Today I won the 2009 WA State Judo Championships. I went 3-0 on the day. I won my 1st match by Yuko, second match by waza-ari in golden score, over Patrick, with a Sumi gaeshi and final match by a crotch lift throw(above photo) after having scored a waza-ari on a Tai-Otoshi.
2008 Pacific International Junior Invitational
Today I traveled to Canada for the 23rd annual Pacific International Junior Invitational. I won the gold. I had a bye in the first round then scored a waza-ari on a kata guruma followed by an ippon on a pickup. In my finals match I scored an ippon on the initial exchange with a tae-guruma.
2008 Continental Crown
I won my 3rd Continental Crown today going 3-0 on the day. In my first match I had a player from the Northern California Elite Judo Team. I was able to tap him out at about the one-minute mark with a rear naked choke, my first tap out in a tournament. I had just missed on tapping him with a French Roll choke(above photo). In round two I scored an ippon with a crotch throw and in my final match I won by ippon with a morote- gari.
2008 Judo Nationals vs Serge
I came away from nationals in 5th place this year. I had a bye in round one then met a top player, Josh, from RI in round two. I had a slow start in the match. He threw me for a wazzari off the opening exchange and then scored a yuko to take a big lead. I decided to get going so with under a min to go I threw him with a Tai otoshi for Ippon to get the win. In round three I renewed my national’s rivalry with Serge. We fought hard against each other for no score until I stepped out of bounds and was hit with a shido to give Serge the lead. With about 20 seconds to go I attempted to counter a throw by Serge but landed on my back before turning Serge to his back, which the judges scored for Serge sending me to the losers bracket. I needed two wins to get into the medal rounds. In my next match I was controlling the match when with short time to go I hit a Tai Otoshi for what I thought was the win. The refs met to discuss the throw. Instead of awarding me the win, I was given Hansoku Make, which is a DQ, for a head dive. So instead of a second match against Josh, who I had defeated by Ippon, my day ended with me in 5th place. Josh went on to take Silver and Serge the Gold Medal.
2008 Bellingham Tournament
I only had 2 matches today and scored quick Ippons with a Harai in each match to take 1st place.
2008 Budokan Tournament
For the 5th year I won the Budokan Judo tournament today. I won all 3 of my matches by Ippon. In the 1st round I threw Malcolm from Ippon Dojo with a Koshi-Guruma then did a Morote Gari pickup in my second match for the Ippon. In the finals I met Patrick who I scored an Ippon on by pin for the victory.
2008 Seattle Judo Championships
I went undefeated today in winning the Seattle Judo Championships. I won all 5 of my matches by Ippon, 4 on throws and 1 by pin.
2008 Middle School State Championships
Today I won the Middle School State Championships going 4-0 and winning all my matches by Ippon without giving up a score in any match.
2008 Evergreen State Open
This was my first Judo tournament of the 2008 season today. I had 5 matches winning all by Ippon. 3 of the Ippons came by way of throws and two by pins.
2007 Continental Crown
After missing the Crown last year, this year I was able to enter and win the Continental Crown for the 2nd time. After having a bye in the first round, I scored an Ippon on a dropping shoulder throw in round two followed by another dropping shoulder throw into a pin in round three to win the Gold medal.
2007 BC Championships
I entered my first British Colombia, Canada Judo Championships today and came away with the Gold Medal by defeating all three of my opponents by Ippon. In the first match I won with a leg pick, the 2nd match by a Pick up technique and the third by a leg pick followed by a pin for the Ippon.
2007 JR US Open National Judo Championships
I came away with the Bronze medal again this year at Judo Nationals. I lost a tough match by Shido (penalty score) to Serge, a national rival of mine. Last year I was able to defeat Serge in route to the Bronze medal. With this year’s loss to Serge I now hold a 3-2 record vs Serge at Nationals.
Bellingham Tournament
I only had two matches today. In round one I defeated an opponent from Canada. I attacked with a forward throw that he stepped around followed by a drop throw that he defended well, followed by a double leg pick up (above picture) that I completed to score the Ippon. In round two my opponent keep falling at me feet making it hard to throw him. I knocked him over onto his back and scored a wazzari. I took his back a few times and rolled him into a pin but I didn’t want to end the match with a pin so I let him up. I finally kept him on his feet and finished the match with a left sided Uchi Matta for wazzari to win the match and the Gold medal. Next up is the US Open Nationals at the end of July.
