Despite the word Judo literally translating to “The Gentle Way” it can be pretty rough. Judokas regularly get slammed a lot and they have to fight to get in position for a throw. This is why technique matters, so you don’t have to...

In Judo, once you reach a fairly high level, you are going to need to get creative when you set up your throws. This is because basic set ups might not work as well on more seasoned opponents simply because they have seen...

Being able to build off of your opponent’s defense and just moves in general is the sign of a great competitor. Being able to adapt to whatever your opponent does and still be able to work off of it is not only a...

The IJF Judo Hall of Fame Is Controversial of Fame are always controversial because of mixed opinions about the people who are inducted and the people who are not. Take for example the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Every year when it...

For a lot of beginners to Judo, they want to just get straight to the action. While this is understandable, because who doesn’t just want to throw people around and get that super satisfying smack on the ground.  However when they get to...

The O Goshi is one of the most popular throws in Judo, partly because it’s one of the 40 original throws and it's also one of the coolest looking techniques. However, because it’s so popular everyone wants to use it. This means that...

Toshihiko Koga Seemed Invincible The great Toshihiko Koga seemed like an undefeatable figure. Certainly, if you watch highlights of his greatest wins you would easily come to the conclusion that no one could even come close to beating him. That's how dominant he...

Judo Fanatics pays tribute to the passing of the legendary Toshihiko Koga, the greatest exponent of ippon-seoi-nage the world has ever seen. Of course, Koga had more than just that one technique in his arsenal but it was his dynamic standing ippon-seoi-nage that...

The 1997 Paris World Championships was to be Jeon Ki-young’s last hurrah at the world level. Judo fans would have loved to see one final rematch with Yoshida but the Japanese champion had suffered an arm injury at the Atlanta Olympics, which put...

For the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, many judo fans were still hopeful of yet another showdown between Jeon and Yoshida, who was the defending Olympic champion but this was not to be as Yoshida got thrown for ippon in the first round by Adrian...

Many people wanted to see a Jeon vs Yoshida rematch but back then, international competitions were a rarity. The IJF World Tour didn’t exist and there were no Grand Slams or Grand Prix where they could meet. Furthermore, the World Championships were also...

  At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, the stylish Cuban player Israel Hernandez met and defeated Kenji Maruyama (Joshiro’s father) on his way to winning his first Olympic bronze medal (Hernandez would go on to win a second Olympic bronze at the 1996 Atlanta...

2020 was a good year for Paltchik 2020 was a horrible year for many people and most people would probably prefer to forget all about the year that was. But for Peter Paltchik, 2020 was the year he shone as a competitor.Q: Tel...

Last year saw very few international judo events but the IJF has many competitions lined up for this year. Whether all of them will happen according to plan is yet to be seen but at least there's a roadmap.  There will be two...

JudoInside has reported that David Khakhaleishvili of Georgia has died due to complications from heart surgery. He was a trailblazing judoka who had defeated a famous Japanese champion to win an Olympic gold medal for his country. At the 1991 Barcelona World Championships,...

Q: Congratulations on your win. How did you feel going into the European Championships? A: Thank you. I didn’t feel any pressure. I felt I had nothing to lose, so that gave me the right mindset to do my judo and to win!...

Italy’s Fabio Basile was not an unknown quantity when he stepped on the judo mat at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He had, after all, won the bronze medal at the European Championships that year. However, it is true that he was relatively unknown...

Q: Congratulations, with your win in Budapest you are now back to being World Ranked No. 1. How does that feel?   A: Thank you very much. Yes, I saw that I was back at No. 1. But to be honest, I do...

  For most players, winning the Olympic gold is the ultimate goal. Even the World title doesn’t mean as much to them. But for some athletes, Olympic gold came early. This certainly was the case for Ilias Iliadis, who won his Olympic gold...

Judo Fanatics was able to catch up with -48kg 2020 Hungary Grand Slam Winner Distria Krasniqi.  Check out our exclusive interview with the champ. Q: How did you feel about the IJF World Tour resuming and how prepared were you for this competition?...