Hey guys, just letting you know I have launched my new website which has combined all of my info as well as my blogs. It is where I will be posting all posts to in the future and hopefully becomes an even more valuable resource for you guys
ivojudo.com
Ivo
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Samoa and Beyond
Hey guys just an update from me. On November 13, I competed in my latest event for Olympic Qualification. The Samoa Judo World Cup. I had a great day and despite losing the semi final to Sasha Mehmedovic of Canada I was able to defeat my USA opponent in the bronze final and secure 3rd place and another 40 points towards my Olympic dream. The result pushed my World Ranking up to 27. On the Olympic Selection order (taking out duplicates where more then 1 athlete from a country is in qualifying position) I am now in 19th. This is a great result as the top 22 in May 2012 are selected for London and I just have to maintain my form and I will realise my dream.
Before flying out to Samoa for this competition I was able to take up an invitation to be one of the 45 instructors at the Fight For Life Cancer Fundraiser, held in Melbourne on November 6-7. The event saw over 200 students learning from such notable instructors as Richard Norton, Mark 'The Hammer' Castagnini, Dan Cherubin and more.
That is pretty much all for me for 2010. I will be competing in the Pan Pacific BJJ Titles next week and the Victorian State Judo Championships the week after. From then I will be taking some time off from training before launching my next training block in January 2011.
Thanks for all of your support on my Journey to London 2012.
Ivo
Friday, November 12, 2010
Fight For Life
Ivo
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
One Year On
Today marks one year from the lowest point in my athletic career. One year ago I was lying on a surgeon’s table. I did not know if the reconstruction of my elbow would allow me to eat with a knife and fork again, let alone compete and chase my Olympic Dream.
Everything seemed to have gone wrong. On top of the surgery I was dealing with:
• unsuccessfully balancing coaching a club and training myself,
• losing contact with my coach,
• a form slump that had seen me drop from my National #1 ranking (which I had held for over 2 years straight),
• missing selection for the World Championship, and
• missing my university exams due to injury.
As if this wasn’t enough, then the IJF announced it was changing the rules of Judo from 2010, banning pretty much every technique I did well.
To be honest, I nearly gave up at this point.
I had trained for 17 years in a certain style of Judo. All I could do was wonder how the hell was I going to recover and essentially learn judo from scratch in time for the Olympic Qualification process, which was only seven months away.
A conversation with 3-time Olympian Daniel Kelly brought me round. He just flat out appealed to the ‘meathead’ in me. He said “what, are you going to give up? Is that who you are?” I decided that when I quit my sport, it would be on my terms, not on a hospital bed and not in a referee’s meeting.
I have been on the grind ever since. I decided that every rehab exercise I was given I would double and every target I was set I would beat. As a result, I was able to compete13 weeks after the operation (not 24 like the docs wanted, but shhhh).
Things have definitely improved for me. I am now #1 in Australia again, #1 in Oceania and World #29. I am well and truly on track for London 2012.
Every day I reflect back and remember how low I was. It motivates me to run an extra mile, lift an extra rep and fight an extra round; and I wonder if I would have this work ethic if I hadn’t gone through what I did.
Ivo
‘Problems are opportunities in disguise.’
Henry J. Kaizer
Everything seemed to have gone wrong. On top of the surgery I was dealing with:
• unsuccessfully balancing coaching a club and training myself,
• losing contact with my coach,
• a form slump that had seen me drop from my National #1 ranking (which I had held for over 2 years straight),
• missing selection for the World Championship, and
• missing my university exams due to injury.
As if this wasn’t enough, then the IJF announced it was changing the rules of Judo from 2010, banning pretty much every technique I did well.
To be honest, I nearly gave up at this point.
I had trained for 17 years in a certain style of Judo. All I could do was wonder how the hell was I going to recover and essentially learn judo from scratch in time for the Olympic Qualification process, which was only seven months away.
A conversation with 3-time Olympian Daniel Kelly brought me round. He just flat out appealed to the ‘meathead’ in me. He said “what, are you going to give up? Is that who you are?” I decided that when I quit my sport, it would be on my terms, not on a hospital bed and not in a referee’s meeting.
I have been on the grind ever since. I decided that every rehab exercise I was given I would double and every target I was set I would beat. As a result, I was able to compete13 weeks after the operation (not 24 like the docs wanted, but shhhh).
Things have definitely improved for me. I am now #1 in Australia again, #1 in Oceania and World #29. I am well and truly on track for London 2012.
Every day I reflect back and remember how low I was. It motivates me to run an extra mile, lift an extra rep and fight an extra round; and I wonder if I would have this work ethic if I hadn’t gone through what I did.
Ivo
‘Problems are opportunities in disguise.’
Henry J. Kaizer
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Unbelievable
most of what i post is related to my training and/or competing but i thought i had to post this. this guy is unbelievable and makes the impossible look easy. he must train like a madman!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
NSW OPEN 2010 66 kg SEMI FINAL
This is my semi final at NSW Open this year, look out for the newaza at the end
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
MMA FIGHTER!!!
Hey guys I stepped (WAY) out of my comfort zone on Friday. There was one last thing I had to do before my training break and it was making my MMA debut last Friday night.
I am not about to join the UFC, but I do cross train in BJJ as well as submission grappling and have done some boxing. I have wondered for a long time how I would go in MMA and when I was offered this fight and realised it didn't get in the way of my Olympic training I thought I should give it a shot.
