olympics

Japanese judo endures worst Olympic Games in 24 years

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© 2012 AFP

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Men's coach Shinichi Shinohara, a silver medalist in Sydney 12 years ago, said the team are not mentally strong enough.

I see. And where is your Olympic gold medal, big man?

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Bit harsh there, Daijoboots! I admit I'm just a curious observer of Judo, but the consensus is he was dudded of the gold in Sydney. Funny looking bloke though. Seems Judo is to Japan what Swimming is to us Aussies - we expect too much, and the truth is the rest of the world has caught up.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Daijoboots: Good point! But at least he's not blaming it on unfair judges or how 'foreigners' have destroyed the sport.

I think what's happened here is just that other nations are getting better and there's more competition whereas it used to be understood Japan would simply dominate (as the JOC claimed they would this time around). I personally think they got quite a medal haul, despite getting only one gold in the event, and think they have every right to be proud. It saddens me to think that when these young athletes, some of for whom it was their first outing, their medals will be seen as little or nothing in the eyes of a nation upset with the overall performance of the Judoka (again, because of false expectations). They tried their hearts out and deserve recognition and congratulations, regardless of the color of their medals. Matsumoto will be seen as a hero and the rest... who knows?

Anyway, if they want to get back to being on top again then they need to deal with fiercer competition through adaptive techniques. The coaches need to stop thinking they are ENTITLED to win because Japan created the sport and change their ways so the athletes CAN learn to adapt on the mats.

-6 ( +3 / -9 )

Have you seen how the coaches act when the players lose. They don't even look at the players in the face. It seems the coaches are the problem for the mental breakdowns. I don't see them really as the motivate types. The players know they will be treated like crap if they lose so they are probably scared stiff of losing rather than pumped up to win like everyone else. Where is the love, where is the support? Hey, maybe this reflects Japan as a whole?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Lets be realistic here. Them losing has nothing to do with "weak fighting spirit" or lack of motivation. The coach is simply making excuses.

The truth is Japanese people are not as physically strong as other ethnicities. Politically incorrect but fact. You see this all the time in Sumo and even baseball where Japanese athletes are more technique based. This wasn't a problem several years ago when they had a huge lead in technique and understanding of Judo. The rest of the world finally caught up and now matches are usually between two equally skilled guys with one being more athletic then the other.

Japan may have the most judo practitioners+schools in the worlds but the pool they select their Olympians from is limited. The average male here is very short, weak and ectomorphic in body shape. Your not going to find many athletes genetically built for Judo here, however skilled they may be.

-5 ( +3 / -8 )

They knew they had a weak side this go even though the rules have been bent against the wrestling takedowns that the Japanese old guard dislikes. I even saw one woman disqualified for attempting a kata guruma, which is a valid technique. But they had hopes that a few of the younger blokes like Ebinuma could play a bit above their game. I'm afraid they are in for more bad performances if Shinohara sensei believes what he says. Europe and Eurasia have developed tremendously. France has more players than Japan does now. Japan's training methods are randori (sparring) until you collapse. Japan has many more serious injuries in judo than other nations, due to poor and negligent coaching. They need to move a bit closer to the 21st century. And their only problem with body types is not what they were born with, but who they have available as training partners. They need to send some high school champions to train in Europe. Japan was the Mecca of judo in my day but that is no longer true.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

“I don’t think the rest of the world has got better but mentally athletes from the other countries are stronger.”

Hahaha! Denial or what? Japan needs to come to terms that a sport they introduce in Tokyo no longer guarantees them medals. The rest of the world has caught up. They can scream and cry about the international rules all they like but at the end of the day, play by the rules, train hard and suck it up when others win and you lose.

The coaches were nothing but an embarrassment with their behaviour.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

If Japan loses, the excuse is always laughingly that the opponents were bigger or stronger. Not that they were better!

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

I guess that vg866 subscribes to the "foreigners are big and scary" school of Judo. Just not true, I have many long years training and competing in martial arts with jpns and others of all sizes, and really, every individual has their own body w/ its own strengths/weaknesses. But did I really have to write that? everyone already knows it. Still, the scary gaijin card is a favorite one for the judo coaches to beat their players up with, and whip up enthusiastic support from the fans with. Altho its boring.

I agree with warnerbro. The only body problem is lack of a variety of training partners. They need to train with ppl who have different styles, and who are the best in a different pond than they are in. Individual fighters might do this, but this will be hard for them as an organization, because they don't want to admit they aren't the best b/c they are jpns and also b/c it will open up (scary!) foreign influence and thought in the heart of jpns judo. They need to get over their Japan complex, first and foremost.

As many said, the coaches, a disgrace. The famous sempais' gaze watching from the stands, too much. And bad manners. Oh well, to be expected.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

umbrella, read the article. The coach stated that the opponents were tougher MENTALLY.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

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