Here are the results of the Men’s Tblisi World Cup, held in Tblisi, Georgia this past weekend.  USA had two competitors in R.J. and Aaron Cohen who both were unable to post wins.  It is obvious that as expected, this year is going to be tough on the European tour.  The 66kg division appeared to be the toughest as the draws had a plethora of past World medalist.

 

Men’s 60kg

1. James Millar (GBR)

2. Pavel Petrikov (CZE)

3. Lavrentis Alexanidis (GRE)

3. Albertas Techovas (LTU)

5. Yung Gascard (BEL)

5. Hovhannes Davtyan (ARM)
7. Evgeniy Kudykov (RUS)

7. Jeroen Mooren (NED)

Men’s 66kg

1. Zaza Kedelashvili (GEO)

2. Benjamin Darbelet (FRA)

3. Ramid Gasimov (AZE)

3. Mikhail Pulyaev (RUS)

5. Sebastien Berthelot (FRA)

5. Volodymyr Soroka (UKR)

7. Sandro Iakobashvili (GEO)

7. Andrea Mitterfellner (AUT)

Men’s 73kg

1. Aliksandr Stsiashenka (BLR)
2. Yoel Razvozov (ISR)

3. Davit Kuprashvili (GEO)

3. Marco Maddaloni (ITA)

5. Ilya Kokovich (RUS)
5. Michaell Remilien (FRA)

7. Koen Sleeckx(BEL)

7. Daniel Fernandes (FRA)

Also Competed: RJ Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / Cohen’s Judo), 0-1

 

Men’s 81kg

1. Sirazhudin Magomedov (RUS)

2. Joao Neto (POR)

3. Alibek Bashkaev (RUS)

3. Ole Bischof (GER)

5.Grigori Baindurashvili (GEO)

5. Diogo Lima (POR)

7. Alexandru Gaina (MDA)

7. Grigol Shindjikashvili (GEO)

Also Competed: Aaron Cohen (Buffalo Grove, Ill. / NYAC / Cohen’s Judo), 0-1

 

Men’s 90kg

1. Zurab Zviadauri (GEO)

2. Irakli Tsirekidze (GEO)

3. Varlam Liparteliani (GEO)
3. Elkhan Mammadov (AZE)

5. Seigo Saito (JPN)

5. Jevgenijs Borodavko (LAT)

7. Sergei Aschwanden (SUI)

7. Hakob Arakelyan (ARM)

Men’s 100kg

1. Levani Zhorzholiani (GEO)

2. Ilias Iliadis (GRE)

3. Henk Grol (NED)

3. Moulud Miraliev (AZE)

5. Michael Jurack (GER)

5. Elco Van Der Geest (NED)

7. Levan Razmadze (GEO)

7. Scott Edwards (CAN)

Men’s +100kg

1. Yohei Takai (JPN)

2. Janusz Wojnarowicz (POL)

3. Maxim Bryanov (RUS)

3. Adam Okruashvili (GEO)

5. Andreas Toelzer (GER)

5. Lasha Gujejiani (GEO)

7. Zviad Khanjalishvili (GEO)

7. Angel Parra (ESP)

 

The shocker of the tournament has to be Iliadis of GRE fighting -100kg AND placing second.  It is rumored that he is merely attempting to qualify the division for his country.  Iliadis is looking to go down in the books as one of the best pound for pound ever. He has ascended from 73kg in 2003 where he won the under 23 European Championships and placed 5th in Tblisi, won Olympic Gold in 2004 at -81kg, two World Silver Medals at -90kg, the 2006 U23 European Championships at -100kg, then winning the Kano Cup at -90kg and placing second in Tblisi at -100kg within two months. That’s the short list, but still pretty impressive. Oh, btw, he is only 21.

By Rhadi Ferguson

 

The Olympic Trials will be here soon and I would encourage you all to do one thing…go!

 

If you have children who are judo players or that do any of the Olympic Sports, then go to the trials. It is an experience of a lifetime.

 

Going will give you and your children a new-found respect for dedication, it will allow you to push harder in your job, your school work, in your family life and in all areas. It will literally inject into the “umph” that you need to get going.

 

And you will get an opportunity to look the word SACRIFICE in the face.

 

So, listen to The Judo Crusader for once will ya?

 

Now is the time to get your “ducks in a row” and decide that you want to be a better judo player. And I’m going to tell you exactly how to do it. Are you ready? Great!!!

 

1. Get A Throw Mat!

 

If you do not have a throw mat for your club – get one. If you don’t have one then round up a couple of your buddies and put your money together and get one. I bought my first throw mat when I was practicing in Massachusetts back in 1998. I was practicing at a small club on the “off nights” when I wasn’t practicing with Jimmy Pedro and I knew I had to practice throwing. So I called this company called Tiffin Mats and ordered the mat. As a matter of fact, you can call them at this number 1-800-843-3467 or you can go to their website and get a throw mat. Just so that you know, the mat that I bought is still in Foxboro, Massachusetts getting used to this day.

 

I know you are asking why you need this mat. Well, the answer is in number 2.