I was the semi-main event of the Style Wars card and fought against Rob Pryde from Numurkah Muay Thai.
I was able to get the fight to the ground pretty quick with a big double leg take down. From there I worked some ground and pound until my opponent gave up his back. From there I locked in a rear naked choke and he tapped out at the 2 minute mark of the fight.
It was a crazy adrenaline rush after that and felt unbelievable given how much training and competing i've done lately. The relief that I could go on my break on a win was an awesome feeling. I am not sure if and when I will fight MMA again because my dream of getting to the Olympics far outweighs my curiosity in MMA.
From here I will have 2 weeks off to re-introduce myself to my family as well as catching up on uni and work. From there I will begin my training block in preparation for the Samoa World Cup, Korea World Cup, Japan Grand Slam and China Grand Prix in November-December. These events are all Olympic Qualifiers so with some good preparation and solid performances I could be well on my way to London 2012 by Christmas!
I am not about to join the UFC, but I do cross train in BJJ as well as submission grappling and have done some boxing. I have wondered for a long time how I would go in MMA and when I was offered this fight and realised it didn't get in the way of my Olympic training I thought I should give it a shot.
I was the semi-main event of the Style Wars card and fought against Rob Pryde from Numurkah Muay Thai.
I was able to get the fight to the ground pretty quick with a big double leg take down. From there I worked some ground and pound until my opponent gave up his back. From there I locked in a rear naked choke and he tapped out at the 2 minute mark of the fight.
It was a crazy adrenaline rush after that and felt unbelievable given how much training and competing i've done lately. The relief that I could go on my break on a win was an awesome feeling. I am not sure if and when I will fight MMA again because my dream of getting to the Olympics far outweighs my curiosity in MMA.
From here I will have 2 weeks off to re-introduce myself to my family as well as catching up on uni and work. From there I will begin my training block in preparation for the Samoa World Cup, Korea World Cup, Japan Grand Slam and China Grand Prix in November-December. These events are all Olympic Qualifiers so with some good preparation and solid performances I could be well on my way to London 2012 by Christmas!
Monday, September 13, 2010
World Judo Championships 2010
Hi guys quick update on what's been up with me. I am in Narita Airport about to fly home from the World Judo Championships. I left home 3 weeks ago bound for Miami where I contested the Miami World Cup and US Open. I lost first round in the World Cup which was disappointing because I fought well below my best and could easily have won a few fights. At the US Open I was really sick with tonsilitis and felt horrible but I managed to fight pretty well and win 3 contests ending up in 7th place.
From there we (Aus Team) travelled to Tsukuba University in Japan for a training camp in preparation for Worlds. The camp was pretty hard because there was 12 nations basing themselves at Tsukuba before worlds. Training with Japan, Russia, Portugal, Greece etc was hard but perfect preparation for Worlds.
At Worlds I was able to submit my first opponent with a choke and my second with an armlock. In the round of 32 I lost to the world number 9 from Slovenia by getting thrown for Ippon (full point) and that eliminated me from the competition. Making the top 32 got me 40 valuable points towards Olympic Qualification.
All in all I won 5 fights and lost 5 fights all against world class opposition and was competitive in all so I am very happy with my progress.
Now I have to fly home and rest for a couple of days before my MMA debut on Friday night against Rob Pryde on the Style Wars card. It's very exciting for me to get a chance to test my skills in a new environment and I feel in the best shape ever so I am confident of a strong result.
That's all from me.
From there we (Aus Team) travelled to Tsukuba University in Japan for a training camp in preparation for Worlds. The camp was pretty hard because there was 12 nations basing themselves at Tsukuba before worlds. Training with Japan, Russia, Portugal, Greece etc was hard but perfect preparation for Worlds.
At Worlds I was able to submit my first opponent with a choke and my second with an armlock. In the round of 32 I lost to the world number 9 from Slovenia by getting thrown for Ippon (full point) and that eliminated me from the competition. Making the top 32 got me 40 valuable points towards Olympic Qualification.
All in all I won 5 fights and lost 5 fights all against world class opposition and was competitive in all so I am very happy with my progress.
Now I have to fly home and rest for a couple of days before my MMA debut on Friday night against Rob Pryde on the Style Wars card. It's very exciting for me to get a chance to test my skills in a new environment and I feel in the best shape ever so I am confident of a strong result.
That's all from me.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
MIAMI
Hey folks I thought it was about time I fill you in on my latest situation.
Well i am sitting in my hotel room in Miami at 5:30 am because as usual I am suffering from a bit of insomnia.
Before coming to Miami I competed last weekend in the NSW Open. It was only 6 days after Oceania and not ideal but considering I am still trying to catch up on points from the 6 months i missed last year I had to compete.
The competition went well, i won my preliminary, quarter final and semi all by ippon after having thrown with wazari already and I felt jaded but Judo was good.
In the final I had my clubmate Ryosuke Miwa. We had fought twice before and gone to decision both times (1 win, 1 loss). This time I came out and threw him for wazari with 1 sided kata guruma after 30 seconds. I kept applying pressure and came close with a few more attacks. For the first time in 3 weeks I felt fast, fluid and comfortable, then he slid under me for drop seio and got me for ippon!
