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Showing posts from August, 2012

Matside Manner Matters

I thought about posting an Olympic Wrap-up, but I quickly realized that a google or twitter search turned up dozens of reviews written by writers more experienced and nuanced than I. From an American perspective, it was a great year - punctuated by Kayla Harrison winning Gold, and Marti Malloy's bronze. Thrown in Travis Stevens' Pool win and 5th place finish, and arguably, this was the best US Olympic Judo Finish ever. But I want to talk about someone else - Jimmy Pedro Jr. While there is no doubt that Kayla, Marti, and Travis' success are the result of their hard work, focus and dedication, I think each would credit Jimmy's coaching as an aid in their success. as I watched those early morning matches on the computer (thanks to NBC's awesome coverage), You couldn't help but hear Jimmy's vocal guidance from the side of the mat. Jimmy, looking sharp in a suit (as opposed to the shlumpy warm-ups worn by some of the other coaches) cupped his hands at matside,

The Internet Never Forgets...

Hello everyone? Remember me? I am the guy who used to write this blog. I came back to it today for several reasons - partly because I am feeling the itch to start playing again, and partly because I've been getting up early to follow the Judo action at the London Olympics. But the real impetus to be writing again is because of a phone call I got from my brother yesterday. He told me he was searching for a family video I had posted on YouTube, entered my name in the search box, and stumbled across this: This is a video of the last non-dojo tournament I competed in. About 2-3 months before hurting my shoulder, and 6 months before my mom died. Needless to say the Judo is sloppy - I never claimed to be an Olympic-quality competitor, nor am I the perfect example of how to execute technique in a tournament setting. I remember this tournament well - it was a small tourney-  my group was only 3 people - me, this opponent, and one other guy. This was my first match. I remember the t