Issue 04 Fall 2016 Contents

Hajime! 2

JQ Interview: Neil Adams 3

Rio 2016: Hopes and Dreams Served on the Carioca Tatami 16

Embracing the Power and Spirit of Paralympic Judo in Rio 30

A Star of David: Six Episodes in the Journey of Yarden Gerbi 41

The Esoteric Technique of the Cat 49

Emmeric le Persons Heart of Judo 54

Around the World in Sixty-seven Throws 76

Book Review: Game of Throws 80

Golden Score 82

Judoka Quarterly Staff Contributors

Editor-in-ChiefDavid McFall Neil Adams
Photo EditorRafal Burza David Finch
Layout and DesignBaptiste Tavernier Mori Osamu
Emmeric le Person
Contributing Editors
Stephen Blower Cover Photo
Bill Caldwell Eddie Hennessy

JQ would like to thank the following people and organisations for their valuable cooperation:
All Japan Judo Federation International Judo Federation Komatsu Limited
Bunkasha International/Kendo World Jeff Girard Neil Adams Effective Fighting
Hakuhodo Inc. Kodokan Judo Institute

COPYRIGHT 2016 Judoka Quarterly. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except by writers who are permitted to quote
brief passages for the purpose of review or reference. Kindly contact Judoka Quarterly at www.judokaquarterly.com
W elcome to our fourth issue of Judoka Quarterly. This issue marks our first complete
year of publishing. My publishing partner, Rafal Burza, and I are very grateful to all
of you have supported us during this our first year. In this autumn issue of JQ, we tackle the
biggest judo competition in the world, the 2016 Rio Olympics Games. David Finch who has
covered six Olympics is our guest photographer for this special article. David also provided
us with the historical footage for our feature interview with the Voice of Judo Neil Adams.
Neil has been a contributor for JQ for the past few issues and we are very fortunate to have
had his insight on the IJF competitors leading up to Rio Olympics. This time we turned the
tables on Mr. Adams to ask about his own Olympic and world championship experiences
as well as his take on the action in Rio. As a bonus, we also have a review of Neils new
autobiography Game of Throws by contributing editor Stephen Blower. In addition to the
Rio Olympic coverage, JQ photo editor Rafal Burza has captured the power and emotion
of the 2016 Rio Paralympics in a special full-color photo feature. One of the advantages
of practicing judo in Japan at the Kodokan is that I meet a lot of visitors from all over the
world. Last summer, I ran into Morgan Girardeau. Morgan has embarked on a two-year
world judo tour in search of friendship and camaraderie. We asked Morgan about his past
and future travels as he hits his second year on the road. Another fortunate encounter was
meeting Yarden Gerbi, her coach Shany Hershko and the Israeli womens team when they
came to Japan last spring to prepare for the Rio Games. I sat down with both Yarden and
Shany in a small coffee shop near Yamanashi University for our athlete profile. The beauty of
making connections with people like Morgan and Yarden is that you expand your network
of contacts. I had seen Emmeric de Persons beautiful black and white images in various
places on the internet and through an introduction by Morgan we were able to contact him
and arrange to publish a set of his photographs for this issues photo essay. Finally, Omouri
Osamu, who contributed a thought-provoking essay on competitive kata in our summer
issue, has returned with an excellent translation and interpretation of the classic budo treatise,
The Esoteric Technique of the Cat. I hope you enjoy the autumn issue of JQ and thank
you again for your continued support.
Jita-Kyoei,

David McFall
Editor-in-Chief
 Th e JQ in te rv ie w

A
D
A
M
S
 Neil Adams is a judo
legend. Five-time European
champion. Two-time
Olympic silver medalist.
1981 world champion. IJF
Hall of Fame member. In
addition, he is a world-
class coach and educator.
These days most people
know Neil as The Voice of
Judo for his engaging and
informative commentating
at IJF competitions
around the world. Neil
has recently published his
autobiography entitled
Game of Throws (check
out our review in this
issue). We caught up with
Neil at the Carioca Two
Arena in the Olympic Park
in Rio de Janeiro, where he
was doing commentary for
the Olympic Broadcasting
System during the 2016 Rio
Olympics. -David McFall

Photos by David Finch,

Rafal Burza and Eddie
Hennessy

the ippons were great and we had more ippons, more

percentages of ippons and it was drama, high drama
Thank you again Neil for taking the time to talk I think because some of the big champions went out
with me this afternoon. First of all, what were and some of the young ones came through and that
your impressions of the Rio Olympics judo event? always makes it exciting.

I thought that it was a great judo event. We saw
a lot of ippons and that was good and we saw less
shidos, so that was good too. I thought that at the
beginning the referees obviously had a directive not
to give shidos out just for anything and to try and
reduce on the amount of shidos because in London
it was prevalent that the amount of shidos that were
given out. Everybody commented about it so they
wanted to prevent that. I understood that. For me
On the Internet I saw comments. People didn't
think it was very exciting with the exception of
Ono Shohei. I don't think we saw the huge ippons,
but there were a lot of good ippons and a good
newaza ippons.
I'm not saying that there were huge throwing ippons,
but there were many variations of ippons. I think
we saw a good balance of standing to ground and

