Jessica Klimkait Secures A Spot In Tokyo Jessica Klimkait went into the 2021 World Championships as an underdog because her compatriot, Christa Deguchi, was there too. These two had fought in six international competitions and Deguchi had won all six of them, the latest being...

Maruyama and Shishime are both double World Champions now. Japan has such depth and breadth of judo talent that even when they send their so-called “B Team” to the World Championships, they are able to produce three gold medals in two days (on...

The Judoka Underdog Natsumi Tsunoda Japan’s Natsumi Tsunoda started off the day ranked No. 28 among the players competing in the 2021 Hungary World Championships. So, she was far from the favorite. Learn more about the Juji Gatame from Olympians Jimmy Pedro and...

In the coming days, judokas from around the world will converge on Budapest, Hungary to compete in and watch the 2021 World Championships which will run from June 6-13.  This event will serve as a qualifier for the upcoming Tokyo Olympic games.  Judo...

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...

With an Olympic and World bronze, a European silver and seven IJF World Tour titles under her belt, Britain's Sally Conway has decided to call it a day. It's not clear why she decided to call it quits with just about half a...

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...

Jeon Ki-Young's Debut Jeon Ki-Young made his World Championships debut in 1993 when he was just 19 years old. Prior to that, he had had just one international competition under his belt, the Munich World Cup where he had won a bronze medal....

  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...