Frustration is an almighty understatement for how I felt. However looking back at my previous 2 competitions where I won gold but didn't feel or fight great I am actually pretty positive this time.
We (australian team) arrived last night in Miami after about 30 hours of travel and settled in to our hotel. Its very, very nice and has everything we need here which makes life easier.
I managed to get internet access and found out that the IJF has updated the World Ranking List and I slot in at NUMBER 33 in the WORLD!
I am hoping that is high enough to be seeded here and make my life a little easier.
My body feels pretty good right now and I am really looking forward to competing at this level again. I feel I have made serious progress in recent months and can't wait to put it all together and notch up some Olympic Qualification Points.
If anyone wants to follow the results they should be available live at ippon.org
Ivo
Well i am sitting in my hotel room in Miami at 5:30 am because as usual I am suffering from a bit of insomnia.
Before coming to Miami I competed last weekend in the NSW Open. It was only 6 days after Oceania and not ideal but considering I am still trying to catch up on points from the 6 months i missed last year I had to compete.
The competition went well, i won my preliminary, quarter final and semi all by ippon after having thrown with wazari already and I felt jaded but Judo was good.
In the final I had my clubmate Ryosuke Miwa. We had fought twice before and gone to decision both times (1 win, 1 loss). This time I came out and threw him for wazari with 1 sided kata guruma after 30 seconds. I kept applying pressure and came close with a few more attacks. For the first time in 3 weeks I felt fast, fluid and comfortable, then he slid under me for drop seio and got me for ippon!
Frustration is an almighty understatement for how I felt. However looking back at my previous 2 competitions where I won gold but didn't feel or fight great I am actually pretty positive this time.
We (australian team) arrived last night in Miami after about 30 hours of travel and settled in to our hotel. Its very, very nice and has everything we need here which makes life easier.
I managed to get internet access and found out that the IJF has updated the World Ranking List and I slot in at NUMBER 33 in the WORLD!
I am hoping that is high enough to be seeded here and make my life a little easier.
My body feels pretty good right now and I am really looking forward to competing at this level again. I feel I have made serious progress in recent months and can't wait to put it all together and notch up some Olympic Qualification Points.
If anyone wants to follow the results they should be available live at ippon.org
Ivo
Monday, August 16, 2010
OCEANIA
I haven't posted for a bit because i have been so busy training my butt off and fighting.
I spent a bit over a week at the Australian Institute of Sport preparing for the competition with hours of randori and fitness work.
It was a hell of a grind but came through uninjured.
The competition was small with only 8 in my division but my draw did me no favours because my first fight was against Nic Gravier of New Caledonia who i had fought and lost to twice a few years back. I won't lie i felt horrible, a mix of stale gastrolytes and nerves had my stomach doing all sorts of intestinal pyrotechnics!
Despite that I felt my way into the match and after scoring a wazari and yuko with a sit through and a pick up i was able to lock in a kata-gatame-jime (arm triangle) from half guard and once i applied some pressure and passed to side control was able to coax the tap out.
My semi final was against Allister Leat from New Zealand who had beaten me back in 2004 by a koka in golden score. We have both done a lot since but never crossed paths. He was the man who won the competition in 2007 that led to me not qualifying for Beijing.
he was mighty strong and an extreme leftie (which i hate) and he was able to throw me with a yuko and 2 penalties against me as well in the first half of the fight. Somewhere in the middle i decided that i was not going to lose like this and following the (VERY LOUD) advice coming from my coaches area i began to impose myself more by dominating the grips and pushing the pace of the fight. This worked well as it soon became clear that i was much fresher then my opponent. Going into the final exchnages of the fight i had been able to get 2 penalties on him but was still trailing 2 yuko's to 1. I gave everything and pushed, pulled, attacked and threw everything at him until the referee stopped the fight to penalise my opponent for stalling. I knew this gave me the lead and when i looked at the clock and saw only 6 seconds left i felt like i had gotten out of jail! i was able to survive the last exchange and win the fight.
The final was not contested as my opponent Steven Brown deemed that an arm injury suffered in his preliminary fight was too painful for him to participate in the gold medal match.
I was very disappointed by this since I was very keen for a rematch after our Nationals Final but i guess that will have to wait.
That was it, i had defended my Oceania Title from 2008!
It was a hell of a roller coaster day but thankfully i was able to listen to my coaching advice (thanks Daniel, Brent, Dennis) and had the support of my girlfriend and parents too which gave me all the strength i needed!!!
Now it's time to prepare for the NSW International Open this weekend and then off to Miami for the World Cup and US Open.
I spent a bit over a week at the Australian Institute of Sport preparing for the competition with hours of randori and fitness work.
It was a hell of a grind but came through uninjured.
The competition was small with only 8 in my division but my draw did me no favours because my first fight was against Nic Gravier of New Caledonia who i had fought and lost to twice a few years back. I won't lie i felt horrible, a mix of stale gastrolytes and nerves had my stomach doing all sorts of intestinal pyrotechnics!
Despite that I felt my way into the match and after scoring a wazari and yuko with a sit through and a pick up i was able to lock in a kata-gatame-jime (arm triangle) from half guard and once i applied some pressure and passed to side control was able to coax the tap out.
