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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

Happy New Year!!! Last year, mainly due to everyone’s heartful support, I was able to acquire my athlete VISA, start my activities in the US including the position as the Youth Development Coach for USA Judo – a remarkable 1st year for our organization. I really want to thank all members supporting this activity.  In June of this year, there will be the first large scale event GKJN Cup – Chicago Youth Judo Competition – is planned.  Although we’re still a small organization and I still have a lot to learn, I vow to put my best efforts in teaching the children in the United States, the spirit of Judo

Training Camp…I do not believe that there is any Judoka in Japan that likes this word.  Of course, I didn’t like it either. December 16th ~ 19th, when the whole country becomes spectacular celebrating Christmas and the New Year’s, all 100 enthusiastic next generation JUDOKAs around the US has gathered in Dallas. This event was the first for me as the Youth Development Coach for USA JUDO.  The title “Training Camp for the 2028 LA Olympics” is an honor for me participating as a coach, but there was a huge anxiety with my broken English.  A totally different type of mental stress compared to when I was competing. “Be Audible,

Friday, December 3rd, via web we connected Chicago, Japan and Canada for the Employee and Board Meeting for the Global Kids Judo Network During the beginning of the COVID pandemic, we established GKJN as a company on October 1st, 2020.  Without my VISA, there was a lot of things that worried me at the start.  However, with support from a lot of people, I was able to get the alliance with Tohkon Judo Academy as well as USA Judo and acquire my O-1 VISA, donations from various sources  which all of them was way more than what I was expecting. I am very grateful for this. Our employee meeting (headcount

Although US Judo is still in its development phase, there are 3 major Championship Events.  In Japan, this would be the Kodokan Cup, All Japan Weight Categorized National Judo Championship, and the All Japan Judo Championship (The Empress Cup for Women) In the US, this would be the National Senior Championship, US Open and the Presidents Cup.  The last event for the Calendar year sithe Presidents Cup typically held in late November. This would be equivalent to the Emperor’s Cup or Empress’ Cup but there are no Emperors in the United States, thus this name.  Although we’re still in the pandemic, this event took place.  Vaccination was a pre-requisite for

“Jujitsu and Judo in the United States” -Participating in the Jujitsu Class of Carlson Gracie Jr.- What do you imagine when you hear the wor “Jujitsu?”  Martial Arts? K1? That would only be its “appearance”  In reality, it is a sport with a lot of spices which is different than Judo. This article talks about the difference between Judo and Jujitsu which is popular in Japan. First of all, Judo originates from authentic Jujitsu (a martial art used by samurai’s using nothing but their body) but eliminated striking techniques and included social education.  However, the popular Brazilian Jujitsu was educated to the Gracie family by Mr. Mitsuyo Maeda (one of

through the 3 months of Judo Coaching As of November 7th, 3 months has passed since I moved to the United States.  Setting up my life to include acquiring my Driver’s License as shown in my previous report, there were a lot of things happening in my life.  But, in my professional life, I had felt a lot of things through the 3 classes I teach for kids. Although I am still a “freshman” living in the US, I did feel a difference between visiting and living here.  I would like to share my fresh thoughts today. The first difference is “guest coach” vs “resident coach”  How the kids interact

The NBA Season is ON!!  October 18th is the season opener of the NBA. The 4 major sports in the United States is MLB, NFL, NHL and the NBA.  Many Americans love sports where I always see some kind of sports playing at bars and people talking about it.  In order to survive in the US, it’s better to know about this than not.  I personally like Basketball as each of the players moves are quick.  When I am at home, I always have it on TV.  On October 23td, I had visited the United Center, the home of the Chicago Bulls play against the Detroit Pistons.  One of my