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As already announced, the two days (June 4th ~ 5th) the 1st GKJN Cup will take place. This event will be co-hosted with Tohkon Judo Academy and NPO in Chicago. This article explains where we are at with our preparation as well as showing gratitude to those that helped make this happen. Only a few days left!!! Yes, of course the clinics and the tournaments are important, but checking status of Placards, Medals, Lunch, Raffle Prices, honored guests, etc, etc, I NEED MORE TIME!!! But also excitement is occupying me as well. LET’S GET THIS DONE!! 1. Dates June 4th ~ 5th 2022 (2 day event) 2. Location The Dome […]

The 2nd episode of my Pan American Judo Clinic took place in St. Louis Missouri.  With a population of 310,000, it is known to be the city where baseball is most popular. Majority of the people are Cardinal Fans.  My quest is how do I draw attention to Judo in a city with so many fanatic baseball fans. Also, what kind of Judokas will it meet? A unique feeling of both anxiety and excitement take me when I visit a new city. The dojo that invited me was Kirkwood Judo Club which is a Dojo that has a long term relationship with Tohkon Judo Academy. So in that sense, I

Sponsorship Spot is still available until May 31st!! GKJN will be co-hosting the 25h Tohkon Cup and the Inaugural GKJN Cup at the The Dome at the Parkway Bank Sport Complex – aka “Rosemont Dome” An exciting event inviting 300 kids and adults from 7 Midwest States to experience the Judo Clinic and a Tournament of Judo, a martial art born in Japan.  A very unique event which is not seen elsewhere is brought to Chicago starting to enjoy the Summer Weather. Details can be found under “Event Details” and “Donations”  We are welcoming any and all groups to financially assist our activities whether corporate or individual. Questions?  Please send

As reported in my previous article, I had visited Oklahoma alone for a Judo Clinic requested by USA Judo. Being excited to visit a place where I have never been before, but was anxious at the same time for my First Solo Judo Clinic in the US.  2 days, 3 sessions – here’s my experience. 〜Day1〜 Friday, March 25th 8:50AM, I was on a 2 hour 15 minute flight from Chicago to Oklahoma City. I had the kids class until 8:30PM the previous night which put me to sleep in flight which made it feel very short. At the arrival gate, Girls from host organization USA STARS welcomed me. I

As you all know, JUDO in the US is not as major of a sport as in Japan, but there are 3 major tournaments for Juniors in the US.  The Youth National in the Spring, Junior Olympics in early summer and the Presidents Cup in November.  The first of the 3, Youth National was held in Lansing Michigan on March 19th and 20th.    Although “Youth” the age range is from 5 to 21 years old.  The event also serves as a selection tournament for the 2022 Pan American Championship (Cadet & Junior) and due to the fact that COVID resrictions have been lifted, 600 athletes had participated in this event!!

Today I would like to report about the Wahadachi Tournament held in Milwaukee WI on Sunday March 6th. With the Omicron Variant showing a trend to its end, many locations have lifted the mask mandates, where this tournament took place with almost no restrictions.  However, since it’s been a while from the previous tournament, 280 excited athletes gathered from all around the Midwest including 30 (26 kids, 3 adults) from Tohkon Judo Academy. There are about 30 to 50 local tournaments per year in the United States, but with the land being so huge, a “local” tournament is a once-a-year chance.  Even though it’s a local tournament, it’s a big

To be a school teacher obtaining a license is mandatory. Do coaches for sports (Judo) need a license? What do instructors need to know? What’s the difference between Japan and the US? I would like to share the contents and the difference between the US Safe Sport Training that I obtained as the Youth Development coach and the certificate I acquired in Japan as a Judo instructor. (1)Japan puts priority in content, US places the same in child safety. I believe this would be the same or similar for other sports, but you must obtain a license to educate Judo and they are ranked, A, B and C grades where

On Saturday, January 29th, promotion test at the Tohkon Judo Academy took place.  I participated as a judge. I believe you all know “black belt” but I would like to explain a bit about the road to black which includes the grades and the promotion test. What is a promotion test? In Japan, the Grades and the color of belts are defined as the chart on the left. Grade School children can only achieve up to 2nd Grade (Purple Belt), and you must be 14 years old to earn a black belt (In the US it’s 15) Having age restrictions is the same in the US and Japan, however, in

～From my calendar of Feb and March～ Time flies!! Yes, it’s already February.  Both Chicago and Japan are in the cold season and still fighting with the Omicron Variant.  In the midst of this, I had a zoom meeting with the Chair of USA Judo regarding my schedules going forward.  For anyone involved in Judo would know, the Kodokan Cup (the event I participated 13 times) for this year has been cancelled.  I can only feel for the athletes that worked hard including  to losing their weight, but if you consider Japanese mindset, this could be inevitable.  With these different mindsets, I’d like to share my activities through March. Meeting

A big wow for me.  Yu Darvish, a major league pitcher of the San Diego Padres sent myself and GKJN a greeting letter!!  As many of you may know, Yu played for the Chicago Cubs during the 2018 to 2020 season and really knows Chicago. I met Yu when I was still in competition.  I had a contracted gym – Dome Athlete House in Ariake, Tokyo – which is a gym that many professional athletes come.  He also came during the off season.  I really didn’t “meet” him but more close to “saw” him.  I recognized him, but I doubted that he’d know me. The location that reconnected me to