Kind: captions
Language: en
when we go to the dojo there we all get
thrown by people that never come out to
be world champions you know they they're
just in the mix or they're going through
three years of University and then they
go we we had a
guy we had a guy that came in he was
business guy came in with his suitcase
and his tie up like that and he's he's
in his lunch hour he's in his lunch hour
right so it's got to be quick yeah so he
comes in and he goes through he's
working his way through the whole of the
British team we're all lined up right 10
minutes later he's just TI his tie up
like that you know and back to work like
that you know imagine him sitting behind
his desk and his computer yeah yeah I'm
glad he didn't get
out who do you think wins you I think
you matched it but but you know wait
whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa you think to be
St rire I think
so strong
words the following is a conversation
with with Neil Adams a legend in the
sport of Judo he is a world champion
two-time Olympic silver medalist
five-time European champion and often
referred to as the voice of Judo
commentating all the major events World
Championships and Olympic Games
highlighting the drama the Triumph the
Artistry of the sport of Judo making
fans like me feel the biggest wins the
biggest losses the surprise turns of
Fortune the dominance of Champions
coming to an end and new Champions
made always speaking from the
heart this is the Le Freedman podcast to
support it please check out our sponsors
in the description and now dear friends
here's Neil
Adams you are a five-time European
Champion world champion two-time Olympic
silver medalist let's first go to the
Olympics where was your mind what was
your preparation like what was your
strategy leading into that Olympics that
was my first Olympic Games so my
preparation was a little bit different
to how it was the uh 84 and the 88
Olympic Games and um I'd kind of done
part of the preparation as well for 76
Olympic Games I wasn't quite old enough
for those but I was first Reserve so in
1980 I'd had four years buildup and I
was hungry and I was one of these young
athletes and I see them so often now
that was developing and you know full of
I won't say I full of myself but I was I
was certainly confident of my ability
and I wanted to conquer the world and
I'd had a couple of really uh tight
matches with the current Olympic world
champion so I knew that uh there was
possibility that I could get there for
the 80 Olympics so uh building up to the
at Olympics was um was quite interesting
because I was kind of coming through the
weights and I was halfway in between the
71 kilos weight category and the um the
higher weight category of 78 kgs and um
I'd got third place at the 79 World
Championships the weight below fought
the whole year at the higher weight
category didn't win a lose a contest so
I'd beaten everybody in the world and uh
and then I had to make decision as to
whether to drop to the weight below
because I was seeded in the weight below
it was a different seeding then see and
um so I decided to drop into the weight
below because I was seated in the top
four and um as it happens I think it was
probably the worst decision I made well
because simply because I mean it was the
only contest that I lost was the final
of the Olympic Games in that year so
you're a young kid what like 1920 at
that time full of confidence Vigor so
the decision to cut we how hard was it
for you to cut we to the 71 kg division
I've got to say that it was the hardest
because as I was going up I was you know
it was 73 then it was 74 kilos 75 so I
was moving through the weight category
it wasn't like I was stuck in the middle
and then I dropped the odd time to
compete it was literally going up in
weight um by a kilo every every month
and then by the time I came to a month
or two before the Olympics it was really
hard fought the European championships
at the higher weight category and won
that and so everybody that was in the on
the Olympic rostrom um at the um
European at the Olympic Games was on my
rostom at the European championships so
um was it a mistake yeah because I
didn't have my diet sorted out my
nutrition was appalling and when I you
know it wasn't as kind of readily
available as it is now for the nutrition
and I would say that if um anything lost
me that final other than the fact that I
was fighting somebody was terrific you
know he was a an excellent brilliant
athlete but um definitely didn't help
that my nutrition was was not very good
okay so you lost to Etso G there's
probably a lot of that we could say
about that particular match maybe let's
zoom in what were your strengths and
weaknesses Judo wise in that Olympics
you said you haven't really lost a match
you won the European Championship
leading into it but if you had weak
spots okay you already said diet but
specifically on the mat in terms of Judo
I think that none of the fights lasted
time going into the final you know so I
I won fairly quickly and uh every match
by ion you know way before time do you
remember how do you remember how you you
won the matches I won them by throw a
couple of throws uh for ION and then
armlock for ION semi-final was an arm
loock against the East German Krueger
and uh yeah I just I was flying through
you know who were the throws you
remember taosi uchimata uh my favorite
kind of um tku waso my favorite throws
and uh and then a juuji katami as well
to you know which was a juji katami role
against an East German who I'd beaten
before but always had a really tough
match but uh managed to beat him well so
you had a beautiful exhibition of a
Japanese type Judo in the first two
matches you threw people and then you
also did the naaza you onbar a person
great so going into the final what are
the weaknesses going into the final
against the Italian like I say taking
nothing away from him as a great athlete
and a brilliant Judo man and um and left
which wasn't good for me that was
definite no because I hated fighting
lefties still do but I'll tell you why
in a minute I just it's one of those and
but I think as I went through the
contest we we had an8 hour break from
the semi-final to the final they took us
back to the Olympic Village then we had
to come back in and then we had to start
a warm-up again you know so I kind of
lost my momentum I had to start again
and I never I didn't I just didn't I had
a job to get going I got halfway through
start started to rescue a dying match
and um you know I was kind of one step
half a step behind all the way through
so never really got into it so why do
you hate fighting lefties and lefties
are we should say over
represented in terms of uh the higher
ranks of Judo I don't know why that is
well you know the thing is about a lefty
is a lefty will have more opportunity to
fight right is you know right-handers
because I mean 70 70% of the population
are right-handers 30% left so they get
to fight more
right-handers and um it's just a fact
you know that happens so uh the thing
that they hate is fighting left against
left they don't like go they would they
don't like it left against left whereas
a right-hander will go right against
right you know but but the opposite is
awkward um for me because just simply I
like to go onto the uh sleeve and then I
like to dominate the grips but the
actual angle of the uh of the opponent
wasn't what I wanted you know so I had
to work hard really hard against it what
happened in that
match um it was a split decision in the
end and so to lose an Olympic Final on a
split decision is is pretty um you know
it's something that's still on my mind
and you know I think that it's a strange
one because I can still wake up
that one and and four years later at the
Olympics cuz I was silver medalist at
the the Olympics four years later as
well and uh yeah it still haunts me do
you sometimes wake up and think like man
I should have eaten better or like or
maybe like a specific grip that you're
like I shouldn't have taken that grip I
do you know I mean the diet side of it