My semi final was against Allister Leat from New Zealand who had beaten me back in 2004 by a koka in golden score. We have both done a lot since but never crossed paths. He was the man who won the competition in 2007 that led to me not qualifying for Beijing.
he was mighty strong and an extreme leftie (which i hate) and he was able to throw me with a yuko and 2 penalties against me as well in the first half of the fight. Somewhere in the middle i decided that i was not going to lose like this and following the (VERY LOUD) advice coming from my coaches area i began to impose myself more by dominating the grips and pushing the pace of the fight. This worked well as it soon became clear that i was much fresher then my opponent. Going into the final exchnages of the fight i had been able to get 2 penalties on him but was still trailing 2 yuko's to 1. I gave everything and pushed, pulled, attacked and threw everything at him until the referee stopped the fight to penalise my opponent for stalling. I knew this gave me the lead and when i looked at the clock and saw only 6 seconds left i felt like i had gotten out of jail! i was able to survive the last exchange and win the fight.
The final was not contested as my opponent Steven Brown deemed that an arm injury suffered in his preliminary fight was too painful for him to participate in the gold medal match.
I was very disappointed by this since I was very keen for a rematch after our Nationals Final but i guess that will have to wait.
That was it, i had defended my Oceania Title from 2008!
It was a hell of a roller coaster day but thankfully i was able to listen to my coaching advice (thanks Daniel, Brent, Dennis) and had the support of my girlfriend and parents too which gave me all the strength i needed!!!
Now it's time to prepare for the NSW International Open this weekend and then off to Miami for the World Cup and US Open.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
2 YEARS
If you've watched the news in the past couple of days then you'd be aware that its exactly 2 years until the London 2012 Olympics. More , precisely 2 years until my division (66kg) is contested.
There is a lot of work to do in the meantime but the realisation that in 2 years I could be realising a dream i have had for 18 years send tingles down my spine.
Not that I needed any, but I am more motivated then ever to work my butt off, sacrifice everything and fight above and beyond my own abilities and get to London.
2 years..................
There is a lot of work to do in the meantime but the realisation that in 2 years I could be realising a dream i have had for 18 years send tingles down my spine.
Not that I needed any, but I am more motivated then ever to work my butt off, sacrifice everything and fight above and beyond my own abilities and get to London.
2 years..................
Monday, July 26, 2010
REST
Having enjoyed a wonderful rest day yesterday and dealing with the reality of going back to training, school, come monday morning i thought I would explain my thoughts on resting.
Until a few months ago when I began working closely with a exercise physiologist I didn't believe in rest days.
My (own) theory was that as long as i was working my body in different ways each day it wouldn't need rest. For example if friday was a hard gym and technical judo day then I would work my cardio and randori more on saturday. It seemed logical to me but it did mean that i was constantly jaded and operating at about 80%. I thought that was no problem because given a little taper I would be firing 100% come competition.
Unfortunately as time dragged on I started feeling the effects of over-training more and more. I would have chronic muscle soreness, feel lethargic most of the time, struggle to concentrate, have real issues getting to sleep and many other things which are really not fun to be dealing with when you are trying to peak physically and mentally come competition.
Eventually I had the benefits of complete rest explained to me and it was something I started to work on. If I was able to train 12 sessions a week at 90% of my maximum and have a day off. Then that would lead to much more improvement in my abilities then 13-14 sessions at 75-80%.
When that is mapped out over an 8-16 week training cycle it makes for a considerable difference in the end result.
I have now been operating with 1 day off a week for about 5 months now and I can say it has really been of benefit to me. I have been able to improve my performances in training, my concentration has been better and aspects off the mat have been helped too. I get to have long lunches with the family at home, get to spend couple of hours completing uni work and even get to veg out on the couch and watch tv for a change.
I do sometimes feel restless and revert back to meat-head mode that I could be doing more training (haven't broken a sweat in 24 hours!) but it just means I put that much more effort into my sessions on my work days.
I assure you that come sunday morning there is absolutely no petrol left in my tank.
Monday mornings still suck cos there is a hell of a lot of huffing and puffing to be done before my next day off!
Ivo
Until a few months ago when I began working closely with a exercise physiologist I didn't believe in rest days.
My (own) theory was that as long as i was working my body in different ways each day it wouldn't need rest. For example if friday was a hard gym and technical judo day then I would work my cardio and randori more on saturday. It seemed logical to me but it did mean that i was constantly jaded and operating at about 80%. I thought that was no problem because given a little taper I would be firing 100% come competition.
Unfortunately as time dragged on I started feeling the effects of over-training more and more. I would have chronic muscle soreness, feel lethargic most of the time, struggle to concentrate, have real issues getting to sleep and many other things which are really not fun to be dealing with when you are trying to peak physically and mentally come competition.
Eventually I had the benefits of complete rest explained to me and it was something I started to work on. If I was able to train 12 sessions a week at 90% of my maximum and have a day off. Then that would lead to much more improvement in my abilities then 13-14 sessions at 75-80%.
When that is mapped out over an 8-16 week training cycle it makes for a considerable difference in the end result.
I have now been operating with 1 day off a week for about 5 months now and I can say it has really been of benefit to me. I have been able to improve my performances in training, my concentration has been better and aspects off the mat have been helped too. I get to have long lunches with the family at home, get to spend couple of hours completing uni work and even get to veg out on the couch and watch tv for a change.