Budokan Tournament
Today I won the Gold Medal at the annual Budokan Tournament for the 4th time. I only had 2 matches today and won them both by Ippon. In my first match I met Alex. I took his back and hit a nice spinning legs in turn into a pin. I wanted to win by throw so after holding him for a while, I let him out of the hold. Back on my feet I set up and hit a dropping Morote for an Ippon. In my second match I ended it quickly by hinting an Uchi Mata off the initial grip for an Ippon.
Evergreen State Judo Championships
Today I entered my 1st Judo tournament since nationals last summer. While I’ve been training judo twice a week since nationals, football and wrestling tournaments have caused me to miss all the judo tournaments since last summer. I went 3-0 today to win the gold medal scoring an Ippon in my first match with a pick up technique and an Ippon in my second match with a pin. In my finals match I met a new player to the area from Israel who now competes out of Portland, OR. I was able to win this match on a wazzari scored with a tai-otoshi and 4 yukos from various pick-up techniques.
2006 Jr Olympic National Championships
This was my 4th Jr. National Championships. I added the Bronze medal to my Gold and Silver Medals and 4th place finish. I started with a quick victory in my 1st match scoring with a beautiful pick up technique. In round two, I met my main Nationals rival, Serge Bouyssou from RI, who is the 2005 USJF Jr. Nationals Champion and the 2006 USJA Jr. Nationals Champion. In 2003 I defeated Serge in route to my Gold medal win at Nationals and last year, Serge defeated me in the Gold medal match at Nationals. This year’s addition was a war. We battled back and forth with neither of us able to score. Then with less than a min remaining, I pressured hard on the attack and Serge hit me with a nice Tomoe-nage for a Waza-ari. I was in danger of losing with short time remaining. Serge went defensive as I attacked and drove Serge out of bounds, I scored on a Shido. Serge shot in on a double, which I defended well. I again scored on a Shido as Serge held my pant leg. We restarted with 4 seconds remaining. My Dad yelled that I needed to score. I attacked hard driving Serge out of bounds at the buzzer and scoring on another Shido to tie the score taking the match to overtime. In overtime, I attacked immediately with Serge countering with another Tomoe-nage. This time, I was able to cart wheel and round off to avoid giving up a score. At the restart, Serge shot in on a double, I pulled him to his feet and executed a perfect Uchi-mata to score and win the match. It was a great match that totally drained me. 10 min latter I was back on the mat again. I lost the match, to the eventual Champion, in a match that I just didn’t have any energy left. I fought his way through the loser’s bracket where I again met Serge in the Semi finals. Our 2nd meeting on the day and it was just as tough and great as the 1st. I was able to get the win late in the match by hitting a nice pick up technique into a pin to score an Ippon. Again I was completely drained from my match with Serge. To get back into the finals, I had to get one more win. 5 minutes after my match with Serge, I had to fight again. I started strong but after about a min, started to run out of gas. I ended up losing the match by penalty score ending me run at the Bronze Medal.
My main Judo training partner, Jesse Peterson, also had a nice run coming away with the Bronze Medal in his 1st Jr. Nationals. My brother Michael, entering his first Nationals did great by winning the Silver Medal. We are taking about 6 weeks off then will be back at it training for next years Nationals in Indianapolis, IN.
2006 Budokan Championships
I won the 9-10 year old lightweight division in this years tournament. I won round one with a left sided Osoto-Gari for Ippon in the opening seconds of the match. In round two I met one of his wrestling/judo training partners, Chris Villani. I won the match by scoring 2 yukos without giving up any score. Chris is really tough and helps me get better and better. He ended up taking 2nd on the day. In round three I scored an Ippon with a beautiful Morote-Gari in which I lifted me opponent high into the air and drove him into the mat for the Ippon. My brother Michael also won the Gold medal today.
Michael and I now train for Judo Nationals held July 7-8 in San Jose CA
