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10th October - Sir Clive Woodward to "fast-track" Euan Burton  ........Woodward pointed to the work he has already started with judo as evidence that his plan can be adapted to Olympic sport. In fact, he is about to begin working with Scottish judo player Euan Burton (seen on the left strangling 2005 World Champion Guillame Elmont NED at the recent Rio de Janeiro World Championships).  He had hoped to bring in three or four of the sport's best hopes but British Judo felt it would be better to start with the 28-year-old Burton, who has won European and World bronze medals this year, and "let the expertise filter down". Woodward admitted that "fast-tracking" Burton would cost more than the amount he budgeted for Reid, as the most pressing need for Britain's judo stars is regular training against the world's best judokas, which means considerable travel.   
  Read the full BBC story at this LINK with Burton lower down the page  Also read this Burton and Cusack story:

WOODWARD By John Skilbeck, PA Sport - Sir Clive Woodward has been hailed as a revolutionary influence on British judo and a man whose go-get-it attitude is designed to win medals rather than friends. The approval for Woodward's methods came from Billy Cusack (on the left coaching Euan Burton at the 2005 European Championships), Great Britain's judo world-class performance coach for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Judo has been credited as one of the 10 sports in which Woodward has made a significant positive contribution in his first year as the British Olympic Association's director of elite performance. A BBC Sport survey stated that 18 of the 28 Olympic sports had been barely affected by 51-year-old Woodward's new role. The fruits of his work with the judo players will be seen in China next summer, but Cusack, based at the Edinburgh Judo Club, is already prepared to credit England's former rugby union World Cup-winning coach with changing attitudes within the sport. "In my view, he's the whole shooting match," Cusack told PA Sport.                     Read the full Press Association Sportinglife.com story at this PAGE LINK 
 

25th September. Blackwater chief says Judo tactics would be helpful in battling terrorists
A former U.S. counterterrorism chief told his audience Monday the U.S. should use elements of judo, an ancient martial art, to thwart terrorists in Iraq and elsewhere. Judo, which means 'gentle way' in Japanese, prizes skill, technique, flexibility and timing.

Ambassador Cofer Black's (left) advice comes from experience, he told a crowd of more than 100 at the Texas Tech International Cultural Center on Indiana Avenue. His career in counterterrorism spans three decades and continues today in the private sector.

Black served as an intelligence officer for the CIA and, later, became the director's special assistant for counterterrorism. Read the full story at LubbockOnline.com
 

Japan kicked off judo’s ruling board after 55 years
(AFP)11 September 2007 TOKYO - Japan on Tuesday rued being kicked from the corridors of power in judo, a sport they gave to the world, after legendary Yasuhiro Yamashita suffered a rare political defeat.

Yamashita lost his seat on the International Judo Federation (IJF) executive committee, leaving it without a Japanese representative for the first time since the country joined in 1952.

‘It is inevitable that Japan’s voice will decline on the international stage,’ said the major daily Yomiuri Shimbun.

The former Olympic and world champion had sought re-election as education and coaching director at its congress in Rio de Janeiro on Monday ahead of the World Judo Championships there this week. See the full story (You will need to search for it)

9th September - Marius Vizer has judo world at his feet  Marius Vizer (Left), European Judo Union President, has been promoted to President of the International Judo Federation by the IJF Executive, without an election, following the surprise resignation of Park Yong-sung, 67, last Friday. This was the result of two years of intense pressure from the EJU even after the President of Korea pardoned Park for his embezzelment conviction at the Doosan Group, the tenth largest Korean conglomerate.

The IJF Congress, meeting on Monday, will formally vote on the proposal that Marius Vizer's term of office should be for the next six years. As IJF President Vizer will automatically join the International Olympic Committee. Two years ago, when Vizer first stood for IJF President, Park out manoeuvred him winning the election by 100 votes to 85.

Marius Vizer, a naturalized Austrian, was born in Romania in 1958. Later his family emigrated to Austria to escape the brutality of the Ceausescu regime. There, Vizer developed considerable business activities following the demise of Soviet influence in East Europe eventually settling in Hungary where he runs his business empire that encompasses cigarettes and casinos among other activities. He also runs the European Judo Union from there while his business empire stretches across Europe including sponsorship of the Real Madrid football club.

