Kano world judo competition

Yesterday, me and my girlfriend went to the Kano competition.  Going there was her present to me for my birthday.  She knew I would like such a gift, since I am a huge fan of judo and a judoka.  Also, it has been my dream for many years to see an competition in Japan, since it is the birthplace of the sport.  I can say that I was not disappointed at all.

When we arrived, I almost had tear in my eyes.  I was simply overjoyed to finally be able to see a big competition.  I have seen a few and aided in some back home, but they were never this big.  Furthermore, here you had to pay to look at the event, which is not something that is done in Canada.  Back home, it is 100% free to watch and the stands are full of people more like barely.  The opposite happens in Japan, here you pay and they can fill an arena size area no problem.  That is why I wanted to see it in Japan.

The people were cheering for their favorite athletes.  You could see kids and adults running to get an autograph from some of the judokas.  It was great to see such passion for a sport that I hold so dear in my heart.  When it comes to the action in itself, there were some good fights and some not as interesting.  Still, I got my money’s worth.  We arrived there around 10 a.m. and the competition ended at around 7h30 p.m.  So, we had a full day of fighting, which was good.

There was one coach who I could not understand at all.  He was the one for Cuba.  Two things bothered me with him, first he was not there for his athletes.  Like at one point he simply left without waiting for the athlete to get off the mat and she had one her fight.  This is incomprehensible for me and stupid.  Secondly, he was very overweight, like somewhere around 400 pounds I would say.  Therefore, I do not see how such a person can be a coach or a good one at that.  It coaches like this that I hate to see at any kind of competitions.  Thankfully, they are not the majority.

In the end, I had a good time and my girlfriend too.  I was so glad to realize one of my dreams finally.  I making so many dreams come true, since I have been there and it is just starting.