I do sometimes feel restless and revert back to meat-head mode that I could be doing more training (haven't broken a sweat in 24 hours!) but it just means I put that much more effort into my sessions on my work days.
I assure you that come sunday morning there is absolutely no petrol left in my tank.
Monday mornings still suck cos there is a hell of a lot of huffing and puffing to be done before my next day off!
Ivo
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
hard work
Victories that come cheap are cheap. Those only are worth having which come as the result of hard fighting. Henry Ward Beecher
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
MARGOSHVILI's incredible osotogari counter in Judo copetitio
SO AWESOME, I swear i have seen this one thousand times but i could watch it again another thousand times
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Australian National Judo Championships 66 kg Final
This is my final from nationals, you decide whether it was in or out.......................
Thursday, July 1, 2010
UPDATE
haven't posted anything for a bit so i thought i'd throw some info in about my next few months.
Well, after winning nationals with a tear in on of my shoulder's ligaments i took a couple of weeks to rest up, re-introduce myself to my family and slowly ease back into training.
it's now 5 weeks since i dislocated my shoulder in brasil and the doc says it's a 6-8 week recovery. i can't afford that sort of time off with the stuff i've got coming up so 5 will do.
have been back training 100% for a week now and it's amazing how quickly your body adapts to not getting beaten up and pretends each breakfall is the first you've ever done! having my arms blow out after 30 seconds of gripping hasn't been too much fun either but oh well, such is life (judo)
Next few months..........
I have 5 weeks until the AIS training camp which serves as preparation for the Oceania Championships august 15. a week later is the NSW Open.
This next part is depending on whether i am confirmed for the World Championships team or not, I should be but there's always a reason here or there why people are left out of these teams.
So assuming I am on for worlds............... Miami World Cup on Aug 28 and US Open at same venue on August 30. From there it's off to Japan for short training camp in preparation for Worlds and of course the World Championships which my division is contested on September 12.
Once that period of events is over I will see how i stand with national rankings, world ranking, uni marks and finances to then hopefully have a big crack at the IJF events in nov-dec.
That's all for now, i better get my gear together and head to training!
Ivo
Well, after winning nationals with a tear in on of my shoulder's ligaments i took a couple of weeks to rest up, re-introduce myself to my family and slowly ease back into training.
it's now 5 weeks since i dislocated my shoulder in brasil and the doc says it's a 6-8 week recovery. i can't afford that sort of time off with the stuff i've got coming up so 5 will do.
have been back training 100% for a week now and it's amazing how quickly your body adapts to not getting beaten up and pretends each breakfall is the first you've ever done! having my arms blow out after 30 seconds of gripping hasn't been too much fun either but oh well, such is life (judo)
Next few months..........
I have 5 weeks until the AIS training camp which serves as preparation for the Oceania Championships august 15. a week later is the NSW Open.
This next part is depending on whether i am confirmed for the World Championships team or not, I should be but there's always a reason here or there why people are left out of these teams.
So assuming I am on for worlds............... Miami World Cup on Aug 28 and US Open at same venue on August 30. From there it's off to Japan for short training camp in preparation for Worlds and of course the World Championships which my division is contested on September 12.
Once that period of events is over I will see how i stand with national rankings, world ranking, uni marks and finances to then hopefully have a big crack at the IJF events in nov-dec.
That's all for now, i better get my gear together and head to training!
Ivo
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Awesome Flying Juji-Gatame
Tomoo Torii is awesome, one of the most technical judo players of his generation. Gave me the biggest randori beating of my life at Tokai in 07!
Monday, June 14, 2010
I DID IT!
wow, its now monday night and 24 hours ago i was in one of the most testosterone-fuelled fights of my life. nationals went well i had a bye first round, won my next fight with uchi mata(which is a monumental moment and worthy of it's own blog entry) and won the semi final by throwing the fella for wazari with uchi mata (again i know!) and then choking him.
the final.......... my game plan had been to grip fight my butt off, pressure my opponent and get as many shidos on him as possible. i was breaking even on grips and not dominating how i wanted and we both got a shido for not engaging. We engaged in some attacks that ended up off the edge of the mat and instead of walking past me back to his line my opponent decided to get in my face and try a bit of a stare down, i didn't flinch and the line in the sand had been drawn so to speak. after another minute or so i managed to lock down one side and was looking for a reaction to drop under for sumi gaeshi. the referee's penalised me for one-sided grip and not him for dropping to his knees. after some more gripping me both got shido's and it was yuko for me wazari against and i was in a bit of trouble, another shido and i was disqualified. that realisation triggered something in my brain because the next time i got a grip i dragged him along and launched into a drop seio that planted him flat on his back. considering i was planning on not committing into a single full fledged attack in the whole fight because of my bad shoulder this was unexpected!
I couldn't celebrate straight away because the side judge froze and neither signalled that the throw was inside or outside the fighting area so i walked back to the line hoping one of the referee's would make the bloody call, i heard a bit of a noise from the crowd and saw that the ref commission had walked to the side of the mat, that meant one thing, they thought the throw was valid.
When the center referee came back and signalled my ippon i was ecstatic!!!
I won't get into the lack of sportsmanship that followed but i will say that if i provoked any of it i am sorry i was caught up in the emotion of it all.
AFTERMATH.........