4
I thought that, for me, that is a real plus, because
if we've got newaza being allowed and the referees
giving it time to develop, and we saw plenty of that,
then all over the world it means that the development
of newaza is going to grow. Coach education then
will be geared towards educating our coaches to
teach it within the clubs. What we had was a lot of
coaches out there saying, "Well what's the purpose
of teaching it? We've only got 5 to 10 seconds that
we can possibly go down to ground."
What was the biggest surprise for you in this Rio
event?
It was at 66 kilograms, the young Italian [Fabio
Basile] that came through, and I thought that he was
amazing. I think that the Olympic games does that,
doesn't it? It creates heroes and also it destroys lives
in some ways because people are training for these
four year events. It really is an event once every four
years, doesn't matter that it's the same people that are
fighting and I think that what tends to happen is that
the first out Olympians; the ones that are fighting for
the first time have nothing to lose, they come here for
the experience. Second time Olympians, they are here
for a different reason. They've probably performed
either well or not quite as well as they would have
liked and they've come out with a little bit of pressure
on them to continue performing. I think with the
third time Olympians, it's their last event and it's the
swan song and the pressure of ending on a great note.
They need a result and then they are going to finish.
They are going to retire.
The Olympics is comprised of these different athletes
with different reasons, different purposes, different
drives. People ask me all the time, "What makes the
Olympic games so different? Why do we have special
performances by athletes you wouldn't expect and
why do we have performances by great champions
that dont meet expectations?"
I think the reason is that there is a difference between
fighting to win and fighting not to lose and I think
that on the two occasions that Teddy Riner, now
that we've seen him in an Olympic final on both
those occasions, was fighting not to lose, and just
doing enough to win. Which to his absolute credit
he only needed to win the matches. He didn't need
some unexpected person to come through and steal
what should have rightfully been his. It can never be
taken for granted, but he's head and shoulders above
everybody else so barring a catastrophe he was going
to be Olympic champion. I fully understand if he
decided to play a match that way, but in the case of
the young Italian, of course he came through and said
he was going to blast everybody; beat everybody by
ippon and he nearly did.
There is no doubt that Fabio Basile is real shot in
the arm for judo.
He's a great character. All we need to do now is just
to put a little bit of maturity into him and teach him
how to handle it; how to be the best ambassador for
the sport. He wasn't an embarrassment or anything
like that, but throwing back somersaults in the final
of the Olympic Games has to be a first and I think
that the showmanship is great. A lot of kids were
watching and I think that they might think that's the
way to go. However, we must maintain the etiquette
on the mat, whether we win or lose, and I think that
is very important.
Could you put in perspective the achievement of
Teddy Riner and Kayla Harrisons back-to-back
gold medals?
Any back-to-back gold medal at the Olympics Games
is an amazing feat and I think that both Kayla and
Teddy Riner not only did their country proud, but
they were great ambassadors as well for Judo and they
did themselves and their country and judo a really
big plus. I think that their names will go down in
history books and I think that for what Kayla's done
there for the United States of America is amazing.
I'm hoping that she doesn't go into MMA and I'm
hoping that she will just retire on that medal and do
what she does best. She talks, smiles and presents
judo in the way that it should be presented, and the
same goes for Teddy as well.
Were you surprised by the sub-par performances
of the Koreans and the Georgians? They seemed to
Judoka Quarterly 5
 A young Neil Adams takes on Vas Morrison in 76 British Open
be favorites to be up there in the medal table and
it just didn't come together.
I have to say that I'm not surprised because it's the
Olympic Games and everybody expects this person
to win, or that person to win. I had it twice myself,
one of the favorites to win the gold medal on two
occasions and it never happened at the Olympic
Games so it didn't surprise me in that way. However,
I thought the Koreans would perform because
they've been so consistent. They were great at the
Worlds and I thought they were going to come here
and get a couple of titles. I knew that everybody was
starting to put great expectation on that team. On
paper, that Japanese team, that men's team, was on
the course for getting three or four gold medals.
6
They could have possibly, easily done it, but it doesn't
work like that at the Olympics Games. There are too
many good people out there. It's too competitive in
each way. The only sure thing for me was Ono. It
would have taken something really special to have
taken him off the top pedestal.
Let's go back to your roots a little bit. You're from
Rugby England. How did you get started in judo
there?
I started with my father. He wanted me to do different
sports. He introduced me to all my different sports,
but he wanted me to do judo because he'd started
doing judo and he was having a great time with
it. He was a judoka himself and so he had his first
 Attacking Ezio Gamba with his tai-otoshi at the 1979 European championships
degree black belt, but he took my brother and myself
along to a small club and then we never looked back
really. We started as a very small club and then he
said, "You're not getting enough here." He realized
that. He took me to the next biggest club in the
Midlands and it all developed from there. He was
never one though to push. He was never one to push
competition after competitions for children and so it
was always a restricted amount of competitions and
it was always built technical base first and that's what
he believed in.
So then, was your father your first sensei? What
did he teach you? What stays with you?
My father was my first sensei. I mean he was my
first teacher and that's exactly what he did teach me.
My father taught me to concentrate on the technical
elements and the technical base and understanding
the fundamental principles of how things work,
so learning to walk really before I run which was
very important. He did the same for myself and my
brother.
Did you have a sibling rivalry with your brother?
Not really. No. We never had a competition sibling
rivalry. He was always 100% behind me and he
was my 100% supporter. He wanted to, obviously,
represented Great Britain and we were in the British
team together for a while and he was always national
squad. He was a really good judo player. He wanted
Judoka Quarterly 7
 Catching up with former rival and Russian coach Ezio Gamba this year in Havana
to be world champion. He knew it wasn't going to
happen.
As a junior what was your favorite throw?
As a junior I always did seoi-nage. I was a seoi-nage
guy and standing seoi-nage as well, both left and
right. But then I started to get a bad back. My dad
said to me, "You need to just change the balance of
the seoi-otoshi or seoi-nage movement." He said just
lower the center of balance so that's how the tai-otoshi
started. He got me just to split my legs, with that.
Was it a morote-seoi nage or it was an ippon seoi
nage?
It was a morote-seoi-nage and it wasn't drop. Never
8
drop. It was never a drop one. Funnily enough my
drop seoi-nage only came later which is on the other
side, but it was never drop when I was younger; it
was always standing and then it turned into kind of
a seoi-otoshi and then it turned into tai-otoshi later.
It's interesting because often with a morote-seoi
nage, it's the elbow and the shoulder joint that
people get in trouble with, injury wise. Did you
have an issue with that?
I didn't have an issue with it. No. Never. I always seem
to have a strong arm and I was fanatical about proper
kuzushi. I was always pretty quick with the arm going
across so I didn't have a problem with it. No. I know
that the like of Koga had had big problems with the
elbows. Not me. I attribute being injury free to my
use of proper kuzushi, something we dont see enough
of presently. This is why so many injuries occur and
can be prevented.
The first big result that I could find for Neil Adams
was a cadet event that you won in Tel Aviv in 1974,
do you consider that your breakout event?
Certainly at the international level, that was it. That
was the European Cadet Championships and my first
ever international tournament. Unlike now where
they have international tournaments for kids from 35
kilos up, it wasn't the same then. My very first one,
16 years old and here I was fighting in the cadets. It
was a shock to the system I have to say because I've
won 5 junior national tiles. As far as I was concerned,
this little world was it. When I stepped out there and
I first saw Ezio Gamba and [Felice] Mariani. They
were established in their cadets and junior programs
and competed with top notch people. It was a bit of
a shock to the system. I thought I was the only one
of that level out there. It certainly gave me a new
perspective!
Two years after that you won the British trials in
1976, right?
I won the British trials in 1976, but Vas [Morrison]
was the guy that went to the Olympics instead of
me. I fought him in the British Open final and came
second to him on a decision. It was close. It was very
close. But he fully deserved it and he fully deserved
his place. I was a little bit early. It was probably, I
would say, six months too early in my career.
You weren't ready for an Olympic spot at that
juncture?
For me I was. The team manager at the time was
really wrestling with the idea of sending me; he
wanted to send me. It wouldn't have been correct
if he had. In one way, it would have given me the
Olympic experience which was a good thing, but
on the other side of that it would have been wrong
to Vas because Vas ultimately fought for third
place in the Olympic Games, so he was the right
selection. Actually I was out there, round about,
I wasn't that far off even at 1976 as a seventeen
years old.
The tender age of 17 years old
Yeah. Fighting the men. The remarkable thing was
that even though I wasn't physically developed, I was
able to fight the men. I think that part of that, most
of that, was because of the psychological resolve that
I had and the fact that I was psychologically very
strong. That enabled me then. I had such a belief in
what I was doing. You would have had to look at me
physically standing next to you: I was thin, my arms
were fairly thin, but I had a good condition. I wasn't
anywhere near my physical capacity.
You could have been the Fabio Basile of the 1976
games
The thing was I was a bit earlier. I had a really tight
one with [Vladimir] Nevzerov in the 1976 European
championships and took him very, very close. He was
the current Olympic Champion. It was close. It just
wasn't the right time. It was definitely the right time
for Fabio. He did an amazing job. Things like that
they are in books, but it happened for him. I'm very
happy for him. I hope now that when he goes back he
starts again and does his proper build up, he's there
for the next Olympic Games.
For the next cycle?
Yes, for the next Olympic cycle.
In 1978, you came third in Kano Jigoro Cup.
Was that your first time training in Japan?
What was your first experience training in
Japan like?
My first time in Japan they took me as a sixteen-
year old because of the British Open and because I
nearly qualified in the Olympic Games. They took
me to Japan. I was with the senior team, at sixteen
years old. I wasn't even in the under twenty squad,
but they took me to Japan and of course there was a
lot of jealousy from the squad. Why him? The thing
was I soon proved to them with the British Open,
Judoka Quarterly 9

1976 Moscow Olympic podium
and then my strong training in Japan. I just loved
it. It was my kind of training and the Japanese took
me under their wing. I have had good relationships
with the Japanese ever since.
In 1979 you won the first of five European
Championships and then you came in third in
the worlds in Paris, was this the beginning of this
rivalry between you and Ezio Gamba?
We didn't really go head to head that much. We
fought in two European finals. A world semi-final
and the Olympic Game final. It was only a rivalry
when I was in the -71 kilograms, but my best results
actually, funny enough came when I was in -78
kilograms. We did have a rivalry, but it was a healthy
rivalry and one that we had coming through, was me
passing through the weights.
In 1980, you moved up to -78 kilos from -71. You
10
won the European Championships in May of that
year in that weight class.
All of the Grand Prix, Grand Slams. I've won
Hungary, Poland, Germany. All of your equivalents
now; Grand Prix, Grand Slam tournaments I had
won at the higher weight.
Then you went back down to -71 for the Olympic
Games, what was the thinking behind that?
The thinking behind that was that I was seeded from
the previous World event. What happened back then,
because we didn't have a world ranking, is that you
were seeded from the previous world event and my
previous world event medal was third. I was seeded
third going into the Olympic Games. That meant
that I was immediately away from top fighters, so
had every chance of meeting them early on in the
competition. Everybody that was on the rostrum at
that Olympics was on the rostrum at the European
Championships. It was a mistake looking back, but
you can never say.
Do you think that cutting all that weight was
decisive factor that gave Gamba the gold?
It was definitely the decisive factor. Other than Ezio
fighting well, but it made the difference. I've had a
real problem. I went through to the final ippon every
match. It was only the final that went to time. I was
trying to catch up all the time. Physically I felt drained
and because I was physically drained, it was a problem
because I just didn't have anything left and of course
that made the difference when the decision went to Ezio.
What is your take on cutting weight these days?
When I talked to Kayla Harrison, she advocated
this idea that you should just try to fight very close
to your natural weight. She said that if you are
going to win, you are going to be able to win at
any weight class.
I'm sure that changing those weight categories has
cost somebody an Olympic title or given somebody
else an Olympic title, as it did, or could have done for
me, because sometimes you can get caught halfway
and in between. If you are halfway and in between,
it's a decision as to whether to drop the weight to
the lower weight or to go up into the higher weight
category. Depending on where you end up, it can be
a great advantage, as long as you manage it correctly.
In 1980, I didnt.

Do you think that you could have beaten Shota

Kharbeli in 1980 in the -78kg?

Yeah, but I did. I beat him at different times. I didn't

fight him in the European Championships, but I
had beaten him. We always had a tough match. He
wasn't good for me. I found him awkward, but just
a clash of styles, but Kharbeli wasn't one of the ones
that really worried me more than anything.

Let's move to the 1984 Olympics. You went to the

final with the Frank Weineke and lost by ippon.
Was this just a mental lapse? Were other factors
in play? What's your take?

There were other things at play. A lot of it was mental

because I was tired going in there and I wasn't having
a good game. It was struggle. Nowak I beat seven
times, but that was hard work. I got a score in the
end, but I was just plugging away all the way through
the whole day. A couple of matches by ippon, but it
was a struggle and then the unknown West German,
who I had fought at the European Championships,
beaten him, and it was a hard one. I thought he was
good, but not Olympic gold medalist standard. When
I went out there, I started the match tired and a little
bit withdrawn, I wanted it to end, but I was winning
it fairly comfortably and just drifting through it just
to win the match really. A little bit like Riner. It was a
bit like that. I didn't want to lose it and then a mistake
on the edge, I thought the referee shouted something,
hesitated for a split second, then he took his chance
and got a score which won him the Olympic title.
They gave it and that was it. Ill leave it to you to
question whether it was ippon or not.
I had a look at it. It was a waza-ari at best.
At best.
Coaching for the Welsh team in 2009
Absolutely.
I made a mistake. He jumped on it and credit to him.
It was four years later actually when Frank really was
of that level and deserved his result. I think he was
a little bit early to win the Olympics. It was a Fabio
moment.
In 1988, you went to the Seoul Olympics and
you lost in the second round, was that more of a
physical issue?
It was four years. I wasn't far off, but I was back
with the pack and I always explain it like that and I
watch it now a little bit like road race in cycling. At
one stage youre ahead of the pack, youre the Lance
Armstrong, pulling the pack and then breaking
away when you need to or breaking away when
you need to and then all of a sudden you realize
then, that you haven't got that extra little bit of kick
anymore to take you ahead of everybody.