it's it's difficult to ex you know to to
Really admit that isn't it that you uh
you went to an Olympic Games and the one
thing that you really sucked at right
was one of the most important things now
um at at World level sport you know
where you've got the nutrition you know
we've got it you would think that most
people have got it sorted but there's
still people making mistakes and still
people that haven't got it totally
sorted and then there's people like
Travis Stevens who I think doesn't care
he'll just have atrocious nutrition and
he just makes it work I think the way he
spoke about it is
you can't always control nutrition so
it's best to get good at having crappy
nutrition it's a good way of looking at
it I never yeah maybe that's what I did
exactly exactly do you remember what you
were eating we talking about like candy
or yeah well I got a sweet tooth you but
I wasn't it wasn't really I mean I
didn't have a lot of money at that
particular time either you know so uh
the diet wasn't steak and and uh you
know good nutritional salads and things
like that you know I I did what I
thought was best without you know proper
advice and the crazy thing is is that I
had such good advice as well you know
when it came to kind of Fitness training
and things like that we're quite ahead
of our time and you know we really had
it nailed uh as far as the conditioning
was concerned the Judo training as well
was uh was way in advance because I was
a good trainer and I trained more than
most I would uh I can honestly say that
it probably uh got me away with a you
know a lot where was your mind so mental
preparation going into that Olympics you
said you were confident but is there
some preparation aspect behind that
confidence I think in the early days I
didn't think I was going to lose I never
thought it was possible to lose and I
think that I went into every contest
expecting to win so when it didn't quite
go my way I didn't lose that many
contests you know so the only ones I
lost were in the final of the world
championships or in the final of the
Olympic Games so I didn't lose that many
I never lost a European title you know I
had seven uh Golds at European
championships you know five at uh
seniors two at Juniors under 20s and I
never I never lost the final you know so
it was and then I only lost two on a
split decision you know so it was I
didn't lose that many but and and my
attitude was that I wasn't going to lose
and I I couldn't lose you know so I was
always
surprised uh when I did when I you know
something
happened in uh Neil Adams a life in Judo
written in 1986 you wrote ever since I
can remember I have wanted to win it
wasn't the ordinary feeling that
children have when they take part in
their first Primary School sack Grace on
a grass track or even the Keen
determination of a young swimmer
prepared to Train Early in the cold
winter Mornings in order to make it into
the county side with me the desire to
win was and still is as much a part of
me as my arms and legs in other words it
wasn't something I learned As I Grew
Older but rather was deeply rooted in me
perhaps this competitive instinct is the
greatest difference between my Public
Image and the view from the inside so
people see the kindness the uh the
warmth you have the the Charisma the
excitement but there's this big drive to
win inside you so what's behind that can
can you just speak to that that drive to
win and how that contributed to your you
know when when I when I look back now
that's a there a lot of years ago we
should say it is a lot of years ago you
know is that true or not far off no you
know it's not when I think about it now
because I'm I'd like to think that I'm a
different person now and you know since
I've kind of calmed down I I see
athletes now and I see them they they
are you know and they they're kind of
arrogance they they're walk and it's a
strut you know and it's it's a kind of a
confidence isn't it you know and and we
as we're older and as I've become older
i' I've calmed down and but you know it
doesn't matter what I'm doing it's still
that will to to win you know and and I'm
much better at masking it now if I don't
but it still bothers me as much you're
talking about like I don't know even
just like stupid silly things like like
I don't know a game of pool or something
like this or just anything yeah I'm
still trying to win you know like so my
son loves to uh he loves to play me at
balls because I'm useless you know and
I'm I just can't throw a straight ball
so he loves playing with that you know
but it bugs me that I'm not better you
know and um there are certain things
that I do it really bugs me when I'm not
good at it and I guess it's one of the
reasons that uh you know long after I'd
finished competition know people still
want to train with you you know and even
at a like kind of um an older age even
now if I doing a seminar or you know
they still you know do you still do do
you do you want to still go and can I
feel it and you know what one of the
things that's in me is that I just uh
all the way up to 40 years of age so
from 30 when I finished competition up
to 40 I could still train with the best
and I could still go with anybody and
then when 40 hit kind of things started
to fall off a little bit you know I used
to get you know either my hips all my
the legs and my knees and and I realized
that I had to pick my practices and that
wrinkled as well and I had to then just
calm it down a little bit otherwise I
was going to be injured and I was going
to be U you know it's it's not a good
thing when you're getting older and you
you've still got the same competitive
mind but things change so it's still
there you get on a on the mat
probably even now right you get on the
mat with a world champion you're you're
still the current world champion there's
still a little part of you could I still
toss this guy you know kids these days
are soft I well you know what some of
these athletes I mean like I give you a
prime example right is ilas il all right
I mean he is a monster right and you
just of course you couldn't you know
because the just at 60 something you
couldn't but you like to think that you
could you know you could you never know
you got find out you know what you would
do what you can do is you can cause them
problems but and they feel it
immediately but you'd last a minute you
know so you've trained with artist I
gotten a chance to train with them as
well he's a really nice guy really great
guy he trained with me we were training
together every hotel that we used to go
into we'd end up in the gym together and
we train and this one time he was in
there and he just wanted somebody to to
grab and grip hold of and so we ended up
doing this kind of grappling in the
middle of you like the people doing
weight training and you know the
different things watching these two Mad
Men doing uh I'm glad we weren't on a
mat at that particular time yeah but
good fun what do you think about that
guy he like you achieved a lot of
success when he was young 17 you imagine
that 17 18 years of age and uh he's able
to compete with the men there's not many
men can do that you know and it doesn't
happen
very often it happens later with the men
and often they're not physically as
developed as they you know so from me
for example I fought nerov uh who was
World Olympic champion he was the
current world Olympic champion they sent
me to the European Championship senior
at
17 and so that doesn't happen very often
and I thought I pulled neov so I fought
neov and he I had him really worried you
know because I he Ed without a doubt to
come out throw this kid you know and
Junior and he was like thick and
shredded like he's he was shredded he's
like there's a picture of him in his
judogi and his judogi is just cut it's j
know and he and he looks the business
and there's me in this baggy
like yeah skinny kid inside this baggy
thing but I you know I and the thing was
is that the more he tried and the harder
he tried and the more he panicked the
further it went away from him and uh so