Well my shoulder hurts like hell and i will get some more scans this week and find out what sort of rehab i will need to do. hopefully couple of easy weeks and i'll be right to train my butt off for Oceania, NSW Open, Miami World Cup, US Open and the Worlds (all in 1 month aug-sep)
the final.......... my game plan had been to grip fight my butt off, pressure my opponent and get as many shidos on him as possible. i was breaking even on grips and not dominating how i wanted and we both got a shido for not engaging. We engaged in some attacks that ended up off the edge of the mat and instead of walking past me back to his line my opponent decided to get in my face and try a bit of a stare down, i didn't flinch and the line in the sand had been drawn so to speak. after another minute or so i managed to lock down one side and was looking for a reaction to drop under for sumi gaeshi. the referee's penalised me for one-sided grip and not him for dropping to his knees. after some more gripping me both got shido's and it was yuko for me wazari against and i was in a bit of trouble, another shido and i was disqualified. that realisation triggered something in my brain because the next time i got a grip i dragged him along and launched into a drop seio that planted him flat on his back. considering i was planning on not committing into a single full fledged attack in the whole fight because of my bad shoulder this was unexpected!
I couldn't celebrate straight away because the side judge froze and neither signalled that the throw was inside or outside the fighting area so i walked back to the line hoping one of the referee's would make the bloody call, i heard a bit of a noise from the crowd and saw that the ref commission had walked to the side of the mat, that meant one thing, they thought the throw was valid.
When the center referee came back and signalled my ippon i was ecstatic!!!
I won't get into the lack of sportsmanship that followed but i will say that if i provoked any of it i am sorry i was caught up in the emotion of it all.
AFTERMATH.........
Well my shoulder hurts like hell and i will get some more scans this week and find out what sort of rehab i will need to do. hopefully couple of easy weeks and i'll be right to train my butt off for Oceania, NSW Open, Miami World Cup, US Open and the Worlds (all in 1 month aug-sep)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Flavio Canto Compilation
I have a massive man-crush on Flavio Canto. The guy is an an unbelievable judo player and someday will get himself a nobel prize
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/holt/2009/10/14/olympics-special-report-on-the-rio-de-janeiro-that-the-world-won-t-see-115875-21746397/
http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/columnists/holt/2009/10/14/olympics-special-report-on-the-rio-de-janeiro-that-the-world-won-t-see-115875-21746397/
Friday, June 4, 2010
Home....
Got home yesterday from Brasil. It's not easy picking yourself up after such a failure like Brasil was for me.
It has been good to be back home and sleep in my own bed. My training has been really battered in recent times. after posting 10-12 weeks solid since Feb i got really sick before going to Brasil and then at training camp in Rio i hurt my shoulder and was unable to do much from then on.
It is really frustrating to look at the best lead up to nationals i had been involved in for a long time and then have to accept that a good portion of that was compromised. At this point i have just over a week to prepare for the National Titles and instead of tapering off i am going to bust my butt with some really hard sessions running right up to next weekend to see if i can sharpen up my judo.
Given that i started my preparations for the nationals 16 weeks ago it is an understatement for me to say that i am pumped up to fight next week. A good result (winning) will be a massive milestone for me given the ups and mostly downs i have had with my judo in the last couple of years.
Next weekend will be very interesting, fingers crossed i can put it all together and win my first nationals since 2007!
I am pretty excited too at the prospect of a little bit of time off, staying in and watching tv and being able to work properly and save some $$$ for the second half of this year
P.S. CHECK OUT THE JUNE ISSUE OF BLITZ MAGAZINE I AM ON PAGE 15, 68 AND 69!!!!!!!!
It has been good to be back home and sleep in my own bed. My training has been really battered in recent times. after posting 10-12 weeks solid since Feb i got really sick before going to Brasil and then at training camp in Rio i hurt my shoulder and was unable to do much from then on.
It is really frustrating to look at the best lead up to nationals i had been involved in for a long time and then have to accept that a good portion of that was compromised. At this point i have just over a week to prepare for the National Titles and instead of tapering off i am going to bust my butt with some really hard sessions running right up to next weekend to see if i can sharpen up my judo.
Given that i started my preparations for the nationals 16 weeks ago it is an understatement for me to say that i am pumped up to fight next week. A good result (winning) will be a massive milestone for me given the ups and mostly downs i have had with my judo in the last couple of years.
Next weekend will be very interesting, fingers crossed i can put it all together and win my first nationals since 2007!
I am pretty excited too at the prospect of a little bit of time off, staying in and watching tv and being able to work properly and save some $$$ for the second half of this year
P.S. CHECK OUT THE JUNE ISSUE OF BLITZ MAGAZINE I AM ON PAGE 15, 68 AND 69!!!!!!!!
Sunday, May 30, 2010
World Cup Sao Paulo
I wish i had better news but i got destroyed yesterday. i fought a brasilian who was strong (ended up getting bronze) and motivated. I, for some reason seemed to be fighting like i was a japanese world champ and skipped with him even though that was the opposite of my game plan. he dropped in for a seio attack which i absorbed with my knee and forehead on the mat, then for some reason as he kept driving i relaxed and went over for ippon. the fight had barely gone 30 seconds!
I feel pretty embarrassed and stupid and am giving serious thought to training in a white belt for a while to snap my brain into action.
I have had 24 hours to digest the situation and question many aspects of what i do, how i do it and why. Even had those 'whats the point of doing this crap' conversations with myself.