Judoka Quarterly 11
 Jean-Pierre Giberts sankanu-jime lead Adams to refocus on his groundwork
The pack will pull you back and then you are in
amongst them fighting to get back to the top. It
shocks a few people and it shocked my wife when I
first said it, but 90% of the people there are just glad
to be Olympians. They always talk about it. They are
glad to be Olympians. They are representing their
country. They are proud to represent that country in
the Olympic games. 10% are there for medals and
2% are there for the gold medal. When you think
of it that way, if you can put yourself in the top two,
if you put anybody in the top 2% of that criteria
and have a look at how they react when they lose
the final, then you will see that they've definitely
lost the final and not won the Olympic silver medal.
Then you have the other ones that go out that have
won a bronze medal, it's the best thing that they've
ever done, it's an achievement they never would have
dreamt of. There is a difference between losing a gold
medal and winning a silver.
In 1981, you f inally you won your world
championship over Kase Jiro of Japan. You won
12
it with juji-gatame. There's an anecdote about how
you were once submitted by Jean-Pierre Gilbert
and it changed your attitude about newaza
entirely.
It was just a match in British Open in 1978. I was
winning against him ... I went up a weight category
to fight in the higher weight category. I was fighting
a weight above and fought Jean-Pierre, winning the
match and then got caught with something I hadn't
seen before. He caught me on the ground. That's the
only time I've ever lost on the ground and it did so
much for me because afterwards I said I'd never get
caught again. He gave me sangaku-jime for the rest
of my life and he also gave me the defense to it. I have
to thank him. We are always learning.
That's definitely making lemonade out of lemons.
Thing is that I think that all of us have a kind of a
moment in our life that teaches something and that
was one of my moments that taught me a lot and it
followed me. I said that I would never lose in newaza
 Finishing off Kase Jiro in the final of the 1981 world championships
again. To the day I finished my competition judo
having never lost in newaza again. He gave me a lot
and that was a great gift he gave me.
If you were competing today, how would you train
differently from when you were a competitor?
You know what? I wouldn't. The only thing I would
do is reduce my amount of running. I am saying
that from my two post hip operations, mind you.
However, there are so many things you can do for
complimentary cardio training. Nothing replaces
judo. Its about being fit? Fit for what? Am I a
runner or am I a judoka? All this HIIT (High
Intensity Interval Training) I was doing 30 years
ago and do attribute much of my success to that.
Pick up my Olympic Judo Preparation Training I
co-wrote in the 1980s, youll see it there. You'd
have to take into consideration the amount of
qualification events. I don't think that half of
them do the right kind of preparation up to and
in between the qualification events, but I think a
lot of them are forced to do every event because of
the money to get out to the events and the money
to participate.
If you come out from South America to an event to
Europe you need to do three or four events, so the
training in between becomes very difficult. I'd get
that correct. I'd have my events sorted out that I
wanted to do. I would make an absolute point about
targeting those events getting the best results I can
for those. That would enable me to train in between,
but my training would be the same. It would be
sixty to seventy, five-minute randoris for one month
blocks. I used to do one month blocks of concentrated
randori. I used to train harder than anybody else in
that I would do a lot of muscular endurance weight
training.
What I would do, the biggest thing I would change
is I wouldn't do as much running. I would cut my
running down tremendously. I would save my joints.
I think I put my joints under a lot of pressure. I ran
half marathons, I ran marathons. I ran 10ks and I
didn't need to do it.
Judoka Quarterly 13

The Voice of Judo
Lets change gears here for a second here. What did
you take away from your experience winning the
British Superstars competition and do you think
it raised the profile of judo in Great Britain?
I think it did. I think Brian Jacks and myself kind
of changed that. Brian especially because he did it
as a living for a while and it changed the profile.
All of a sudden people realized that judo people
were complete athletes. They were multi-functional,
almost like the cross training phenomenon. I think
it did a great favor for judo that people could see
that we were these athletes that could adapt to a lot
of different things and we need that. We have to be
able to do aerobic and anaerobic activities. We have
to do weights. We have to do gym tests. We have to
14
be able to go over obstacles. We have
to be able to cycle. We can do a lot
of things and it taught me that I was
able to do a lot of different disciplines,
but I think you'd find that with a lot
of top athletes here. If they put their
mind to other things, then they going
to excel at it.
I have said to people that Teddy
Riner could have excelled in any
sport he chose, we're just fortunate
that he chose judo.
Yeah and it's the mentality, the
physicality He probably he
wouldn't have excelled at ballet, but
there are certain restrictions where
there are a lot of different sports that
he would slot into and that's what I
tended to do. I could slot into sports
that suited me.
Many Olympic athletes struggle
with the transition to their post-
athletic career. How did you
manage to transition from athlete
to coach to commentator?
I think that's always the big question,
isn't it? Because I look at a lot of
the athletes that are finishing. There's not enough
training for them. Media training is very important
and I'd love to be a part of that. To be able to train
some of our ex-athletes in the media because I think
that is sorely needed. Look at UK athletics and UK
rowing? Thats a model we should follow. That would
be a magical transition for them as is coaching. Again,
education is needed. You know that I'm very hot on
the coach education and for me it's very important.
The coach education and training the coaches to
coach properly and in a professional manner. It's very
close to my heart.
You remain in incredible physical shape into your
late fifties. What is your approach to fitness and diet
and how often do you get into the dojos these days?
I try to get into the dojo often as I
can. From a personal point of view, it's
probably not as often as I would like,
but I do it very much for my pleasure,
but mostly I'm there for teaching and
coach education side of it. The physical
side, I try and do an hour to an hour
and a half as many days in the week as I
possibly can. Even on my travels, if there
isnt a gym, as I dont/cant run anymore
because of my hips, I have my uchi-komi
bands always with me and can do an
amazing 20-minute heart-wrenching
workout no matter where I am and so
I dont miss my weekly goal. I try and
do five or six days and all I do is I just
book it out as time for me. Twenty-three
hours for my family and one hour for me
and I've always done it and if I've got
different appointments or things that I
have to do, I'll always put that into my
own diary and my wife kind of accepts
that and she knows that I'm a miserable so and so if we lose them due to boredom. We believe if you are
I don't get into the gym so she let's me go. really good at something, you will stick with it, look
for new challenges, if given the correct prompting.
Sounds familiar. If I'm sick and I can't go to the Think about when you were in school. What was
dojo, my wife says I'm miserable to be with your favorite subject? Most likely the one you were
good at, or excelled in. We need to take that thought
Absolutely. She kicks me out. She says, "You get out process and apply it to our skills teaching. Make them
there and then we can all live a happy life." good and they will stay. Make them stay and you will
have champions. The problem is that a lot of coaches
Tell us a little about Neil Adams Effective Fighting. have the badge, but fail to deliver to the level that we
would like or even need really, and I think that we
Neil Adams Effective Fighting is all about coach need to have some kind quality control over it as to
education and the Quest for Technical Excellence. what they deliver. I know that this is what scares a
About being able to learn the basic fundamental lot of people as well. Having that quality control over
principles of not only the sport, but the basic what is being taught frightens people. They get very
fundamental principles of how to coach those frightened about it, but it holds them responsible for
principles, which then leads onto skills acquisition, the skills they are passing on to the next generation.
and the different techniques. I think that one of the
problems that we have, worldwide in judo is that One last bonus question. What that really your
there's not enough coach education, or up-skilling. voice on Dog Judo?
Present coach education looks at the pastry around
the meat and not enough on the meat. We dont Yes, it was absolutely. It was probably a bad recording,
take apart the core fundamental principles, and but it was absolutely me.
really make sure that our students have these correct
before pushing them into the next level, scared that Thanks so much Neil.

