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!
Thursday, June 17, 2010
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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