you know of course he got he got the
decision at the end and deservedly but I
worried him you know and so and uh and
so for me that was a massive step
forward because year later I was you
know starting to fill out and uh two
years later I was competing for the
Olympic title so I don't know if I
remember but ilas ilas is interesting
because even at 17 I feel like he was
doing big throws like uh literally
lifting them with it just rips them out
the ground you know and I was saying to
uh to Nikki you know my wife and we uh
she said what would you do now that was
different than the what you did then you
know and I I never had any pickups you
know I didn't that's not that's not what
we did you know but you have a look at
the um the young uh Ukraine or the the
you know the young Russians or the young
um Eastern block uh Mongolians and
they're ripping people out the ground I
mean it's it's just different style of
Judo and it's it it just looks different
but now they're starting to do a
traditional style Judo as well so can
you speak to that what the different
styles of Judo so for you you mentioned
uchim taoshi these these uh how would
you describe them they're like these
effortless less lifting off the ground
and power and like strength and explo
and more timing and position movement
momentum all kind of stuff that's more
traditionally associated with Japanese
Judo cuz like for Japanese Judo the
traditional Judo like you're supposed to
throw people in a big way without much
effort and of
course we uh 1990 we saw the
introduction of all these um Eastern
block countries you know the
um there were so many more I mean it was
Soviet Union when I was competing and
then of course in 1990 everything
changed and then there were so many more
of them out there different countries
where you know that that their wrestling
styles were were introduced into Judah
you know put a jacket on them and let's
get into Judah so Judo kind of changed
shape it it changed shape from this
ight standing you know that and and
having to know the technicalities of how
to get a a body that's weighing 40 you
know um uh 14 stone or you know whatever
it is up into the air and uh using them
momentum and the balance and the
direction and and and the skill to do
that and knowing how to do it you know
and how to use movement and then you get
you know the wrestlers and and and the
the leg picks and the double leg single
leg double legs and you know and it kind
of by
1995 you know Judo was was bent over and
so it was the ioc that went to igf
International Judah Federation and they
said you got to change this or we're
just going to have have one wrestling
sty it looks like wrestling with Judah
uh with Judo jackets on so you either
change it or we're going to take one of
you out by the way we should sort of
clarify when we say people are bent over
that's usually how you see Freestyle
Wrestling wrestlers are more bent over
to defend the legs and so on and
traditional Judo people are more
standing up because that's the position
for which you can do the big throws and
all that kind of stuff but uh I think
the other case to make for uh Banning
leg grabs is you know a lot of people
are using it for stalling and not for
beautiful big throws and all that kind
of stuff so it's not just not to make it
different from wrestling it's it's also
like you want to maximize the amount of
Epic throws and uh Dynamic Judo and
exciting stuff to watch right win by
Judo not not by wrestling and I think
that you know the ones that were
shouting about it were the wrestlers
right because they they they like to
compete with both they like they want to
do both they want to do you know their
wrestling matches and then come into J
so what basically I mean what what we've
said is then learn to do Judo and
there's nothing stopping you then from
doing both right but not from the other
way around all right so rules always
dictate development they'll always
dictate which direction it goes so if
you introduce a rule that states that
you cannot dive at the legs and just
pick up um then you'll have to do it
standing up and also it increases the
possibility of Defense with the hips
because actually um good defense Judo
wise standing up is with the hips as
opposed to sticking your arms out and
then sticking your backsides out there
just to defend all right so if you
attack me and I I I move my body in the
wrong place so I'm in the right wrong
place at the right time so you don't hit
the right Target and then also I use my
hips you know so uh again it's it's a
form of uh Judo that um was being lost
so now we got it back so let's go there
let's let's speak about
Judo as if we're talking to a group of
5-year-olds so what what is Judo what
are some defining characteristics of
Judo as a sport as a way as a martial
art as a way of life all that kind of
stuff I think you know when you say it
as a way of life I mean the um I think
the the great advantage that we have in
Judo my young grandson so I got two two
little boys that are three and a half
years of age love going to our Dojo they
love it you know so Dojo was the first
word that they used it was one of the
first so when they come to see us you
know so seen my wife and I you know it's
like Dojo it's not Grandma Grandad you
know it's Dojo so Dojo they take their
shoes off going into the dojo you know
so they have respect for where they're
at you know and uh I think it has that
kind of feeling that uh like I tried to
build my Dojo with a feeling of
reverence it's kind of almost peaceful
you know so if like I'm not religious
I'm not a religious person but I like
going to Old churches because when I go
into an old church doesn't matter you
know what the religion within the church
but it there's a there's a reverence in
there reverence is a good word it it
feels like a really special place no
matter which Dojo you go to it's just
you bow and there's a calm this before
the storm of battle or whatever it is
yeah and respect you know look at the
respect you know we were just talking
about it just before we came on on air
we were just saying that we very very
seldom do we have a situation where
there is
animosity other than them fighting you
know so I'm I'm not saying that they
don't fight each other because sometimes
it does turn into a brawl and at the end
two people bow off and show their
respect you know and and one of the
things you know like so a champion I see
people winning events and they're good
judoka they're excellent they win World
Championships might even win the Olympic
Games but a great Champion for me is is
somebody who treats uh who who does the
right thing when they lose you know so
when you see them lose that's when you
see the true them you know and actually
that was one of the biggest things that
I had to really cope with you know so
when I lost that Olympic Games in Moscow
and also the one in in um Los Angeles
the hardest thing is when the
microphone's in there and and you've got
to be respectful and nice and and the
hardest things to smile but actually
some of the great Champions you know
they'll they'll go that's just one match
you know I remember uh we've got um
we've got one great Champion AGB n she's
a five-time world champion she Olympic
champion she's going she's favorite as
well to to get this Olympic gold medal
French MH what a great Champion she is
you know because um she lost one of the
matches I mean she'd come back and um uh
she'd uh give him Birth come back after
giv him birth and everybody was going
well was she you know but then and then
she lost one of the matches on the way
through and she said well don't be don't
be upset you know it's just one match
it's just one contest you know next time
I'm going to put it right and she did
put it right and now she's back up there
and she she won the world title back so
you know the these are great champions
for me yeah I mean that's the right way
to see it but it's also tragic to lose
the Olympic Games you know
twice yes it is tragic and I do I do
have sleepless nights I mean that's the
the magic of the Olympic Games anything