Judoka Quarterly 15
 After an osoto-gari for ippon
and a backflip, Grande Fabio
Basale was the talk of the Rio
HOPES AND DREAMS SERVED ON THE CARIOCA TATAMI
The Olympics are different.
The Olympics are special.
The Olympic competition is unique.
I have heard these descriptions for the past four years
again and again. They became trite, boring and even
a little annoying. Yet, when a competition takes place
only once every four years, there are unique pressures.
For the rookies, it's the biggest stage they have ever
entered. It's the place of childhood dreams and
secret desires. For the veterans, its one last chance at
grasping an elusive chalice. They can either taste the
sweetest wine of the highest podium step or have the
hopes of twenty years dashed in the space of a few
minutes. The pressure of a last Olympic opportunity
can be crushing. Here are a few stories of those or
stepped up and made the moment count.
Consider this: Fabio Basile had only competed
outside of Europe half a dozen times before he came
to Korea for the Jeju Grand Prix last December.
In Jeju, Basile finished with a solid fifth place. His
performance was a curious mixture of confidence
bordering on cocky and deep reverence for judos
etiquette. He also showed a sense of empathy for his
By David McFall
Pictures by David Finch
opponents. He was a gracious winner and respectful
loser. Grande Fabio Basile is a character. He has flair
in the way he carries himself and the way he fights. In
a division packed with the likes of An Baul, Ebinuma
Masashi, Georgii Zantaraia, Charles Chibana and
Golan Pollack, Fabio stands out as a unique entity.
How did a kid from Italy steal the Olympic gold from
this pack of strong rivals? Part of it was the draw.
The young Italian did not have to face Ebiumuma,
Soborov, Zantariai, or Mihhail Puliaev. When it
came to the final, Basile faced a huge obstacle in the
shape of An Baul. The Korean number one seed had
won both the 2015 Astana Masters and the 2016
Guadalajara Masters.
Coming into the Rio Games, the Korean team looked
to be one of the strongest teams. As a result, in a gold
medal match as the clear favorite, An had all the
pressure while Basile had virtually nine. One of the
Korean teams main weapons is kumi-gata. They excel
at gripping strategies that often make their opponents
Judoka Quarterly 17
-73 gold medalist Ono Shohei
of Japan was the most in-form
judoka of the Rio Games
look passive. By virtue of this, the Koreans often find
themselves ahead by shido or two in the early going
forcing their adversaries to throw caution to the wind.
This provides opportunities for counter-attacks by
the squad from Seoul. However, in the case of -66k
gold medal match, the young Italian was attacking
from the call of hajime. This time, An Baul was
on his heels. Basile started on the offensive with his
ippon-seoinage and kept An moving backwards. An
attempted to drag Basile into newaza but the Italian
defended quickly by sprawling out. While An tried
to control the sleeves of Basile, the Italian maintained
a a crouching posture and kept his weigh back. After
a kouchi-gari feint, Basile rolled the dice and went in
for a low osoto-gari. Ans leg buckled and the Korean
rolled onto his back. With the referees signal of ippon
and this Italian fairytale came to full fruition. Basile
in his youthful exuberance could not contain himself
and did a backflip. As the pair straightened up their
judogi and the referee signaled that Basile had won,
the Italian dropped to his knees like he had won the
Wimbledon championship and made a seated bow
to his opponent. An looked devastated. He was never
really in the match.
Then there was Ono Shohei. His performance at
Rio was another example of his total domination of
the -73 division. He was not only the outstanding
Japanese judo competitor but the best judoka in the
entire competition. Ono has been putting on good
judo for the past year and he refused to compromise
his attacking style in pursuit of a safe medal. I ran
into Teddy Riner the day after the closing ceremony
and he had high praise for Ono Shohei. Like Basile,
Ono has a kind of edge brashness that defines his
judo. With his head cocked forward and a little to the
side, Onos relentless drive overwhelms his opponent
in tachi-waza. It seems that he is always hunting for
the big ippon. If Japanese coach Inoue Kosei could
bottle that Ono fire and distribute it among the team,
his work would be much easier.
Onos campaign was really got under way in his
third round match-up with Victor Scvortov of the
United Arab Emirates. Scvortov employed the best
strategy you can hope for when you are matched with
someone who is in the zone like Ono, he attacked
constantly and did his best to control the gripping.
However, whether Scvortov turned in for uchi-mata
or tried feigning yoko-tomoe-nage for juji-gatame,
Ono was neither unbalanced nor seemed concerned
in the least. When Onos first big uchi-mata attacked
was downgraded from waza-ari to no score, Ono
looked a little irritated. The Japanese responded with
a devastating low uchi-mata that looked a little like
a Koga head dive for ippon. Next up was Georgias
Lasha Shavdatuashvilli. In the first minute, Ono
appeared to allow the Georgian to get a deep collar
grip before he took a high grip himself and unleashed
another uchi-mata for waza ari. Behind in the early
going, Shavdatuashvilli tried responding with a harai-
goshi maki-komi and a sasae-tsuru-komi ashi but the
Ono remained unperturbed. The rest of the contest
showed an increasingly frustrated Shavdatuashvilli
lunging at the Japanese who did just enough to evade
a passivity penalty all the way to the buzzer. After
throwing Belgiums Dirk Van Tichelt in the semi-
final ippon, Ono found himself in the final against
Azerbaijans Rustam Orujov. The final opened with
Ono looking a little stiffer than usual. When he tried
to counter an untidy harai-goshi maki-komi from
the man from Azerbaijan, Ono slowly slide down
Orujovs side and the call was waza-ari against Ono.
Suddenly, it was game on! In fact, Orujov almost
finished Ono off in newaza with kami-shiho-gatame.
However, the man from Tenri University managed
to pry himself from Orujovs grasp. Ono tried to
collect himself on the way back to the center of the
tatami as an exasperated Orujov realized that he let a
golden moment literally slip through his fingers. The
drama continued when the referees call was reversed
putting Ono up by waza-ari. Up by a major score
Ono went into a rare defensive mode. However, with
Onos first shido for passivity, the Japanese returned
to attack. As Orujov struggled to get an over the top
grip, Ono briefly let his opponent grab his belt before
busting out a uchi-mata to ko-uchi gari combination
for ippon. Game-set-match.
Ono maintained a stoic face until he walked off the
tatami where he burst into a big smile.
One champion who came through in the clutch was
Kayla Harrison. She seemed to be on a search and
destroy mode with juji-gatame being her weapon of
Judoka Quarterly 19
 Kayla Harrison lead an American charge on the
ground at -78 for her second Olympic gold

Rafaela Silva was Brazils savior as their sole

gold medal winner at -57
choice. The Brazilian crowd was only the edge of their
seats as the Harrison and her arch rival Maya Aquilar
moved through the brackets. However, Aquilar came
up short in the quarter-finals. That did not make
things easier for Harrison who faced Audrey Tchmeo
in the final. Harrison has been fighting Tchumeo
since she was a junior and in the JQ Spring issue
interview Harrison explained that she rarely is able
to throw the Frenchwoman for ippon.
From the first exchanges Harrison wasted no time in
attacking from her feet. She looked both extremely
focused and almost anxious to get the job done.
In the span of twenty odd seconds, the American
attacked the Frenchwoman with not one, not two,
but three ippon seoi-nage attempts. None of them
really unbalanced Tchmeo but they certainly put
her on notice. In contrast, Tchemeo looked a little
cautious but her first attack, a sumi-gaeshi did sweep
Harrison off her feet. Another flurry of attacks by
Harrison and Tchmeo found herself with a shido,
then ten second later a second shido for avoiding a
grip. Harrison kept up the pressure and had a good
look at osoto-gari at the half way mark. Harrison
pulled one more ippon-seoi-nage and then slipped
into strategic defense mode. With a two shido lead
she could afford to give up one. This had not been the
case in earlier matches where her strong groundwork,
particularly her juji-gatame had her winning by
ippon. At the thirty second mark, the referee gave
Harrison that shido. The American went back into
attack mode. Harrison may not have realized that the
penalty was waved when she went in for a seoi-nage
on the left side. The attack failed and Tchmeo tried
to work the American into osae-komi. Harrison slid
off the French and grabbed hold off her opponents
arm in a face-down position, quickly submitting
Tchmeo with the armlock. With six seconds on the
clock Harrison had secured her second gold medal
with her strong ground game.
The most inspiring performance of the Rio Games
judo competition was Rafaela Silva. Haunted by
her hansoku-make in the London Games and
the racist taunts that followed, Silva focused on
silencing her critics. Rafaela won the 2013 Rio world
championships just steps from her favela-like home
near the Maracan football stadium. While this may
have given her some sense of redemption, the Olympic
jeers still stung. While some of her compatriots might
have been happy with a medal of any color, Silva road
to salvation was paved in only one, gold.
For the young upstarts like Basile and Baker, the Rio
Games was a chance to go for broke. They would
probably get another shot at Olympic glory in Tokyo
2020. However, a Silva run at the Tokyo Games
remained doubtful. Most athletes have about two
Olympic cycles in them, the physical and mental
strain being too much. The very best might have
three. Now, add the pressure of being the home
team. The Brazilian mens team did not really have
a strong contender with the possible exception of
Charles Chibana at 66 kilos. For the women, the
best hopes were Sarah Menezes at -48, Rafaela Silva
at -57 and Maya Aguiar at -78. When Menezes
and Chibana failed to deliver, the burden for Silva
increased significantly.
Silva approached the days matches much like Teddy
Riner. She wasnt taking chances. She was calculating.
She was business-like. She did not celebrate her
wins on the way to the gold medal match. As she
moved through draw eliminating Hedwig Karakas
of Hungary and Corina Caprioriu of Roumania, the
pressure on Silva mounted. Then suddenly she was
in the final.
On paper, Silva had an uphill battle against her
Mongolian opponent Dorjsuren Sumiya. The
Brazilian had only beaten her Asian counterpart once
in their previous five matches, the 2015 Dusseldorf
Grand Prix. In their two prior meetings in Paris and
Tokyo, Dorjsuren dominated Silva in the early part
of the match with Silva seem to run out of either
mental of physical reserves by the end. However, the
old maxim that Olympics is different held true in this
contest. Silva came in with a certain look in her eye.
As the gold medal match began, it was Dorjsuren
who was on her heels in the opening minute. At the
forty-five second mark, the referee issued a pair of
shidos. In their next exchange, the Mongolian went
for broke with a sasae-tsuri-komi-ashi, that was big
on effort but without much kuzushi. Silva responding
Judoka Quarterly 21
Baker Mashus ouchi-gari scored waza-ari over Varlam Liparteliani
in the final seccuring a second gold medal for the Japanese men
almost but instinct countering for waza-ari. The
Brazilians eyse grew wide as she initially thought
she scored an ippon due to the impact. She stared at
the video referees table looking for some indication
that her task was completed. Dorjsuren stared down
her opponent and went into full attack mode as the
referee shouted Hajime! Dorsjsuren continued to
fight against Silvas kumigata and almost managed
a score with seoi-nage, as Silva held on for dear life.
Sorjsurens twisting double collar grip seoi-nage at
the one-minute mark again almost scored but Silva
landed on her butt instead of her back. With thirty
seconds left and another attack by the Mongolian
Silva finally got her second shido but time was
on her side. With ten seconds left, Silva latched
onto Dorjsurens arm and threw in a half-hearted
juji-gatame. Finally, time elapsed and Silva, both
physically and mentally drained, fell to her knees
with her arms over her head. She bowed to the crowd
thrice and they responded ecstatically, beating her
chests and hugging one another. It would be Brazils
only gold medal in judo at these Games.
For many Japanese judo fans, the London Games
poor performance loomed large in Rio. The unofficial
consensus was that to regain favor with their fans, the
Japanese team needed to do much better. The number
floating around was four gold medals, two men and
two women, For the men, the closest to a sure thing
was Ono. For many, the best early prospects were
Takato Naohisa and Ebiniuma. When both of these
judoka came up short and Nagase failed to deliver
gold at -81k, things looked increasingly difficult. 2015
-100k world champion Haga Ryosuke was coming
off an injury from the spring and had not competed
much as a result. Harasawa had a lackluster outing
at the 2015 Guadalajara Masters, where he got
annihilated by the Romanian Daniel Natea. That left
Baker Mashu. The young gun from Tokai University
had put together a big win at the Guadalajara Masters
and seemed to be in a good groove. Like Basile, Baker
was in the enviable position of having little to lose
and much to gain. Unlike Basile, Baker came in as
the number one seed.
Baker opened his Olympic campaign with an ippon
over Germanys Marc Odenthal. The Japanese
attacked with his most effective technique, ouchi-
gari, and followed up with seoi-otoshi for the win.
In Bakers second contest against Aleksander Kukolj
of Serbia, the Japanese employed his signature
defensive posture. He thrust his hips back and when
his opponent turns in to attack, Baker will bend
his knees and shift his hips back inside to block the
attack, often rotating his lower body and dropping
his torso. The effect is that the opponent appears
to be attacking a dead fish. At the three-and-a-half
minute mark, Baker received a shido. The Japanese
responded with an ouchi-gari attack for yuko. Kukolj
sought to even the score with an uchi-mata but as
he swung his long leg and attempted to reap, Baker
countered for waza-ari and moved into osaekomi with
yoko-shiho-gatame. Next up was Alexandre Iddir of
France. Bakers posture was a little more upright in
this bout and he attacked with ouchi-gari and kosoto-
gari but failed to score. At the three thirty mark,
Iddir attempted an ouchi-gari and failed. Seconds
later, Baker looked for a kosoto-gari. When Iddir
tried to counter with a koshi-waza, Baker tripped
him with a deashi-barai for waza ari. Once again,
Baker followed up on the ground with yoko-shiho-
gatame and Iddir was relegated to the repechage
round. In the semi-final against surprising strong
contender from China, Deng Xunjhao, Baker kept
up the pressure with ashi-waza attacks and the dead
fish defense, literally hanging from Dengs judogi.
With Baker attacking with only one hand gripping
and Deng unable to turn in effectively neither judoka
showed enough to earn the other a shido. With two
minutes remaining, the fatigue of the days matches
began to wear on both Deng and Baker and the
attacks got sloppy. A ippon-seoi-nage throw at the
fifty second mark by Baker was negated because the
referee called mate. The reason for the stoppage
was penalty to Baker. Baker immediately attacked
with ouchi-gari for yuko and transitioned into kesa-
gatame for ippon. An exhausted Deng could do
little by lie there and wait for the time to expire. The
final opponent was Varlam Liparteliani of Georgia.
With the failure of Amiran Papinashvili (-60k) and
Avtandiki Tchrikishvilli (-81k) to make the podium,
a gold medal opportunity was Lipartelianis chance to
regain some Georgian pride. In the first minute, both
judoka looked cautious though Baker got in osoto-
Judoka Quarterly 23
 An emotional Majlinda
Kelmendi prepares to hear the
Kosovo national anthem from the
top step of the Olympic podium
 Emilie Andeol competed a French
sweep on Day Seven when she pinned
Idalys Ortiz in the final for ippon

