9 The Famous Judoka in Japan 1

In Japan judo is one of the most traditional sports. I like some famous Japanese judoka. One of the most famous judoka is Toshihiko Koga. He was born in Saga prefecture in 1967. He began to do judo when he was 7 years old because his brother’s effect and moved to Tokyo to practice judo when he was 13 years old. After he graduated from his junior high school, he entered Nippon Sport Science University and majored in buzyutsu. Buzyutsu contains judo, kendo or kyudo which are Japanese traditional sports. His judo style is very aggressive. He often said “I always try to take ippon.” His height was small in judoka but he was very alert and agile. His favorite waza is ippon-seoinage. In 1988 he took part in Seoul Olympic Games for the first time, but he lost at the third stage. In 1992 he also took part in Barcelona Olympic Games. The judo game, which he did there, is the most famous in Japan and is sometimes broadcasted in TV.

 

At the final game, his left leg and knee were injured because of his practice for the final, but he won at the game and got gold medal with a painkiller. This victory impressed all Japanese people.

Kousei Inoue is also a Japanese famous judoka. He born in Miyazaki prefecture in 1978. His height is 183cm and his favorite waza is uchimata. He has two brothers and he is the youngest of three children in his family. One of his brothers; Tomokazu Inoue was an Asian champion of the international judo game in 1999. In 2000 he took part in Sydney Olympic Games as a Japanese judoka. When he left for Sydney, he brought a photograph of his mother, who died in disease. Finally he got a gold medal and stood on the podium with his mother’s photography.

In 2004 he was chosen as a captain of Japanese judoka in Athens Olympic Games. He was expected to win in a row, but he lost at the quarterfinal. In 2008 he was chosen as a trainee of the sport consultant of Japanese Olympic Committee and went abroad. For 2 years he lived in Scotland and learned English, the method of judo coaching in Europa and circumstances of judo in Europa. In 2011 he returned to Japan and became an instructor of physical education in Tokai University. After London Olympic Games he assumed a supervisor of a Japanese judo delegation.