can happen and your
1980 Olympics were very different from
the 1984 but if we just Linger on the on
80 and just your we were talking
about how much you wanted to win do you
love winning or hate losing more I hate
losing more but I love winning when I
won the world title the year later and
um I had no doubt when I went in that
day that I was gonna be world champion
no doubt so you won the uh 81 World
Championship at the higher weight at the
high of the 78 yes
kg um actually can we go there what what
what was going through your mind you
ended up arm barring a Japanese fighter
I talked to Jimmy Pedro a friend of
yours somebody who said you were a
mentor to him for many years and he's
told me a bunch of different questions
to ask you but he said that was a really
special time that was a really special
like dominant run you had um and
especially finishing with an arra asess
a Japanese player so take me through
that what do you remember from that I
think that it was so my weight was
better I didn't have to lose weight that
was one thing so the nutritional side
wasn't as important but probably you
know it still wasn't as good as it could
be my
nutrition uh although it was getting
better and I was uh trying to eat the
right things at the right time um but I
still trained really well and I was so
confident there going into that World
Championships that I could win it I had
no doubt in my mind that I was going to
win but you know obviously uh corner of
your mind you're thinking um just don't
make mistakes but you know this is the
incredible thing is is that once you
start to ask you what once I see contest
change direction when I'm commentating
so I can see somebody who's in there
just going forward just trying to win
right so and that's a difference to
somebody who's trying not to lose MH and
it's two different ways there you know
so sometimes when you uh so when I was
world champion uh then I had a period of
time where every time I stepped out
there I was really afraid of losing and
um and I think that that's what happens
later on in your competitive career you
know the great Champions managed to come
through that Teddy Rene is one of those
you know he he just he puts it out there
and he keeps beating them you know so
they can't take it away from him you
know it's it's it's fantastic so
stepping on the mat every single
encounter you're trying to win you're
looking for the grips and the with the
intention to throw throw big even when
you're ah head on points all that kind
of stuff that's a really good point is
that if you go ahead in a match and you
look at the clock it depends when you go
ahead like sometimes you can go ahead in
the first minute and you've still got
three minutes to go so I see the ones
then that go into I don't want to lose
because they go into defensive mode and
then sometimes they can lose it on
penalties or something can go wrong and
uh the other one comes on strong and
then they can sneak the contest and so
um it's it's really difficult but what
when I was coaching I was trying to
always encourage
that positive attitude for the full four
minutes five minutes then I've competed
a lot in Judo and jeta I've always hated
that part of myself when I'm up on
points by a lot you look at the clock
and it's what you do when you look at
the clock minute and a half you're
really
tired and you kind of quit you just
defend yeah and I hated that part about
myself it's like that saying don't do it
yeah well as opposed to just go out in
uh in Judo that's a for big throw just
keep going for the throw and Jiu-Jitsu
it's go for the submission like throw
CAU like win in the real way versus on
on points I hatte that part of I mean
mostly underneath that is cowardice
induced by
exhaustion exhaustion's the one isn't it
you know but but it is isn't it it's a
mindset as well you know so actually
trying to get your mind positive all the
way through you know so I I mean if you
listen when I commentated now is I say I
hope that they don't change the mindset
and that they keep on and they are going
forward all the time you know and
actually they're then more difficult to
catch we had one uh just a couple of
weeks ago and he lost in the final
second of the contest lost the final he
was the only one to score he got
penalized all the way up two seconds to
go and stepped out of the area and uh
you know but he went like that thinking
the Bell was just going and the Bell
went 1 second after he actually stepped
out so he got penalized lost the match
and lost all of the points for
qualification so it was it was you know
that's uh paying high price that's
paying high price yeah I mean that's
there's a thin thin line between uh
Triumph and tragedy and in uh those
competitions but especially at the
Olympic Games so let's just stick on 81
World Championship what it feel like to
win that world championship like uh and
also getting an armar as a Japanese
player uh Jimmy told me your arms were
exhausted yeah I mean you you just I the
thing is is sometimes you know when
you're going when it's competitive as
well you know um hours is a different
intensity too like you just where where
you can take time a little bit hours is
bang it's transitioning from standing
down you've got 10 15 seconds to go in
there you go in 100% it's a bit like
running uh uh you know full out for 10
seconds like and then you've got to
decide then especially if they're
defending it whether you let it go
because when you get up and your
forearms are blown you know and you got
lactic acid in there and you still got
to grip up because remember ours is
about gripping as well on the jacket so
if you can't grip up then you can't gain
the advantage then they can throw you
you know so you have to decide so I had
a massive attack on him and we changed
directions four or five times and and
then I wasn't going to let him go but I
still you know when I was turning him
there I had to decide am I going to go
all out for this and and just or you
know like there has been occasions when
I've kind of released it MH to just you
know I got a minute to go and just lock
out yeah so so what you're saying on the
feet there was a change of Direction all
different kinds of attempts and then you
went to the ground and that's so what
was that do you remember that decision
of like okay am I going to finish this
yeah I knew it I I just as soon as I
climbed his back and and then I thought
he's not going he's not going I'm not
going to let him up you know so I was
just changing voice your head little
little something in my head was going
don't don't you know just stick on him
and and then it's always about pressure
on the arm and and I just you know and
of course he was like that you know
where defending you know he was almost
total Bridge trying to get out of it did
it start in turtle and like did you
started in Turtle because I I did an
attack came back out of the attack and
then he went onto his front and then I
was on his back and then I started the
whole saw opening you just went for it
just I was it was an automatic
transition so I mean the transitions are
what we teach you know because the ones
that are quicker down with the
transitions are the ones that catch it
that's our naaza you know our groundwork
is the transition from standing down to
ground it's very you know we don't have
a situation where you can kind of work
your way in you are in or you're you're
not in you're standing you know so you
got to make sure that you're in and so I
had I was just on his back like a leech
and I never let him go so you I mean
yeah so that's where the arm bars that's
where the attacks on the ground which is
called naaza happens in the transition
at that level at that high world class
level yeah I mean he was no mug either I
I think he just got third third place in
the all Japan championships which is all
weight categories so he was he wasn't a
mug you know he was he was strong and
I'd fought him once before and and I
knew he was a lefty as well which was uh
really awkward for me did it feel good
better for me than him did it did it