Travis Stevens solid groundwork

earned the American a silver at -81k
Yarden Gerbi greets her supporters after securing a bronze in Rio
 Israels Or Sasson was the closest
to throwing teddy Riner with this
ippon seoinage
 gari and ouchi-gari attempts. Meanwhile, Liparteliani
was searching for a deep grip over the top or even a
belt grip to perform the type of koshi-waza that the
Georgian team is famous for. As the two minute
mark passed, Baker went in for an ouchi-gari that
finally connected and he managed a yuko. Unlike
his previous matches, Baker could not convert for
a higher score on the ground. The reason for this is
that Liparteliani is a rare bird among the Georgian
squad; he has some genuine skills in newaza. The
final two minutes evolved into a cat-and-mouse game
with Baker trying to juke and slide off any grips/
attacks by Liparteliani. For the Georgians part, he
looked exhausted. One big chink in the Georgian
teams armor is conditioning. They cant seem to
keep the pressure on for more than four minutes.
The heavy breathing and hands on the hips posture
during the breaks was more than ample evidence
that Liparteliani was clearly winded. Even with a
deep grip, he lacked the physical reserve to overpower
his opponent. The final thirty seconds were not
pretty. Japanese may lament that Baker ran from his
opponent but maybe that was just being smart. As
time expired, Baker raised his hands in triumphed.
For Liparteliani, the full weight of his failure was
evident on the podium as he wept into his sleeves.
The French team had been struggling throughout the
competition. Everyone agreed that Teddy Riner was
a virtual lock for the gold medal. And Cyril Maret
put in a bronze medal performance that was his best
outing outside of Paris, where he always seemed to
fight a full notch better than at other venues. However,
the French women had a hard going to Brazil. Emane,
Pavia, Agbegneneu, and Tchumeo all came up short
of gold. While the womens heavyweight division
was never a foregone conclusion, based on her recent
performances, the smart money was on the Cuban,
Idylis Ortiz. A darkhorse might have been Yamabe
from Japan, thought she rarely performs as well on the
international stage as she does domestically. While
she was not exactly off the radar, Emilie Andeol was
probably not at the top of everyones list. That spelled
opportunity for the French +78k competitor.
I wish I could say that the +78k womens final was a
riveting match but it wasnt. This has been the trend
28
over the years and some might point to the +78s
lack of positive judo as a reason that the regulation
time for women was reduced from five minutes to
four. The first minute of the Ortiz/Andeol contest
was little more than a few taps of the feet and
mercifully a shido was given to each. It took another
thirty second for an attack and it was Andeol who
attempted an untidy harai-goshi maki-komi. It took
Ortiz almost two and half minutes to even turn in
for an attack and her ippon-seoi-nage did not move
Andeol. With a minute left, Andeol turned in again
but with no kuzushi. Ten seconds later, Ortiz put in
her best attack, another ippon seoi-nage but did not
manage to get Andeol off her feet. Before regulation
time expired, Ortiz put in one more seoi-nage. In a
span of four minutes there were just five lackluster
attacks. (Why werent there more shidos?) During
the first minute of golden score, Andeol attacked
but turning in for two harai-goshi but she never
had a decent grip and Ortiz rode her to the tatami.
This pattern continued for another minute and a
half with Andeols sloppy attacks vs Ortizs lack of
offense. Finally, Ortiz tried to counter an Andeol
attack with sumi-gaeshi but falls on her back. The
Frenchwoman quickly climbed on top and traps
Ortiz with yoko-shiho-gatame for ippon and the
gold medal.
The final day was indeed Frances day to shine when
Teddy Riner bested Japans Harasawa Hisayoshi for
the +100 gold to complete a French sweep in the
heavyweight categories. Riner and Kayla Harrison
were the only repeat Olympic gold medalists from
the London Games. There were some historic
moments as well in these Rio Games. -100k Luk
Krplek of the Czech Republic and -48k Paula
Parento of Argentina captured their countries
first Olympic gold medals in judo. Then there was
Majlinda Kelmendi who won Kosovos first Olympic
gold medal in any sport. Travis Stevens silver at -81k
equaled the USAs best showing by a male judoka.
As we begin the next Olympic cycle and eyes turn
toward Tokyo 2020, it will be interesting to see who
will return to the Olympic stage in four years time
for another chance to snatch victory. One thing is
certain, the drama in Rio definitely lived up to its
billing.
 For most of the final day of
competition, Teddy Riner quietly
went about his business until this
sumi-gaeshi in the semi-final
P a r a ly m p i c s
EMBRACING THE POWER AND SPIRIT OF PARALYMPIC JUDO IN RIO
The Brazilian fans were big supporters of all the Paralympians not just their local judoka
By David McFall
Photographs by Rafal Burza
Paralympic judo has a unique f lavor. For judo
practitioners without visual impairment, the prospect
of practicing competitive judo with limited sight
might seem like a frightening prospect. However,
judo at higher levels is about feeling your opponent
through the manipulation of the judogi. Visually
impaired judoka start their matches by standing in
the center of the tatami and gripping their opponent.
In a sense, perhaps visually impaired judo is a purer
form of what Kano Jigoro was trying to devise when
he boiled down the essence of jujitsu into the form
of self-defense and physical exercise that we now
know as judo. (Of course, adding in another factor
like being hearing impaired just ups the ante). At the
2016 Rio Paralympic Games we were able to witness
this form of judo at its highest level.
Paralympic judoka are divided into three separate
groups by the degree of their visual impairment
(B1, B2 and B3) with B1 representing competitors
who are totally blind. B1 athletes have a red circle
marked on the shoulder of their judogi. In addition,
visually impaired judoka who are hearing impaired
as well will be designated with a yellow circle on
the opposite shoulder of their judogi. Despite these
separate groupings, all visually and hearing impaired
athletes compete against each other in the same
weight classes. The weight classes fall into the same
range as their IJF counterparts with the exception of
heavyweight class for female competitors where the
top weight class is +70k (ie: there is no -78k weight
class for women).
In the following pages we bring you some of the
highlights of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games. Click
here for the full results from the International Blind
Sports Federation.
Judoka Quarterly 31
Bayram Mustafayev of Azerbaijan executes a textbook juji-gatame against
Fujimoto Satoshi of Japan in the -66 semifinals

Germany's Carmen Brussig celebrates

her -48k semifinal victory over Yuliya
Halinska of Ukraine
Sherzod Namozov of Ukbekistan
employs some ashiwaza to defeat
Azerbaijan's Ramid Ibrahimov in
the -60k semi-finals

Judoka Quarterly 33
 An emotional Dartanyon
Crockett of the USA embraces his
coach after securing -90k bronze
Victory is sweet for Mexico's Eduardo
Adrain Avila Sanchez at -81k

Judoka Quarterly 35
 Inna Cherniak of Ukraine and
Brazil's Lucia Da Silva Teixeiria
Araujo face-off in the -57 gold
medal match
36
China's Yuan Yanping showed solid heavyweight
judo in the +70 final against Ukbekistan's
Khayitjon Alimova

Korea's Choi Gwanggeun and Antonio

Tenerio of Brazil are escorted to the center of
the tatami in an all B1 -100 semi-final
 Uzbekistans's Adiljan Tuledibaev pounced on Wilians Silva de Araiju of
Brazil winning the +100 gold two seconds into the final

38
Ramil Gasimov of Azerbaijan with some
beautiful sutemi-waza to defeat Ukraine's
Dmytro Solovey in the -73 finals

Ukraine's Irinya Husieva

embraces -63k gold medalist
Dalidaivis Rodriguez of Cuba
Mexico's Lenia Fabiola Rulvalcaba Alvarez
celebrates her -70k gold medal victory over
Alan Martins Maldonado of Brazil

