Drama, Excellence and Consistency

“Every time we watch judo, regardless of how much we know or think we know, we see something new. This learning process is what continues to push the game, the rules and the performances forward. It’s the same for all of us, regardless of role or years of experience. It’s one of the reasons I love my working environment: continuous learning.

With the heaviest categories in action today, they needed to bring the speed and power to really get the best out of it and it came today. We saw fantastic technique in all weight groups. 

At +100kg Baghadze threw his Ukrainian opponent with koshi-guruma. It was fast and with a beautifully smooth execution, directly on to the back. We can’t ask for more.

Also at +100kg Yusupov (UZB) threw in a Georgian style, his Georgian opponent in the semi-final, with a ura-nage that could be studied by all who wish to learn it. It was precision work and his reward was a place in the final.

With the beautiful uchi-mata against a French opponent from Wagner (GER) in the second round and with that effort continuing throughout the day, we saw first her intention and then her execution, all the way to the final. World champion Wagner seems to be getting better and better and here in Tbilisi she almost seems to instruct her category to follow suit, only seeking the strongest Ippon judo.