felt it felt amazing you know because um
it was almost like all these things
disappointments and everything had kind
of come to uh this one point uh where I
was at last kind of champion of the
world you it's everything I said as a
kid that I had no idea how difficult it
was going to be you know so as a kid as
a 14-year-old kid I remember saying I'm
going to be world champion I'm going to
be the best in the world I had no idea
how difficult that was going to be well
there's wisdom to that right like uh
there's power and stupidity of Youth I
like that right like just like I'm going
to be World Champ I'm going to win this
without knowing how hard it is and then
uh once you go after it it's uh you're
trapped you're going to have to do the
work yeah well I mean you see a lot with
parents as well you you know parents you
know how little Johnny is he's you know
he's amazing and he's this that and the
other and they have no idea what's you
know out there I remember the very first
time I I stepped out
1974 uh into the European uh Cadets uh
and I remember um that we were fighting
I'd only ever fought in Great Britain I
was the top you know I I was unbeaten in
in the Junior years kids and went out
there and um there were these um
different Fighters out there that were
treating me with total disdain and I
remember
thinking how dare they you know just you
know and I realized when I came back
from that event there's other people out
there there's just a whole you know and
there are different levels of you know
the majority of people are just not
informed as to what's out there and the
different levels that there are out
there do you remember like a a certain
opponent that for the first time you
felt like holy yeah there's po like
somebody just gripped you up and you're
like this is there's another level to
this game edio was uh edio was one of
them and um I fought him you know and I
beat him in the European championships I
beat him in you know two times and then
lost to him in the Olympic Games two
months after I'd beaten him in the
European Championship wow yeah yeah so
it wasn't that that made more difficult
right Nemesis there wow so that made it
more difficult and um so he edio was one
and uh getting hold of uh I remember um
uh getting hold of Nishida of uh Japan
and he had me going up and down and uh I
just I thought wow this guy is amazing
you know and uh I'd never fought first
time I ever fought Japanese in a major
tournament you know and um I felt the
danger I always talk about the danger
when we go out to Japan to
train uh I could go probably uh months
without getting thrown in training here
in Europe and and I go to Japan and you
know everybody's throwing you you know
and and that's difficult to accept and
the reason that kind of danger and that
kind of um
um feeling of danger is something that
puts a real Edge on you know and uh so
that was first time when when I got a
hold of nishido I thought oh my God you
know this guy you know didn't matter
which way he was turning like that he
stretched out and and I thought this uh
I I want to do this you know and then I
ended up fighting him again in Japan so
that feeling of danger is really
interesting like I've
uh I've you know did randori with a lot
of worldclass people from different
parts of the world uh including ilis
elatus and like there's was certain part
like Eastern your
Pito you're you feel like you're screwed
the whole way through like uh the
gripping you really feel it in the
gripping it's the gripping that does it
but in with with Japan like really good
Japanese style jidoka you don't it's
like it's a terrifying calmness well at
least at least the experiences I've had
you don't really feel it in the gripping
you just feel like anywhere you step
you're getting thrown it's a different
it's a different thing isn't it it's a
different thing so I mean mine was kind
of a mixture right like it to be a
mixture because um there was um the
gripping is definitely the key point so
if you get a high level guys that are
gripping up and I always used to put
this to the
referees um when we were doing referee
seminars when we first started them and
I'd say uh how many because like they
would referee to their understanding of
the match so they were penalizing for
certain grips that were you know and and
actually
so as an ex-athlete
uh high level I would say have you ever
gripped up with high level all right
because if you haven't you need to do it
because then you'll understand why they
do certain things with the grips because
these guys are like you know when
somebody grips you and you think you
know you're going to go when IL Addis
puts his arm over your back all right
and he you you know you're going to go
up and over you know you're going to go
over you know that's it it's a cool
feeling it's like whenever not for me
why is
but it's like I mean because it's not uh
it's it feels way more powerful than it
should yeah it's weird I don't know you
want to attribute it to strength and all
that kind of stuff I people say you have
like immense upper body strength but
it's probably something else it's like
technique it's some kind of weird it's a
mix of everything just like something
hardened through lots of battles and
randori and that kind of stuff yeah but
it's cool that humans are able to
generate that kind of power it's cool
when I was um 84 Olympics well but I'm
just going to go there now just quickly
but um there was um we had a freestyle
wrestler he's American actually but he
had the English um uh nationality so he
competed for um n Lan his name is and he
competed for Great Britain he got third
place at the Olympics in 84 but he was
training uh we were training at buddai
and he was training he came to do some
Judo and put jacket on and of course he
was training with some of the lower
levels and he was really handling
himself well and then um he said I need
to feel you know
he when we did rander you know so I he
did some rander with me and uh and I
immediately thought I got to catch it I
got to stop single leg and double leg
cuz he he was really quick right so
strong as well 90 something kilos he was
like you know he's a big guy so I caught
a sleeve and immediately caught M and
controlled him and and then he couldn't
start right so he said I needed to feel
the difference so then I
thought I better reciprocate this so I
said well you know so we did the randor
and I throw him a couple of times he
said I'm really glad we did that so then
I said I I need to feel the difference
as well so we take the jackets off so we
took the jackets off and he was a
nightmare this guy was a nightmare and
like a monster you know he was like
single legging me and you know it was
just totally different you know so it it
was uh like the jacket makes a massive
difference huge difference to uh
something you know and and people think
it's just a jacket that we're wearing
but it it isn't it's it's our only um
tool actually yeah and it's control I
mean it's a way of establishing control
of another body and it's a whole art
form of Science and I don't even know if
you understand it really you understand
it sort of subconsciously through time
yeah cuz like it there so much involved
cuz pulling on one part of the jacket
pulls other parts of the jacket and yeah
like the physics of that is probably
insane to understand it's absolutely
insane and then you know they they
changed the rules for a little while and
they changed the rules so that you
couldn't hold uh you know that certain
uh grips were not allowed you only
allowed certain amount of time and there
were a lot of penalties for them you
know and then you know they had some of
the exf fighters into the referee
commission and so we were pushing for
just let them grip you know because
that's that's that's our game you know
that's what makes his different you know
again if if grip up with somebody like
so they were on about uh Teddy Renee
yeah Teddy Renee comes out takes a
sleeve yeah big arm over the top and and
then you know he throws people right so
they were saying yeah but stop you can't