I honestly can't see too many positives in the situation but all I can conclude is that giving up or backing off in this situation is the easy way out.
There is no way I will ever take the easy way out..................
I feel pretty embarrassed and stupid and am giving serious thought to training in a white belt for a while to snap my brain into action.
I have had 24 hours to digest the situation and question many aspects of what i do, how i do it and why. Even had those 'whats the point of doing this crap' conversations with myself.
I honestly can't see too many positives in the situation but all I can conclude is that giving up or backing off in this situation is the easy way out.
There is no way I will ever take the easy way out..................
Monday, May 24, 2010
Grand Slam Roundup
Well the Rio Grand Slam has come and gone and it was interesting! My draw was actually the worst possible, I got the World Number 1 first fight of the whole comp. I wasn't crapping myself, just really didn't want to go out there and lose the fight mentally not physically if you know what i mean.
I new his typical game plan because i have seen him before and trained with him so i wanted to shut down his left side and stay side on so he couldnt throw his high right dominant grip. I did that well. However after about a minute of back and forth attacks from my preferred grip he switched for a sode tsuri komi goshi the opposite way to how he usually goes, this caught me off guard and by the time i reacted he was in too deep and i was over for ippon.
It sucks not because I thought i was better then my opponent, more that i was able to impose my strategy, in part, on the best fighter in the world and when he made one ver logical change i was unable to shut it down. I felt i could have hung in there for much longer and put more pressure when i did get my grips. oh well, lesson learned.
The rest of the aussie team did similiarly well, most had nightmare draws like Russia, japan etc. Kylie Koenig at 63's got our only win for the comp beating columbia by penalties before losing to slovenia next round.
This comp was an incredibly high standard. there was almost all of the worlds top fighters here, in my division alone 8 of the top 10 were here, in a division of 25 that means no easy fights! There were some awesome fights that took place, most of the 66 and 60 kg fights were brilliant and watching Guilheiro and Canto from Brasil in 81's yesterday was awesome, their technique at this level is like they are from another planet.
Now it's time for training camp where I get to do randori with all of these awesome fighters and see how i measure up, could be long days of getting belted but maybe i can actually catch a couple of them, we'll see.
Ivo
P.S. Almost lost my mate Matt D'Aquino yesterday in the surf at the beach here. The surf got crazy, quick, thank god for the life guards we thought he was gone, phew!
I new his typical game plan because i have seen him before and trained with him so i wanted to shut down his left side and stay side on so he couldnt throw his high right dominant grip. I did that well. However after about a minute of back and forth attacks from my preferred grip he switched for a sode tsuri komi goshi the opposite way to how he usually goes, this caught me off guard and by the time i reacted he was in too deep and i was over for ippon.
It sucks not because I thought i was better then my opponent, more that i was able to impose my strategy, in part, on the best fighter in the world and when he made one ver logical change i was unable to shut it down. I felt i could have hung in there for much longer and put more pressure when i did get my grips. oh well, lesson learned.
The rest of the aussie team did similiarly well, most had nightmare draws like Russia, japan etc. Kylie Koenig at 63's got our only win for the comp beating columbia by penalties before losing to slovenia next round.
This comp was an incredibly high standard. there was almost all of the worlds top fighters here, in my division alone 8 of the top 10 were here, in a division of 25 that means no easy fights! There were some awesome fights that took place, most of the 66 and 60 kg fights were brilliant and watching Guilheiro and Canto from Brasil in 81's yesterday was awesome, their technique at this level is like they are from another planet.
Now it's time for training camp where I get to do randori with all of these awesome fighters and see how i measure up, could be long days of getting belted but maybe i can actually catch a couple of them, we'll see.
Ivo
P.S. Almost lost my mate Matt D'Aquino yesterday in the surf at the beach here. The surf got crazy, quick, thank god for the life guards we thought he was gone, phew!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Rio Grand Slam
Well its 5:45 am on Friday 21 May and I’ve been up since 3. Thought I had gotten used to adjusting to jetlag with travel but after falling asleep at 8:30 last night I was bound to wake up mighty early.
Things here in Rio are good. I have been here before, 2007 Worlds where I had one of my best results (11th) so I have fond memories of this place. There is a team of 12 from Australia and everyone is pumped for the competition. There is apparently 43 countries here and over 400 fighters, this is gonna be tough! I fight in just over 24 hours and I am feeling really excited. My lead up to this has been great and I am in as good a shape, probably better then ever.
It’s weird that I was nervous travelling over here wondering who is going to be here, how will I match up? But now that I know that the absolute best fighters are here I am actually calm and interested to see how it’s going to pan out. This will be the ultimate measuring stick. By the end of the Rio Grand Slam, training camp and Sao Paulo World Cup I will know exactly where I stand in the 66 kg food chain.
Training here in Brasil has been good we have had good, sharp sessions wed, thurs and will have another one this afternoon. Just been focussing on speed work and sweating the weight off. That part has gone really smoothly. Just weighed 1.8 over but I feel well hydrated so that is good. The more often I cut the better I seem to get at it, or maybe I just get a tolerance to the feelings of hunger, thirst and the games your brain play on you in the process.
Today’s plan is small breaky then sweaty run midmorning. Small lunch and sauna off the rest of the weight in afternoon/evening. If that goes well and I am underweight I might even have dinner, fingers crossed.