 

2. Get the Reps In

 

THROW, THROW, THROW!!! You can definitely improve your throwing abilities by doing more throwing. Now, Ido not like being thrown on the ground,- and I’m sure you don’t either and the chief reason is because it FREAKIN’ HURTS! That is one of the major reasons why you can count on one hand the times that I’ve been thrown for ippon. I just refuse to fall! And if you practice Brazilian Jujitsu, then you know how difficult it is for you to get someone in your school or class to take some falls for you while you practice throwing. FUH-GET-ABOUT-IT!!

It ain’t gonna happen. But, and this is a big but, if you have a nice soft mat for them to fall on, they will be more willing to take falls for you, and you will be more willing to take falls for them. And you will watch and see evryone’s throws improve. The better everyone gets, the better you are going to get.

 

3. Make Your Practices Measurable and Accountable.

 

After getting the mat and deciding to throw, make sure you decide and plan how many throws you are going to do per night after practice. Notice that I said, after practice. That means that this is some extra work that you have to do so that you can get the edge.

 

4. Get Permission

 

Please respect your instructor, your dojo and the place where you practice by asking if you and your “buddies” could get together and purchase a gift for the club. If you practice Brazilian Jujitsu, ask your instructor if they wouldn’t mind incorporating some throws in practice–after you and your buddies have started doing the throws after practice first.

 

If you get some throw mats for your club, you will see how you will improve greatly. When I lived at the Olympic Training Center I can tell you that we easily would perform 75 to 100 throws a night. And that is outside of the hundreds of uchikomis, randori, drills, warm-ups and cool-down.

 

From that, a few things happened. First, I got comfortable with throwing. Secondly, I become proficient at the throws I practiced. Third, I believed that I could throw people. Fourth, my abdominals, my back and my legs – my whole body – was trained in the way that I need for it to operate during competition. So whatever you do, get the throw mat and get started.

 

Rhadi Ferguson is a 2004 Olympian in Judo and a 4-Time National Judo Champion. If you desire to learn more information about his Gold Mettle Plan you may do so at http://www.goldmettleplanpackage.com or http://www.goldmettleplan.com

 

If you are seriously interested in improving your judo game and becoming a better grappler then there is no better place to start then with The Gold Mettle Plan. You can get your free ebook and the best judo advice on the ‘net right here.

January signifies the back end of the Olympic point race leading into the 2008 Nationals. Some folks are scattering to maintain and or recover their number one ranking because of the advantage it holds in the Olympic Trials. The number one competitor entering the Olympic Trials only has to win the eight man pool during the day. Assuming their weight division is qualified in the Pan American region, they are at that point considered Olympians. If the number one competitor loses at any point during the day, they are then forced into a best of three match fight-off to decide the winner. The point position at the close of the 2008 Nationals will decide the ranking of the competitors in the Trials. For most of the men, the last real hope to grab points is the NYAC NY Open, March 9th, which is a C-Level event for Americans. For the women, whom fair better in International competition, the European tour provides a huge opportunity to make some gains or increase their lead. Below is the list of competition selections for males and females.

Most likely to attain medals:

Females

Ronda Rousey and Valerie Gotay

Males

Ryan Reser and Taraje Williams-Murray

Women’s Europen Tour Schedule

		48kg	52kg	57kg	63kg	70kg	78kg
Sofia World Cup (A) - Bulgaria	Jan. 26-27	-	-	-		-	Katie Mocco
Paris Super World Cup (A+) - France	Feb. 9-10		-	Valerie Gotay	Marti Malloy	Ronda Rousey	Nina Cutro-Kelly
Budapest World Cup (A) - Hungary	Feb. 16-17		Anna Palmer	Valerie Gotay	Marti Malloy	Ronda Rousey	Katie Mocco
Hamburg Super World Cup (A+) - Germany	Feb. 22-24	-	Anna Palmer	Janine Nakao		-	Nina Cutro-Kelly
Warsaw World Cup (A) - Poland	March 1-2	Sayaka Matsumoto	Anna Palmer	-	Emily Lilly	-	Nikki Kubes
Rome World Cup (A)- Italy	May 17-18	Angela Cretuzberger	Nicki Schultheis	Carrie Chandler	-	-	Katie Mocco

Men’s Europen Tour Schedule

		60kg	66kg	73kg	81kg	90kg	100kg	+100kg
Tblissi World Cup (A) - Georgia	Jan. 26-27	-	-	-	Aaron Cohen	-		-
Paris Super World Cup (A+) - France	Feb. 9-10	Aaron Kunihiro	Kenny Hashimoto	Michael Eldred	Travis Stevens	Rick Hawn	Adler Volmar	Daniel McCormick
Vienna World Cup (A) - Austria	Feb. 16-17	Taraje Williams-Murray	Taylor Takata	Ryan Reser	Travis Stevens	Rick Hawn	Adler Volmar	Anthony Turner
Prague World Cup (A) - Czech Republic	March 1-2	Josh O’Neil	Taylor Takata	Ryan Reser		Garry St. Leger	Shintaro Higashi	-
Oslo World Cup (A)- Norway	May 17-18	Nick Kossor	Jeremy Liggett	Nick Delpopolo	Travis Stevens	Brian Olson	Adler Volmar	-

Tour Schedule Retrieved from USAJudo.org