stop him doing it this guy is 6' n yeah
and he is built like goth you know he's
like and he's he's and not only that
he's skillful as well you know and and
and he's got that mentality of a winner
he has got that mentality of a winner
there he just wins important matches and
he goes over the top of the goup did
they where is that land now in terms of
rules over the top cuz those are some of
the most epic awesome types of grips
yeah uh just like over the top just big
grab yeah well as long as they throw
from it so they can take any grip as
long as you move them and then catch
them kind of Action Reaction really you
know as long as you catch them on the
Move then you can do it so as long as
you're not using it to stall or that
kind of stuff yeah you can't block out
yeah so I mean if I so like for example
if I've got dominant grip on you and I
just block out I just stop I just stop
you attacking me so then what I get you
three pent penalties get you off and you
haven't done an attack so you've got to
stop that you can't have that yeah yeah
definitely you were the favorite to win
the 1984 Olympics but you got silver I
watched that match several times you
probably having have a playing in your
head so there is uh a nice change of
Direction by your opponent German Frank
Wii yeah it was a fake right uchimata
and then to a left drops
Sagi uh how did that loss
feel devastating is is not you know it's
not enough really um because you know
the strange thing was is coming into
that Olympics I was tired really tired
so my mental state wasn't the best
wasn't certainly the same as it was
coming into the
previous um and I I I remember thinking
I just need to get this over with then
I'm going to have a break and just have
a rest you know and and that's totally
the wrong attitude you it's just not not
good for for going into an Olympic Games
and uh so I I was uh coming in there
with a different mindset and I
remember every match that I had I was
winning well but I was winning with a
struggle you know it was it was really
not I'd fought Novak and I was pretty uh
of France who was one of the strongest
physically uh that was in the quarter I
beat Brett Baron by an ion I I arm
locked him um I won my first match by
ion as well and then Michelle Noak I was
fighting of France and I was lucky to W
to to win it I was up I would scored on
him but I was like starting to defend
and just everything that I talked to you
about you know and then just about held
on and and then I won and you know so
him and I were talking afterwards like
some years afterwards and he said I was
close wasn't I I was yeah but not close
enough I didn't mean it but I had to say
it right of course of course so I and no
he was right you know and it was one of
those so I was through to the semi-final
I fought
lesac uh in the semi-final of uh and uh
I'd fought him in the semi-final of the
worlds as well uh I'd never gone time
with him you know i' never i' always
beaten him fairly easily and with by ion
and um that went time so I was you know
I was I just just glad to get it done
and I was in the final then against
Frank vinar uh of Germany and I'd beaten
Viner before but he was just a young
German coming through and when I started
the final I was uh I thought right I've
just I and I
started uh all my techniques just that
little bit off nothing was
coordinated just it was just I can't
really explain why it was just a little
bit off and I I see it so often now with
um a lot of the guys that are going for
second third Olympic Games and uh I see
their their technique just not quite
there and they're struggling and and I
know when they you know I know what
they're going through and I I kind of
empathize with them well you were it
felt like you were dominating that final
I dominated it yeah I was winning yeah I
was I and and actually if it got another
minute and a half it would have been all
over and I would have been Olympic
champion and it would have been done he
wouldn't have battered an eyelid right
cuz he he would have fought me really
really well and he would have you know
we talked about it afterwards and he
said he just my good day for me you know
and he knows he was very respectful this
guy is very respectful he was surprised
almost I mean not almost he was very
surprised and celebrating like a a
surprise jumping up and down like you
know he do and you know you can look at
that can't you go well it was an ipon
but you know what I got got it back I
don't know I just I think that um
actually taking the pressure off cuz
that was another thing as well pressure
of being favorite you know and I see
that with a lot of them and uh you know
the great Champions the ones that keep
coming through capellic there's a guy
you know he can look very ordinary and
then comes the big tournament and he
he'll win
it the tragedy of the Olympic Games I
mean you were the favorite and just like
that like split moment you lost it split
moment devastating and um lived it
probably not every day but you know
Nikki my wife will tell you that uh
woken up in sweats uh and you know um I
and I think they contributed as well
because I had a period of my my life
after where I was drinking too much and
you know and and I I think kind of uh
when I look back kind of let
into th that that kind of dark period of
my life you know and um I never ever
ever you know did it go through my mind
anything else but it definitely affected
me and I was on a downward kind of
spiral in a lot of different ways and um
would still even you know when we we
have an amazing marriage and we have
amazing family and everything's great
but I still wake up sometimes and I'll
say I've just dreamt you know that and
it's it's the same reoccurring dream
where I'm trying to get somewhere and
I'm trying to put it right you know and
I I I've got this chance of uh putting
this Olympic final right you know in in
in this dream I've got a chance of doing
it but I can't get there and the traffic
stopping me or something stops me and I
you know and then I wake up and I'm
sweating and it's it's and you think
well after all this time that's not
possible but it is and it happens yeah I
mean in the match itself there's that
feeling for for me just watching it like
you're you're going for throws you're
you're almost getting there with the
throws and it's almost like he's going
for a kind of crappy chimata and then
you're just like you're stopping you're
blocking it and all a sudden I mean
that's the beauty of the Olympics he
finds it in himself to switch Yeah in
that like against a favorite against
sort of the Great British judoka just
finds the perfect drop sayanagi
well you know
his um Team doctor and Coach he came up
to me afterwards and said I'm just
really sorry and that's all they said is
I'm just really sorry they were sorry
because you know obviously the obvious
sadness about that you know and and um
of course everybody takes their you know
I went actually two and a was it three
weeks later the German open so he he had
to compete in the German open three
weeks later so I went over to fight him
and uh and beat him in the final of the
German open and it didn't do anything
for me because it was a much tighter
match he was a lot closer he had a lot
more confidence coming in so he fought
me a lot differently and then it was me
pulling it back and just managing to win
in the final and I thought well that
might appease it appeased nothing didn't
do anything when you give your whole
life to Judo just and your love of
winning that's crazy how much the
Olympic Games
mean it it means so much and I I think
you know but I I've got to and I've got
to say this and this is honestly you
know if it meant that if i' have won
that Olympic Games and it had changed my
life into a different direction which I
probably would have not competed in the
88 Olympic Games then all right so if it
had changed my life and then I didn't
have I didn't meet my wife and I you
know didn't have my family that I've got
now there's no um you know I would uh I
wouldn't swap that what I've got now for