By the time we get back from training this afternoon the draw will be done and we’ll all know who we are fighting. The meat head in me wants to fight one of the Japanese, Cubans, Brasilians, French etc and fight for my life but the little voice in the back of my head is saying maybe an easier first round makes more sense. But who knows? I am unseeded here so I am just as likely to get a world beater as I am to get a more winnable opponent (there are no EASY fights at this level).
Fingers crossed it all goes well. I doubt I’ll add anything else before the comp so hopefully my next entry is me bragging about the amount of butt I kicked at Maracanazinho on Saturday 22 may.
If you want to follow it all live you can go to ippon.org or video link will be on eju.net look for JUDOTV link.
Ivo
Things here in Rio are good. I have been here before, 2007 Worlds where I had one of my best results (11th) so I have fond memories of this place. There is a team of 12 from Australia and everyone is pumped for the competition. There is apparently 43 countries here and over 400 fighters, this is gonna be tough! I fight in just over 24 hours and I am feeling really excited. My lead up to this has been great and I am in as good a shape, probably better then ever.
It’s weird that I was nervous travelling over here wondering who is going to be here, how will I match up? But now that I know that the absolute best fighters are here I am actually calm and interested to see how it’s going to pan out. This will be the ultimate measuring stick. By the end of the Rio Grand Slam, training camp and Sao Paulo World Cup I will know exactly where I stand in the 66 kg food chain.
Training here in Brasil has been good we have had good, sharp sessions wed, thurs and will have another one this afternoon. Just been focussing on speed work and sweating the weight off. That part has gone really smoothly. Just weighed 1.8 over but I feel well hydrated so that is good. The more often I cut the better I seem to get at it, or maybe I just get a tolerance to the feelings of hunger, thirst and the games your brain play on you in the process.
Today’s plan is small breaky then sweaty run midmorning. Small lunch and sauna off the rest of the weight in afternoon/evening. If that goes well and I am underweight I might even have dinner, fingers crossed.
By the time we get back from training this afternoon the draw will be done and we’ll all know who we are fighting. The meat head in me wants to fight one of the Japanese, Cubans, Brasilians, French etc and fight for my life but the little voice in the back of my head is saying maybe an easier first round makes more sense. But who knows? I am unseeded here so I am just as likely to get a world beater as I am to get a more winnable opponent (there are no EASY fights at this level).
Fingers crossed it all goes well. I doubt I’ll add anything else before the comp so hopefully my next entry is me bragging about the amount of butt I kicked at Maracanazinho on Saturday 22 may.
If you want to follow it all live you can go to ippon.org or video link will be on eju.net look for JUDOTV link.
Ivo
INTRO
Well this is my first blog ever! I will mainly document my training and competition information and it will probably serve as a good tool for my own reflection through the journey. Not sure how many people will be interested in what goes on in my every day life but if some are then this will be a way to keep tabs on what I do to try and achieve my life’s ambition and qualify for London 2012 Olympic Games.
If you don’t know me and you’ve stumbled upon this blog then here’s some background…
I am 24 years old. I’ve been doing judo since I was 5. I have loved the sport since then and have competed with some success through the years. I have won senior national and oceania championships, a couple of commonwealth bronze medals and 11th place at the 2007 World Championships. My sob story of missing out on Beijing 2008 basically sums up to me being the current national and oceanic champion at the time of Olympic selection but I slipped up and came 5th at one of the selection events and I was unable to bridge the gap. There’s a lot more to that story but it’s something I have moved on from but all I will say is that gut wrenching pain of missing out on my dream first time round is something I never, ever want to experience again.
Anyways, I train my butt off every day to get to London. My training week consists of 3 sessions a week at my club Western Judo Academy, 4 judo sessions at Dominance MMA (under Maria Pekli and Daniel Kelly) and 1 at Essendon FC. I do 3 strength sessions a week and 2 agility/flexibility sessions.
I juggle this with full time university, work in construction and spending my spare hours with my girlfriend Isabel and my family, don’t watch much TV.
That’s intro to Ivo sorted. Next blog will be from Rio de Janeiro.
Ivo
If you don’t know me and you’ve stumbled upon this blog then here’s some background…
I am 24 years old. I’ve been doing judo since I was 5. I have loved the sport since then and have competed with some success through the years. I have won senior national and oceania championships, a couple of commonwealth bronze medals and 11th place at the 2007 World Championships. My sob story of missing out on Beijing 2008 basically sums up to me being the current national and oceanic champion at the time of Olympic selection but I slipped up and came 5th at one of the selection events and I was unable to bridge the gap. There’s a lot more to that story but it’s something I have moved on from but all I will say is that gut wrenching pain of missing out on my dream first time round is something I never, ever want to experience again.
Anyways, I train my butt off every day to get to London. My training week consists of 3 sessions a week at my club Western Judo Academy, 4 judo sessions at Dominance MMA (under Maria Pekli and Daniel Kelly) and 1 at Essendon FC. I do 3 strength sessions a week and 2 agility/flexibility sessions.
I juggle this with full time university, work in construction and spending my spare hours with my girlfriend Isabel and my family, don’t watch much TV.
That’s intro to Ivo sorted. Next blog will be from Rio de Janeiro.
Ivo
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