Two-time Paralympic silver medalist

Sandrine Martinet of France
takes the -52k gold medal against
Germany's Ramona Brussig
J
Q

P A Star of David:
R Six Episodes in the Journey of Yarden Gerbi
O
F
I
L
E

by David McFall
photos by Rafal Burza
 E
Q
Gerbi is never shy about who she and where she is from
Yarden Gerbi has faced the unique challenges of being
an Israeli judoka head-on. While many judoka make the
gesture of pointing to the national flag on their judogi
after a big result, Yardens pride in her nation and
the Star of David flag carries even more weight. And
yet Yarden Gerbi is also one of the most genial judoka
on the circuit. She has a quick, infectious smile and
exudes warmth. In the following six episodes, Yarden
Gerbi describes her experiences as an Israeli judoka in
her own words.
2015 Masters
Rabat, Morrocco
At first, we didnt really know if were going to the
Morocco. Every time, the federation and my coach
said, We are going to war. Every year they said it
42
for Abu Dhabi, and one week before were to leave,
we didnt go. We go and then we dont go, so I
thought that maybe it would be the same. But the
moment we got to the airport, we got on the plane.
We went. Israelis can go to Morocco. Its not a
problem to enter. We arrived at the [Rabat] airport,
and I remember it was very small. All the teams went
inside. We got out our passports. We waited on the
side. At immigration, they said, You wait. Okay,
we thought okay, and then everyone passed. All the
planes passed. No more passengers, and I asked my
coach, Maybe you should ask? He said, Oh no,
we wait. I think we didnt ask anything for more
than four or five hours. I didnt get why because if
we had a visa, there should be no problem. We can
go. We were waiting, and I remember there was only
a toilet. We didnt have anything to drink. No food,
no machines, nothing. You know, after four, five,
six hours, seven hours, come on. Whats going on?
We came for a competition. We didnt come here
for any politics. Just sport. Pure sport. When they
went to ask the immigration, they said our visas are
not good. That we have tourist visa and we came
for sport, so they cant let us go in. We didnt really
know what to do. We asked for water. They gave us
a 100 milliliters of water, and then after I think one
hour it was eight hours alreadythey put us in a
room. We can sit because before that we were on the
floor. Air France gave us some food after eight hours.
Then the president of the federation decided to pull
the visa because it was too long. We arrived around
1:00 I think, and at 9:00, we were still there. We
called [IJF President] Marius Vizer, and Vizer said,
Why didnt you call before? I didnt know this is the
situation. He said, If they dont let you go inside,
I will cancel the competition. After two minutes,
they let us go.
When we arrived, we had security all around, local
security. They were really nice. Everyone was really
nice there. The hotel people, they knew we are from
Israel, but the local people were really nice, until
the moment we came to the competition. First, we
didnt know where anything was. When we first
went on the mat, all the crowd was booing, so in
the beginning we didnt know whats going on.
Then, as the day continued, we saw the booing was

Gerbi suffered the jeers in Rabat and gave it her all in a losing effort against Martnya Trajdos
only for Israeli. I remember when I fought for the
bronze, it was a worst. You couldnt hear anything.
It was only booing. When I was standing and I was
getting ready for the fight, people behind me in the
crowd spit on me. They screamed, they cursed at me
in Arabic, which I can understand. Also in English.
It was terrible, really terrible. You tried to focus on
the competition and what you want to do, but it was
terrible. When we left the hall, people were waiting
outside and spit on us when we got on the bus. I
remember one guy. He came up to me. He said, I
dont care for politics. I want a photo with you. I love
you. I had a big smile, you know? I made the photo,
and everyone screamed, What are you doing? Why
do you do this? And he said, I dont care. I love
her. It was crazy. On my Facebook page I got a lot
Yarden Gerbi
of messages. A lot of curses. I also got threats. If you
fight, we will kill you. If you come to Morocco, you
wont come back to Israel. Things like this.
Beginnings
Netanyu, Israel
I will tell you a short story. When I was around
three, it was the 92 Olympics. It was Yael Arad,
the first Israeli woman to win the silver medal at
the Olympics in judo. I dont remember anything
since I was young, but I was in front of TV with my
parents. I looked and I said to my parents, How
can I buy a ticket to the Olympics? I want to fight
at the Olympics. My mom told me, You cant buy
Judoka Quarterly 43

Gerbis coach Shany Hershko has been in her corner
since she started judo at the age of six
a ticket. You need to work really, really hard to get
there. Since then, this sentence stuck with me all
this way. I was a bit young. I was three years old,
but I started judo at six. I think this was my first
influence to start judo.
In the beginning, [my parents] didnt really get
what [judo] is. My mom thought its fighting. Just a
normal fight, like boxing. Then she realized what it
is. At the beginning, they didnt really understand,
but as they followed me over the years, they saw how
amazing this sport is. They understood everything
about it, and they saw how ... They did everything
for me, you know? They supported me. They felt
for me when I was winning, and when I was losing.
They saw me. They supported. Not only them. Also,
44
my brother and sisters. I have a really supporting
family, so for this, I am blessed. Really blessed.
Meditav Natanya [dojo] is more for young kids. I
used to train there from when I was six. Actually, I
started with Shani Hershko. This is what is amazing
about our story. We started when I was six years old
and we become world champions together. From the
beginning, he was tough. He was really tough, but
I liked it. Since the beginning, I believed in him. In
the very beginning, I started with another coach,
Smaja, the boys coach. Smaja and Shani coached
together, and then after one year, they separated.
I had to decide who to go with. I was just six years
old. I went with Shani. It just was the feeling since
the beginning.
2013 World Championships
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
After learning that I had lost my ticket to the 2012
Olympics through qualification, I took a break, and
then I decided that Id come back. I knew I would
come back. I just took the break to think it over.
To wait it out and to start again after four years.
Something changed in myself. I just went for it. The
year before and in 2012, I was hurt and it was very
difficult for me to fight. When I recovered fully, I
could do my own judo. When I can do my judo,
I can beat everyone. Everyone, not matter what.
When I have my judo, I can win. When I felt like
myself again, something was freed in my body. You
know when you fight in a competition and you
win, it matters. Every competition you grow. You
have confidence. When you come to the World
Championship and you are seeded first and you have
the number one world ranking, you have the guts.
You believe in yourself that you can do it. Not many
know that before the Worlds, I was injured. I almost
cancelled my flight. I fell on my shoulder. I couldnt
really lift my shoulder. It was maybe one week before
we fly, and it was ten days before the competition. We
decided to go for it anyway. Its worth it, no matter
what. With good physiotherapy and good treatment
around me, I didnt even feel it. I think I was so into
it. You know, when you have that adrenaline, you
dont feel anything.
 I
PAGE: TopChoking out Agbegnenou
e 2 3 Rio world championship final
tto l ftGerbi holds back any celebration for
winning the Rio final out of concern for her opponent
Bottom rightGerbi finally realizes that the 2013 world title
is hers
It just was a miracle day, the way it happened. Every
fight, all the fights. Everything was just amazing.
If you would ask me before, like if you would win
that award, what was the perfect way? This is the
perfect way. I dont think this day will come back.
When I finished the final, when I won, I was crying.
At the beginning, I didnt believe it because what
happened to Clarisse [Agbegnenou] because she
was unconscious. Many people told me, You are
world champion. You should celebrate, but when
you see your friend is like losing consciousness, I
couldnt really celebrate it. I just waited until the
doctor came. I didnt really realize whats going on. I
thought, okay, another Grand Slam, but the moment
I stepped off the mat, like everything came out. Shani
is screaming, Youre the world champion. Youre the
world champion. I start to cry. I didnt stop crying.
The moment I made it around of the mat, I called
my parents, and it was live on TV. The first thing I
told them was, Do you believe your daughter is the
world champion?
The Gerbi choke
Minsk, Belarus
Actually, this is an amazing story because I was in the
World Cup in 2009 in Belarus and because of flight
ticket, we couldnt come back on Sunday. We had
to come back on Tuesday. We had one day free, on
Monday. We decided to go training, and they taught
me this choke. At first, I didnt understand how it
worked. It took me a bit of time. I practiced it for one
hour in the training. Then we came back to Israel and
I started to practice it. I used it before. Maybe no one
noticed, but I used it before. I won in Dusseldorf with
it. I beat the Austrian, Drexter with this choke. I beat
a lot of people in the European clubs with this choke.
People didnt notice. I didnt use it all the time.
[When it was banned], I was sad because I think
46
what is beautiful about sport is that you improve it,
you know? When you have something new, instead
of going against it, try to make it better. Instead of
making it better, they said its dangerous for kids.
I think arm lock is worse. but I follow the rules of
the IJF. But it just was a pity because it was such a
beautiful technique.
2014 World Championships
Chelyabinsk, Russia
It changes your life to go out anonymous and come
back famous. Everywhere you go, people know you.
People recognize you. People speak to you. People
stare at you. Its very difficult to live with it at the
beginning, so it took me some time. It took a few
months to understand how everything is going and
what you need to do and to react. When I came back
to judo, I lost and lost and lost and lost. In Tyumen,
the last competition before the worlds, and I lost
in the first round. I told Shani, How am I going
to fight the worlds? I have no confidence compared
to the last year when I won everything. Shani said,
You will come like an injured tiger. You will fight
every woman, and you have no choice. I think in an
important competition, I can bring something from
inside myself to focus and to say, This I cant lose.
This I cant lose. Theres no way I lose. The first four
fights were good fights for me. I won by ippon, and
I was very strong. I beat the Japanese after she was
winning. At first I was surprised. After the year I had,
but I didnt feel like I was satisfied. I told myself I
Up close and personal with the now outlawed Gerbi choke

