay restitution for rape conviction.

March 9, 2017 By judo fan Leave a Comment

Former olympic champion and now sexual assault convict, Masato Uchishiba is back in the news. Nishi-Nippon Newspaper is reporting that his former employer, Kyushu University of Nursing and Social Welfare is being required to pay roughly $41,000USD to Uchishiba’s victim. However, this seems a fairly meager amount considering that the original amount sought was nearly 10 times that. Uchishiba is currently serving a 5-year term for sexually assaulting a member of his judo team during a training camp.

With all of the recent news about Shohei Ono entering the All-Japan Open Weight Championships, it is hard not to be reminded that the last great lightweight champion to have a go at the heavyweights was Masato Uchishiba, who, coincidentally lost his 2009 bout against the second smallest competitor in the tournament, Katsushi Matsumoto of the Hyogo Police Department. Matsumoto went on to the quarterfinals, something even Ono was unable to accomplish when he entered for the first time in 2014.

As for Uchishiba, I truly hope he rehabilitates and repents of his actions while inside of prison, though his blog doesn’t seem to indicate that he is particularly remorseful. Somehow 5 years and $41,000USD doesn’t seem like a harsh enough penalty for the damage he caused.

Kaihan Takagi to seek spot on Australia’s olympic team for 2020

March 7, 2017 By judo fan 3 Comments

Long-time Japanese national team member, and 2-time worlds team member, Kaihan Takagi will seek a spot on Australia’s olympic team in 2020, according to Nikkan Sports. Born in Australia to a Turkish father, and Japanese mother, he has stated his wish to compete in this June’s Australian national championships. He stated to the press that, “If at all possible I want to try any means to achieve my olympic dream” (roughly translated).

He will continue to compete and train with his trade team, JRA (Japan Racing Association), which is also the team of Olympic silver medalist Hisayoshi Harasawa. I am glad to hear of this news, and have been a long-time fan of Takagi. When he first moved up to the senior ranks, I thought that certainly he would be the next great champion at -100kg. His physical attributes were unrivaled at the time, and he had the technique and work ethic to match. When I went to watch a national team training camp in 2011, he stood out to me for his work ethic and also the amount of attention that Kosei Inoue paid to his training. At the time, Shinichi Shinohara was the head coach and Inoue was part of the coaching staff.

Unfortunately, his career has been knocked off course numerous times due to injury to his knee and shoulder, seemingly all coming at the most critical moments. I thought he was back on track when he won the All-Japan Weight Class Championships in 2015, but he was unable to sustain consistent results from that point on. Now, at 26, he has not been named to the Japanese national team for quite some time, and has failed to produce any domestic results of note. If it were just about any other country in the world, he would be the undisputed king of his weight class, but -100 is a pretty crowded place to be in Japan. I sincerely hope to see him wearing the Australian patch on his judogi in 2020.

Shohei Ono and Misato Nakamura to sit out qualification for this year’s World Championships

March 2, 2017 By judo fan Leave a Comment

Shohei Ono – Olympic Champion

Nikan Sports is reporting that Olympic champion and newly crowned IJF Judoka of 2016, Shohei Ono and Olympic bronze medalist, Misato Nakamura will both forgo an opportunity to qualify for this year’s world championships due to their withdrawal from the All-Japan Weight Class Category Championships, which will take place April 1st and 2nd.

Both will miss the competition due to their graduate school studies. Ono, is enrolled in Tenri University’s masters program and Nakamura will do the same at Tsukuba University.

Ono plans to continue his judo career while pursuing his studies, though Nakamura was a bit more veiled in her plans for the future. She has told the press that she will decide her future while pursuing her education. At this point, she has had a long career, having entered the world stage as a high school student. The lighter weights tend to be unkind to aging athletes, and I wouldn’t be surprised if this spells the end of her career. She competed in 3 straight Olympics going back to Beijing in 2008, which is a feat not often achieved among Japanese judoka. At the moment the -52 category is stacked with young talent, including Uta Abe, who recently captured her first senior title on the IJF tour at the Grand Prix Dusseldorf.

On the other hand, Ono could be making a wise decision in sporting terms. Though men’s head coach, Kosei Inoue has described it as disappointing news, it’s not likely he will be out of competition for long. He is probably the most talented athlete in men’s judo at the moment and a short rest from competition may help prolong his career. Tadahiro Nomura took several notable absences from world competition, and surely this aided his ability to three consecutive Olympic titles. The -73 category in Japan is probably their deepest weight division, and it would be no surprise if the next -73 world champion is from Japan. Ono however, is simply operating on another level at the moment and that is unlikely to change in this Olympic cycle.

Misato Nakamura – Olympic bronze medalist