anything well part of the demons that
you've gotten to know because of those
losses is part of probably the central
reason that made you the man you are a
legend of the sport you could have been
not that because an Olympic gold is just
an Olympic gold yeah and it is isn't it
you know and I think that there's a lot
of Olympic Champions and world
champions that win and then I
forgotten and I said to uh Nikki I said
um my wife I said I don't want to be
forgotten and I want to be remembered so
if I'm going to do anything anything I
do if I'm going to do commentary or
whatever it is or coaching I want to do
coaching to a high level and I want to
commentate at a high level I remember
the first commentary I ever did it was
terrible and and I just thought I've got
to do better than this and I I thought I
just I need to do it well and I've got
to do it professionally so in the book A
Game of throws you have a chapter titled
lessons and losing so what are some of
the lessons here what are the some of
the deeper lessons you've pulled out of
losing I think great Champions are made
up of the
people that handle it in the right
way and you could say well I I don't
like losing and I you know and you could
throw your dummy out the prom and
you can be a bad loser in front of
everybody and actually people pick up on
that very very quickly you know what
it's like in broadcasting right somebody
has a a bad word to say about somebody
and Y and you it but but actually the
ones that endear themselves to you are
the ones that handle it in the right way
the correct way doesn't mean that you've
got to like it I didn't like it and uh I
thought that I handled it certainly in
later years in the right way uh and I
like to see athletes do it in the right
way you know and I I think that's it's a
make or break situation it's not not all
the contests they win it's the one that
they lose and then how they pick
themselves up and handle themselves
after so I think um that that is a big
one for me and also I mean I I went
through you know obviously a later
divorce and um that was difficult on my
son really difficult on Ashley and then
I was and I think that some of that was
the fact that I was you know kind of I
wasn't drinking all the time but I was
drinking in excess at the wrong times
you know and I think that that's what a
lot of people do sometimes is that they
use it for the wrong reasons you know
and I I used to hear it I I hear it now
all the time you know and is that you
know I I need to knock the edge off and
I need need to just forget and I need to
you know and you need to be in a fuzzy
place for a while and uh I had aot L of
time in in fuzzy place and I needed to
get rid of that you know and I needed to
clear my head where was that place the
some of the lower points in your life
that you've reached
mentally I think you know definitely you
know the fact
that um my marriage first marriage
didn't work you know and that was you
know it's a mix of things that you know
between us and and then you know so
that's not where I wanted to be at the
time
and the effects that it had on my son
and it took a long time for him then to
come around and to to trust me again you
know and um and to have belief he always
had belief in me but um to trust me
again and then um I think that that that
was low and and I think that you what I
look back is that um a lot of my bad
decisions were when I was in that fuzzy
kind of haze and uh then it got
progressively worse that got
progressively worse uh to the degree
where it was you know trying to hide it
and trying to hide how much uh and I was
kind of a
functioning kind of drunk I you know I I
think you could probably say that and I
you know I was functioning I was still
able to I was still training most days
crazily enough you know I was training
to kind of mask it and cover it and that
was probably my savior that I was still
you know cuz I I remember I said to my
wife said to Nikki um I'm probably the
fittest if if I'm you know a drunk then
I'm a fittest drunk in the world she
said yeah you're probably are actually
you know I was in great condition for a
drunk so the the the fuzzy Haze where
was your mind did you have periods of
depression I had uh periods of
depression depression I I can honestly
say that my my depression wasn't that
bad although I did you know when it's
like anything that gives you an up you
know it gives you a an even bigger down
doesn't it you know and and so I hated
that feeling and also hated myself for
letting it happen because I I have got
this really it's a
bizarre uh I don't know whether you can
call it a power but I I have the ability
to be able to say stop and I I I can
just and that's what I did in the end in
the end there was an incident um when I
was working for Belgium Judo and there
was an incident it was Christmas it was
I tell you exactly the day it was 20th
of December and uh uh me and a a Belgian
coach we got um absolutely
Hamed but we were at the wrong place and
it got noticed and and uh so I remember
they they pulled me up in front of this
board and I looked down at these guys
and half of them were people I didn't
want to be in that situation with you
know they're they're not people that I
respected and they're not people that I
trusted so uh I
said um if you're going to sack me sack
me but I can I'll promise you now that I
will just I this this is it I'll stop
I'm just going to stop have decided on
the way back in the car I uh rang uh
Nikki up my wife and I said whatever you
hear now whatever I'm just going to stop
so uh that was it stopped you just saw
the moment it said stop stop so that
fuzzy place what advice could you give
to people about how to overcome that
that dark place the depression whether
it has to do with drinking or not
I think
um if it's to do with
drinking all I can say is is that the um
two days or a week into not drinking
you'll feel different you know it'll
make a physical difference and uh you'll
like that physical
difference and then from a mental
perspective as well because I think that
um you know you it you have a massive
Downer you know um and I I think that
that must be because of drugs as well
because I had a situation with my
brother you know he was like um you know
um he professional wrestling and the
drugs was an element there and you know
so I'd never touched a drug or even seen
one in my life but um you know I'd let
the alcohol side go too far and then
decided never to do that so then I guess
I had people ringing me up you know
saying you know how how can uh we stop
you know so when they say can I have a
word and can I discuss something with
you and I know then what they want to
discuss with me you know and and the
thing is is that I would say you know
you if you stop then feel the effects of
of of of of it and it will make a
difference to your everyday life and
that that will make a massive difference
and um I think about anybody who kind of
you know is down all the time is to find
the the cause of what's
pushing you down you know what I mean
and and and try and um try and attack
that uh I mean you because it's never
somebody once said to me they said
whatever you got you know we we've got
something special I mean we we uh have a
great life and I've had a great
competition record you know but it could
have been better but it was great but I
I've had um success uh with my business
and we're still out there and we have a
great life we travel all the world and
you know there's people out there that
would live in your house at the drop of
a hat wherever you are they drive your
car you know no matter what car it is
some people haven't got a car you know
and whatever food you're having and
you're moaning about the food right that
there somebody out there that would take
that and gladly eat that all right so
there's always somebody worse off than
you and I think that um we tend to
sometimes you know look look at the
things that we haven't got rather than
the things we have got yeah it's a skill
probably just to be grateful for the
things you have exactly as you said in