Fighting in the Chelyabinsk world championships -63kg final against her close friend Clarisse Agbegnenou
have to become a world champion, its crazy. I must
have it, but when I lost, I was so sad. I could have
made history two times. I was so disappointed. I see
it now with with some perspective and it [silver] was
good medal for me. Very good.
2015 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam
Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
I will tell you a story about the Abu Dhabi. Every
year, Shani told us, We are going. We are going,
but I told, Okay, every year you say, and then two
days before the flight, you say we dont go. I was
sure we wouldnt go. In the airport, I was sure we
would not be on the flight. We got the ticket with a
connection flight. We had two flights to get to Abu
Dhabi. I said, Its impossible. For sure. they wont let
us go inside the plane. We arrived first in Turkey. We
arrived in Istanbul, and when we were boarding the
flight to Abu Dhabi, they had one guy who checked
Yarden Gerbi
our passports. I said, Okay, this is the place. We
wont go inside. We went, he checked. Okay, you
can go. I said, What? There is no way. I was so
surprised. I didnt realize it. Okay, so we arrive in Abu
Dhabi. People are waiting for us. Again, people are
really, really nice. We had security everywhere. The
local people were really nice. We had a special car.
Everything was taken care of. I remember the day of
training. Shani told us before the training, Okay,
we have two situations. One, we dont fight. Two, we
fight with IJF flag.
We didnt know this beforehand. He [Shani] also
didnt know it. We thought we are going to fight
as Israeli. Because I think if we had known that
we would fight for the IJF, they would reconsider
whether to go or not. But we only found out when
we are there, so youre already there. To not fight is to
lose. They tried to embarrass us. Even if I fight as IJF,
people know where Im from. For sure. We said we are
fighting. Its not our decision, but the federation and
Judoka Quarterly 47
 PROFILE
JQ
Gerbi managed to win a bronze fighting under the IJF flag in Abu Dhabi
Shani. They decided we are going to fight. I wanted
to fight. They hid our flag. It was a pain in my heart
to see. They sewed a patch over it, like a white patch.
I want to represent my country, and it made me mad,
like mad from inside. You cant describe this feeling.
Its something you cant control. At the beginning,
they told us, Dont scream. They dont know you are
from Israel. I didnt care. I screamed in Hebrew. I
screamed for my teammates. I was so mad. I wanted
to see my flag there, not the IJF flag. I remember I
was carrying this feeling for two days until I fought.
When I did fight and I won the bronze medal, I cried.
I was emotional because I felt shame, but in another
way I felt proud. This was the first time that Israeli
athletes had fought at Abu Dhabi.
Role Model
Netanyu, Israel
48
I get a lot of messages from parents about their kids.
Not only in judo, but in sport in general. People
tell me that I am their role model, so I have a lot
of responsibility. I get a lot of messages, but if a kid
writes me, I always answer. I can see their reaction.
We have a few days in Israel, where the national
womens team trains together with young girls. You
can see how they are. You can see it in their eyes, they
look inspired and they dont believe they can touch
us and fight with us. This is what makes them realize
that we are human, the same as they are. I started
the same way when I was younger. Its no different.
I just work hard. I believe. I had a good coach, and
everything. A good family, good support. Everything
comes together, but I started the same way. I dont
have special magic. I think this is something I try to
provide as an example for young girls and also for
adults. People are inspired by this. I can feel it. I can
see their reaction. I hope I do a good job. Its really
special when you do something with kids.
 The
Esoteric
Technique
q
of the Cat

Written by Issai Chozan (1717)

Translated by Mouri Osamu

Issai Chozan was a novelist and a samurai in the

early to middle part of the Tokugawa period. He
was born in 1659 and died in 1742 at the age of
eighty-three. His real name was Niwa Jrzaemon
Tadaaki. He was born in Kansai. His first
assignment was Sekiyado, Chiba Prefecture and
later came back to the same domain, this time as
daimyo with 10,000 koku stipend. Well-versed in
Confucianism, neo-Confucianism, Taoism, Zen
Buddhism and the teaching of Wang Yangming,
he devoted his time to enlightening the public with
engaging stories focused on the martial arts such
as Inaka-Soshi (Hayseed Taoist) and Tengu- grew angry and grabbed his own wooden sword,
Geijutsu-Ron (Treatise on the Art of the Mountain
Goblin) which are highly praised for their values.
There was once a swordsman called Shoken. In
Shoken's house, there was a large rat having chosen
his house as its permanent domicile. The rat boldly
ran around in the house in plain sight, so Shoken
attempted to catch it by closing off the room it was
in and sending in his cat. Unfortunately, the rat ran
straight at the cat, jumping on its head and biting
it. The poor cat cried out and ran away.
Shoken had no choice but to assemble some local
cats that seemed to be pretty strong, and send them
into the room through a small opening one by one.
The rat was crouching in a corner, and jumped on
and bit any cat that came near. Its fury was so great
that the cats all cowered from the rat, making no
further attempts to catch it. Seeing this, Shoken
attempting to strike down the rat himself. However,
he not only swung and missed the rat at every try. In
the end, he had torn down his own walls and doors.
Dripping with sweat, he yelled out for his servant.
"I heard of an amazing old cat living six or seven
neighborhoods over. Go and borrow it." When
it arrived, the cat didn't look particularly sharp.

Judoka Quarterly 49
 However, when he put it in the room, the rat shrunk
down and couldn't move. The old cat strolled over
nonchalantly, picked up the rat, and brought it out.
Later that night, many cats gathered at Shoken's
house. They all kneeled down before the old cat
and said, "We are all well known for our skill in
rat catching, able to handle even weasels and otters,
and our nails are razor sharp. However, there was
nothing we could do against that rat. How is it that
you were able to overcome that giant rat? Please
impart to us the secrets of your art."
The Old Cat laughed and said, "Young ones, you
all put forth a good effort. The only reason you met
with an unexpected defeat today was likely because
you do not know any technique that is in accord
with correct principle. Before I begin, though, tell
me about your training background."
A Black Cat came forward and said, "I was raised
in a family that specialized in catching rats. Since
I was born I have trained myself with a view to
becoming a great rat-catcher. I can leap over a seven-
foot screen and squeeze through tiny holes. I've
always been talented at light and fast techniques.
At times, I feign sleep and then strike out as soon
as a rat comes near. Rats cannot escape me. I can
catch them even as they fled across ceiling beams. I
know absolutely no defeat until I met that old rat."
The Old Cat said, "Your training has centered on
technique. Accordingly, what stands in the forefront
is your mindset that only aims to achieve the goal.
The old masters taught you techniques as guidelines.
And I admit the technique itself must have not been
easy. Within the technique, there is a profound
principle, but today the emphasis is on the technique
alone. Thus people create various techniques and
polish their skills, resulting in nothing more than
contests of technique. But once one can polish his
skill no further, he is lost. If a person relies on skill
and drowns in innovation, everything will follow
similarly. The workings of the mind/heart will
also have no foundation in principle. Emphasis on
improvement then begets more harm than benefit.
Reflect on this and innovate carefully."
Next a Striped Cat stepped forward and said: "I
50
think that the most important thing for martial
technique is how to carry one's ki. I have long trained
myself in its cultivation and development, and my
ki is hard and strong, filling heaven and earth. I
can face down my opponents with overwhelming
ki and defeat them from the start. I can make any
adjustment to change. I don't need to consciously
move, only move naturally, and even run along walls
and ceilings. But that rat came without form, and
went without a trace. I was stymied."
The Old Cat replied, "That training works on the
basis of nothing more than the force of ki. You are
conscious of your own use of your power, so it is
not spontaneous. Your thought and desire not to be
defeated brings forth the opponent's effort to defeat
you. Furthermore, what to do when you cannot
defeat something you are trying to defeat? It's never
the case that you are the only one that is strong and
all of your opponents are weak. The ki that you
think fills heaven and earth is nothing more than
superficial force. It may resemble Mencius' kozen no
ki, but in reality it is not. Mencius can perceive very
well and has the knowledge to discern matters, and
is very solid. But your solidity is dependent on force
and the effect is not even comparable. It is like the
difference between an ever-flowing great river and
the force of a flashflood after a night's rain. What
do you do when faced with an opponent that is
unperturbed by the force of your ki? We know the
proverb, 'A biting cat gets bitten by the rat. 'When a
rat is cornered it forgets life, forgets desires, forgets
winning and losing, forgets safetyit is in a state
of 'mushin'. How to defeat such an opponent with
only force?"
Next, an older Grey Cat came forth quietly and said,
"As you have stated, that type of ki power can be very
strong but still retains a form, however slight. I have
trained my mind for many years, and without force
of ki or resistance, always trying to harmonize with
everything. My technique is like a curtain surrendering
to the pressure of a stone thrown at it. Even a strong
rat finds no means to fight me. But that rat today, it
wouldn't yield to force, respond to harmonizing - it was
almost god-like. I've never seen a rat like that before."
The Old Cat answered, "The harmonizing you
 speak of is not of nature but instead something
that is contrived. Accordingly, even if you strive to
concentrate, if there is even the faintest wavering
in you, the opponent will know it. Also, if one
harmonizes based on one's own mind, the energy
will be tainted and spoiled. If you act based
on thinking, then you obstruct the sense of
naturalness/spontaneity, and subtlety cannot arise.
Do not think or do. Move in accord with sense,
and you will no longer have any enemies on this
earth. This is not to say that the training that each
one of you is doing is of no use. Where there is
energy ('ki'), there is principle, and where there is
principle, there is energy ('ki'). There is principle
in action, and energy is something that comprises
physical function. When that energy becomes
magnanimous, it can respond to things without
limit. So, when harmonizing, without strength,
even if one is hit by a rock, one will not break. The
slightest thought makes everything an intention.
Accordingly, the enemy will never respect you.
There is no need to use any technique. It is enough
to be 'mushin', and respond spontaneously. There is
no end to the path, so one must not take what I say
to be the enlightening secret.
Long ago, there was a cat in my neighborhood
who seemed to do nothing but nap all day. That
cat looked spiritless, almost like a cat made out of
wood. No one ever saw it catch a rat, yet wherever
it was and wherever it went, no rat could be seen
around. I once visited the cat and asked it to
explain. I asked four times but it remained silent
each time. It was not that the cat did not want to
answer but rather that it did not have a reason to
answer. What I understood from that was, those
who know, do not speak; those who speak, do not
know. That cat forgot about itself, forgot about
things, and had returned to a "non-thing". It was
truly "Divine, martial - no killing." I was nowhere
near in comparison to that cat.
Shoken, who had been listening in on this
dreamlike conversation, could not contain
himself and suddenly burst in. "I have been
training in swordsmanship for many years but
I have yet to master its essence. Tonight I have
52
learned it.
Some 286 years later, in a small town near "Shoken"
lived there was an Old Man (which is me!) who used
to travel an hour and half twice every week to learn
the secrets of a kata called "Koshiki-no-Kata" from
a great teacher (perhaps similar to the Old Cat in
this story). He has practiced the art over 10 years
under the great master and seemed to have learned
multitude of the ins and outs of the kata. Recently,
however, he became increasingly uneasy without
knowing why. The Old Man had decided to watch
how others practiced rather than practice it himself.
Another reason, of course, for not practicing was the
fact that he was not able to mobilize the physical
power to perform it properly.
While watching others performing the kata, he
started to see a dim light ahead to solve his own
problem of feeling uneasy about the kata. And the
solution came not from the kata but from reading
various stories such as the above. The more he
studied about the creator of the kata, the more he
felt we were staying farther away from what the
kata was meant for. The only way to deal with it
is to ask each one of us "What is this kata for?".
The problem is, you'd have to dig into it yourself
and you could hardly expect anyone else to help.
All that the Old Cat can say is about how you can
immerse yourself in a hazy and yet lofty world till
something clicks in your mind "This is it!" Early
in 1882, something clicked in the mind of Jigoro
Kano and at his official debut in front of various
dignitaries he was very confident about what he was
talking about. In one of the Kito-ryu Densho, we
find these words "It does not teach you how to win
against your opponent. It teaches you how to win
against the enemies within yourself; if you cannot
win them, how can you wish to win against the
enemies outside?"
Mouri Osamu
April, 2006
Satte (about three kilometers from Sekiyado)
 Emmeric le Persons