He started judo at the age of 13 and is quoted as saying it made him "happy and strong". Later he preferred to be a trainer rather than a player and even now supports his judo school in Tinka, the Romanian town of his birth where orphans and poor boys are taught judo. Many of the school's pupils are said to have become successful doctors, engineers and lawyers working in Romania. Recently, through judo, he has become a close friend of President Vladimir Putin of Russia making him Honoury President of the European Judo Union in December 2005.

Vizer is quoted as saying "Judo is a mental game. Intelligence in judo lies in the mental technique in moving your opponent's body in the direction you want him to go, determined by your brain and will". Now, without an election, Vizer has outwitted Park in true judo style!

Source: David Finch - 9th September (Originally circulated to e-newsletter members)
                                    Sports Diplomacy Crisis in Korea - The Korea Times
10th September - A press conference is planned for 5pm immediately after the IJF Congress
 

5th September - Jason Morris Judo Center tops medals at Fall Classic

Athletes from the Glenville-based Jason Morris Judo Center won USA Judo's Fall Classic for the third time in four years, with eight total medals, including two gold.

Burnt Hills graduate Nick Delpopolo (left at the Hatashita Toronto International last November) took a gold medal, going 5-1 in the 73kg division.

Burnt Hills graduate Hannah Martin did the same going 4-0 at the Fall Classic to capture the 57kg title. She is ranked second in the U.S. in her weight class.          Source timesunion.com

30th August: BRAZILIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE                GUARANTEES SUCCESSFUL RIO WORLDS   August 28, 2007 - From President Yong Sung PARK To: The Presidents of National Federations - Dear Sir or Madam,

It is my understanding that since the letter from Mr. Paulo Wanderley, President of the Brazil Judo Federation, was issued on August 25, there has been a lot of rumors and unwarranted complaints from those who have become aware of the contents of the letter.

In some sense, this is understandable because the letter indicated that the hosts for this year’s World Championships may have had some misunderstanding regarding the funding of certain costs, which were crucial to the holding of a successful event.

I wanted to re-affirm with you that the top priority for the International Judo Federation and myself personally is the protection of the interests of the players, and that the primary purpose of the IJF’s existence is to foster the holding of successful international events such as the one planned in Rio de Janeiro.

Yet at this crucial time, it was disappointing to see that........................Read 2 of the 3 letters at this page
                                This link will take you to the JudoInfo forum http://judoforum.com

8th August added: 1995 Tokyo Judo World Championships at this LINK

5th August - Olympic Champion Lee Won-Hee in plaster but longs to be competing The leg which was once famous for delivering brutal judo leg-locks now sports a plaster cast. Two hands which threatened opponents now hold crutches. Lee Won-hui, the Athens Olympic 73kgs champion, is now missing a judo mat. But he now cannot return to his beloved sport.
    On April, 27 he flew to Germany for surgery on his right ankle and returned home three months later. He still limps to this day. "The result of the surgery was not bad. But I felt poorly when I woke from the operation because I had never experienced any such surgery in the past."
    His staying in Germany for the last three months was not a bad thing. First of all it was because he was with his parents there. He didn’t have the opportunity to become bored because he had to undergo rehabilitation therapy every day except for Sunday........
Read the rest of the story at this LINK then  go down to "Ankle Rehabilitation 'I am still hungry' "

July 26, 2007 International Olympic Committee Announces the Birth of the "Youth Olympics"... Potentially the Single Biggest Development of the Olympic Movement In Fifty Years!   The International Olympic Committee recently announced the creation of a new Youth Olympic Games for athletes aged 14-18.  “This is an historic moment for the Olympic Movement. We owe this to the youth of the world,” declared IOC President Jacques Rogge in a release.  To learn more about the program, check out the following video clip where President Rogge shares his hopes for the Youth Olympic Games. Original source USJudo.org

