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(Bad) Place!

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So here are my shiai results with baited breath:

I took second place .... but ... there was only one other person in my division and I lost to him.

I was dissapointed for two reasons - first, I thought that there would be more than 1 other person - 2-3 at least. And second, I made a stupid mistake and it cost me the match because it left me significantly vulnerable to be thrown and my opponent took advantage of it. My mistake was that I tried a backward sacrifice throw - a no-no in competition.

However, I was happy that I competed, and happy to be there. I met some nice people, saw some old faces, and even saw a couple of great Judo matches.

There was one match between a guy from Camal's Dojo in Jersey against a guy from one of the Russian Dojos in Brooklyn or Queens (might have been spartak, but I am not sure). At the end of the match, the two senseis were playfully trash talking each other.

I also took my son for a few minutes when I went to weigh in and I think he really enjoyed watching the kids competition.

Needless to say I had a great time, and hopefully I will get a chance to do it again soon.


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