Heart of
Judo

54
Emmeric le Persons photographs speak for themselves. He
has captured intimate moments with IJF competitors, club
judoka and children. His beautiful black and white images are
a testament to both his skills as a photographer and his love
for the sport/martial art. His blog and more of his work can be
found at his website In the Heart of Judo.

Judoka Quarterly 55
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 Around the World in
Sixty-seven Throws
I met Morgan Girardeau while waiting in a line
to get into the Nihon Budokan for the All-Japan
championships. He told me that he was undertaking
a world tour focused on practicing judo in as many
countries as possible. Later, we trained at the Kodokan
together. I asked him if he could tell us a little about
where he has visited so far and where his judo travels will
take him next. You can read more about his adventures
on his blog: http://jitayuwakyoeiwolrdtour.over-blog.
com/ -David McFall
How did you get the idea for a round the world
judo excursion?
It was in 1996. I just got my black belt, and I said
to myself, You can't practice judo alone. We need
partners to practice judo. Why shouldn't I find
them all over the world? Like a chain, I wanted
to share my passion with other judo players in
accordance to Kano Jigoros principles of Mutual
Welfare and Benefit (Jita Kyoei). I started my trip
last September and my journey will take two years.
How many countries have you visited?
So far, since last September I have visited nineteen
countries:
France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland,
Belarus, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China,
Korea, Japan, Nepal, India, Myanmar, Thailand,
Cambodia, Viet Nam, Laos.
76
What were some of the biggest challenges in
visiting these other countries and practicing judo?
First, you have to find places to practice. The purpose
of my journey is to train at least once in each country.
It's not easy sometimes, because many clubs don't
have a website and when they have one, they often
don't have an English version. After that, you have to
make a request and get an answer. Most of time you
don't get a response. So I go to the place (if I have
the schedule) and I present myself there. I always
train as a student. So, I do what the other people do
and have fun.
To train in Mongolia and India was extremely
difficult because of the weather. I was in Mongolia in
December, it was -30C degrees. In India in July it was
42-45C degrees! In China and Belarus, it was very
hard to be understood and to find the dojo because
not so many people speak English. I asked for help.
But when I am on the mat, I don't need to speak. I
follow the group.
What was your favorite place?
Mongolia because it was so so hard to train. The judo
players there are very strong. I really enjoyed it. Also,
Japan for the pure form of judo.
What was your least favorite place?
I haven't got any because as soon as I found a place,
 Japan

Demonst ra
ting mutua
l welfare an
d benefit

Mongolia

Nepal
Judoka Quarterly 77
 With the K
orean team
in Mongoli
a
Vietnam

Nepal

Japan

78

we are all from the same family. Brothers of judo
If you could do the trip again what would you
change?
I gained experience everyday and all the mistakes
that I had done at the beginning, I would never
make them again. But, I don't want to change
anything. Experience is a good way to learn.
Where did you find the strongest judo on average?
Mongolia!! And Waseda University in Japan. But
Mongolian judo players are just awesome. Monsters
of wrestling. I didn't find the way to throw them. In
Japan, even at Waseda, I found ways to throw people.
What was your most interesting experience?
In Japan, in Osaka, I trained at Daishin judo
club with Matsuura-sensei. I submitted many of
their players, many times with my favorite newaza
technique, gyaku-juji-iime. The last day the sensei
asked me to show it to the group and he recorded it.
What did you learn from this experience?
I learned, that in judo, it's never finished. Even if
you are eighth-dan, like Matsuura-sensei, you learn
everyday, you can see details that can make you
understand something easily. There are as many ways
of judo as there are judo players. Thus, there is no end!
Can you share any inspirational stories from your
travels?
In Nepal I visited and trained with blind children in
Kathmandu. When someone got thrown, they were
laughing and always smiling instead of being pissed
off towards the one that threw them. That made me
thinkIn Nepal as well, judo is really an educational
system for orphans. Without judo, lots of them would
not be here today.You can find this story in English
on my blog "Nepal, my Everest"
What is your next step? Where do you go from
here?
The next countries will be:
Australia, New Zealand, Chile, Argentina, Paraguay,
Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama,
Costa Rica, Cuba, Honduras, Salvador, Guatemala,
Mexico, USA, and Canada.
Thank you, Morgan!
Paying respects at Kano Jigoro's grave
Judoka Quarterly 79
 Book Review
A GAME OF THROWS
CELEBRATING 50 YEARS OF JUDO

80
By Neil Adams
Fox Spirit Books
Reviewed by Stephen Blower
If you have been involved in judo for any length of
time, it is quite likely that you have heard the name
Neil Adams. If you were doing judo in Britain in the
1980s, there was no escaping it: Neil Adams was
British judo; he was the golden boy who was to take
Britain into a golden age, at least, that is the way
many saw it.
At twenty-three, after winning the 1981 judo world
championships in Maastricht, Netherlands, he
SXEOLVKHG KLV UVW DXWRELRJUDSK\ A Life in Judo,
written for him by Nicolas Soames. He wasnt happy
with the result, because it portrayed a person that he
feels wasnt perhaps the real him. His new book
sets out to put the record straight.
It wasnt so much that I dont like who I was back
then, more like people didnt really have a chance to
really know ME.
We join our hero near the start of his judo career
and his quest for international stardom, aged seven
or eight, at a U.K., Midland area championship, and
winning it. Two and half short paragraphs later we
read;
and then I won the Under 18s, then Under 21s, and
the seniors, and it went on and on. You get the picture.
Well, no, not really. I get that he won everything, but
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more: there must have been interesting anecdotes
for some if not all of those competitions, something
to add a little color to what is the formative time in
most peoples lives.
Chapters follow a basically chronological order;
Preparation is key and the 84 Olympics; The 88
Question; France and its Consequences. But within
chapters the narrative jumps disconcertingly from
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competitions to current day and back again, all in
the space of a few lines, with little to link them all
together, not in the mind of the author, I suspect, just
to us readers who arent privy to the history that the
author neglects tell us.
The latter and greater part of the book, the post
competition phase of Neils life, focuses on his quest to
leave a legacy through his activities to promote judo,
as well as what appears to be the happiest time of his
life with his second wife, Niki. Within this section we
get a little more of an insight into the personal life of
Neil Adams and the ups and downs of his trying to
make a career out of all things judo. If you are heading
along that same road, it could be a salutary read. The
Japanese proverb, knocked down seven times, get
up eight (nanakorobi yaoki), is quoted in the book
several times, and with good reason: Neils business
ventures have not been easy, and his tenacity to
surmount all obstacles shines through. We get to see
him overcome, amongst others, a broken marriage,
bankruptcy, alcoholism, and the tragic death of his
brother Chris, and still he keeps on coming.
In the penultimate chapter we are introduced to
several of Neils friends: his best friend Bob, Aidan,
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fully than any of the others in the book, which is a
shame because they are his Labrador Retriever and
various pet cats. The same amount of detail applied
to some of the people who populate the book would
have added more warmth and depth to a story that
sometimes reads as a relentless pursuit of success at
any cost.
The book is being promoted as an autobiography
although it could perhaps be more accurately
described as a memoir, that is, it has a loose
conversational style and, although it encompasses
most of Neils lifetime, is not in chronological order.
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emotional detail, other seemingly important events
are hardly given a mention, and the whole would
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editor. But, if you are looking for a quick and casual
read about a judo great, then what better than a book
about the U.K.s most successful player.
Judoka Quarterly 81
G
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L
D
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N

S
C
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Popole Misengas victory in his first round -90k fight was an Olympic first. Originally from
the Democratic Republic of Congo, Misenga and his teammate Yolande Mabika escaped
abuse and hardship under their countries flag and chose instead to compete as members of
the first Olympic refugee team. Mabika drew Israels Linda Bolder in her -70k first round
contest and was submitted by sangaku-jime. However, Misenga threw Indias Avtar Singh
with ippon seoi-nage for yuko and the historic win.
Photo credit: 2016 I.O.C./David Burnett