28th July BELGRADE EUROPEAN YOUTH OLYMPICS -  Leicester’s Rebecca Telfer won a bronze medal today in the judo competition.  Commenting on her fight Telfer said: “It was hard, very hard. At one point I thought I had it but the ref gave it away, which was a bit unfortunate… There is a massive difference between me and the Ukrainian girl that I fought, she is about 120kg and I am about 80kg – she was a very big girl. At the beginning, after I threw her, basically I kind of slowed down and I think I should have kept moving. When I got stuck I couldn’t move because she was so heavy, suffocating.”
26th July BELGRADE EUROPEAN YOUTH OLYMPICS - JUDO Samantha Clarke from Livingston gave an excellent performances in the under 57kg fights and secured Team GB another bronze medal.
                Coach Graeme Randall said : "Sam was outstanding, she has fought outstanding this year in preparation for this event and really has risen to the occasion here. She had a disappointing European Champs two weeks ago and has really put a lot of whack in that time. I think more mentally she was prepared for this. She only lost one match today out of six and that was in golden score so she lost out in a strong jamming player but then came threw the finals with three consistent performances, three wins for bronze medals and winning the bronze medal with a throw in 15 seconds - so you can’t ask for anymore than that. Sam is a true worrier. She has done Great Britain and Scotland really proud this week.”

                 25th July BELGRADE EUROPEAN YOUTH OLYMPICS - JUDO    Kelly Edwards from Shropshire secured a bronze medal in the repercharge of the judo competition in the under 48kg category. Said Edwards, who won a silver medal in the October BJA National Age Band Championships: “I hadn’t fought the Israel girl before and I had a tough draw but got through it – it’s good. Coming back after I lost, I had to pick myself up again and put a smile on my face and think that there is still work to be done. But you always aim for gold…”  (Read Kelly's Blog)
                Commented judo coach and former European champion Rowena Birch (right with her 1992 European gold medal): ”Kelly did really well, she used her head. She actually had six fights in all, which is a lot of fights. In the bronze medal fight she got a score up, a small score near the start and that is quite a difficult position to be in because you have then got to keep that score for the rest of the match. This is something she has been working on because in the past she has tended to feel the pressure, end up dropping and making mistakes, whereas this time she kept it very safe, she kept up on her feet, kept it moving.”
                Chloe Jackson, one of the youngest of the team and also a silver medallist at the Age Band Championships, got caught with a score near the start of her match on the ground and got held down. She struggled and bridged, and then got out of the hold out – an achievement in it self - and from that point on progressed all through the match getting more in control, getting the grips that she needed but was unfortunately not able to get the score back. Continued Birch: “Chloe put up a good performance, you never saw her face drop and she fought right to the last second and it is a brilliant experience for the future for her.”  Curtis Dodge also fought well in his three under 50kg matches, winning one and loosing two fights. SOURCE: BRITISH OLYMPIC ASSOCIATION

Saturday 21st July PAN AM GAMES – Judo: Reser (left) and Stevens Win Gold, Gotay (right) Takes Silver Today:           (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) – The roads Ryan Reser (Colorado Springs, Colo. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center / 73kg) and Travis Stevens (Glenville, N.Y. / USA Judo National Training Site at the Jason Morris Judo Center / 81kg) have taken may be different, but on Saturday, the results were both the same – Pan American Games gold. Reser’s a veteran with two Pan Am Championship titles under his belt and the top seed going into today’s competition.

 

Stevens was unseeded and competing on his first senior international team after earning his spot in a best-of-three fight-off at the Pan American Games Trials.  Thirty-four year old mother, Valerie Gotay (right) won a silver.  Read the full story at this LINK.

Friday 20th July PAN AM GAMES: Rousey Wins Gold Over Brazil, Hawn Wins Bronze (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) – Since she was a child, Ronda Rousey (Wakefield, Mass. / NYAC / USA Judo National Team FORCE) has had her eyes on one thing – winning gold at the Olympic Games.

 

Today, Rousey came one step closer when she won the gold medal in the Pan American Games in the 70kg division, marking her third international medal (and second gold) in as many tries after moving up from 63kg in February.  In front of a boisterous hometown crowd, Rousey fought Brazilian Mayra Silva in the gold medal match after winning her three preliminary rounds all by ippon (instant win). Read the full story at this link