this sometimes the little things like
food and yeah cars and all that kind of
stuff just to have gratitude for and
family all this kind of
stuff but it's still I you know having
talked to a bunch of Olympic
athletes there is a you know when you
give so much of your life to winning and
then you lose sometimes even when you
win but when you lose at the very top
it's a tough tough like tough thing to
go through the most difficult thing I
think for anybody is when they have to
decide when to stop yeah yeah you know
and and what that all of a sudden and I
I see the ones that are going second
Olympic Games and then third Olympic uh
and and the ones that are there and
they're holding on and they're in their
30s now different to when they were 19
years of age you know 30 something is
different to 19 and then what are you
going to do afterwards you know and then
how do you become just a normal person
you're never going to be a normal person
as such but I think you've got to do
normal things you know and then you've
got I remember the first time that when
I finished competition I had good
sponsors this was you know 40 years ago
but I had uh two really good
sponsorships um
vitamin company and also judogi company
and I had a car and do you know I had
money I just and and I was going all
over the world I was successful and then
I
stopped and they took everything back
they took my car they did and they did
it within two weeks as well they stopped
my funding they you know and the vitamin
company said thank you very much it's
been a great you know we've done well by
you byebye this was after your last
Olympics 88 Olympics just you know when
that finished and then that was it you
know and then it's right okay first time
I had to go in there and buy a tracksuit
and a pair of training shoes and wow
yeah those are diff sitting there in the
evening by yourself so you go from 7
days a week or six days a week going
into the gym and you know you're working
out the dojo and and then you then you
don't have to do it you know and that's
why you get a lot of when they finished
competition they finished that 30 to 40
it's still I mean ilas is still doing it
now he's still in there and he's still
you know and because he can right okay
and and and it's natural and I did
exactly the same and then like I say you
just get to an age and you just think
I'm just G to kind of take a step back
which is why like uh there's certain
athletes like uh Rio kotani never stops
it just dominates for uh 14 years
probably one of the winningest athletes
in Judo yeah seven time World Champ
two-time Olympic champ medaled at five
Olympics so it's always impressive when
never stopped never stopped so that's an
option if you're like the greatest be
interesting wouldn't it just to see what
they're doing now you know I mean
because at some stage you have to get a
normal you have to stop you do have to
stop you know at some stage you have to
decide what you going to do you know and
we you know it's either into to coach
the Judo is is either to coaching or if
you're not in coaching then it's into um
uh uh something to do with the media and
you know I was lucky that I it was just
by accident really with the commentary
somebody said um would you do a voice
over I so I did this voice over and that
was uh back in 1982 I did that so you've
been commentating since 1982 I did some
voiceovers I wouldn't call it
commentating
uh but I did some voiceovers and then I
did some uh we did with some different
European championships World
Championship um kind of events and I did
the voiceovers for it and the way that
it was done uh that uh it was more
narration and so it kind of turned into
then somebody asked me to do an event
and when you listen to the intonation of
the voice and stuff like that it wasn't
like it is now but I guess that's just
something that developed as I you know
because then it was coming from the
heart MH and I you know started to get
excited and just do my thing and it was
just me really just my style well I've
listened to your commentary from a while
back I don't know if it's the 80s but
it's still there I think it's timing as
well isn't it it's like um you know you
get your timing a bit better and know
when to go in when to come out when to
say something when not you know and know
I think that in the early days I tended
to think uh I tended to want to talk all
the time and you don't have to do that
oh so knowing want to shut up that's the
key isn't it yeah part of the dramas and
the
silence building up to the to to the
setup and the throw and all that kind of
stuff but also you're very good
at while uh radiating passion being very
precise and specific about the details
of the throw and the setup and why
something worked and didn't so yeah I
think I think there's two kinds of
commentating you can commentate what you
see and then you commentate what people
can't see you know and and so if you've
got somebody that is not really
understanding of what's happening in the
inner part of the game so it might be a
technical thing or it might be the
Tactical part of the play here that's
going on and if you can introduce that
as well then you've got an
advantage quick pause I need a bathro
and break okay good stuff so we just
took a little break and went to jotv
decom which is I guess an igf website
and igf is the organization behind a lot
of the big Judo events in the world and
I just signed up you should sign up too
it's great absolutely sign up cheap for
the price cheap at the price
yeah and uh you can watch basically any
match from uh the the grand slams and
going back through history I guess yeah
I've got to say Le I mean everybody
still people saying to me oh you you
know we need more Judo on television
they've got Judo on television every
other week that they can access all of
the top people in all the top events and
it costs $100 a year you know it's it's
to access everything and they can play
all the videos I mean we've just
accessed this here uh the Paris
tournament and we're going to have a
look at Teddy Renee but um you know it's
it's so it's cheap at the price so we're
now in Paris Grand Slam 2024 Teddy
reneer final by the way it's super cool
like you click on the
draw and you can just look at any of the
matches you go to the bottom of the
finals you can go yeah to anyone any one
of them that's so cool it's really well
done really well done interface anyway
let me first ask the ridiculous big
question who do you think is the
greatest of all time stady R in the
writing he's the greatest Judo winner of
all time of that there's no doubt you
know I mean he is and I think if you
asked him um whether he was the greatest
Judo man in the world of all time he
would say no I'm not you know and he's
he's not the greatest Judo man there are
people with um you know more beautiful
Judo in some ways although he's got
great technique but he he he is the
ultimate winner 10 time world champ yeah
two-time gold medalist in the Olympics I
guess two time bronze medalist he's
probably going is he's going to Paris
yeah he's going after it again so he's
right here I mean he's right there you
know this was just a couple of months
ago and then last week this uh last week
he he was out again and he he won again
you think he gets gold medal this time
there's people getting closer to him
right cuz he he's obviously you know is
age wise and the amount of time that
he's been there he
obviously somebody that is starting not
quite at his best as he was when was
younger but he like I say he still puts
it on the line he lays it on the line
every single time and then not only does
he lay it on the line but he beats them
all you know and last week he just beat
Saito who was a young upand cominging
Japanese fighter and uh he beat him in
the final it was close and he did well
there are certain people the smaller
ones actually not the taller ones cuz
like you know we're saying about the big
arm over the top that he likes and the
minent grip that he likes there are
people that can give him a hard time now
if at the Olympic Games he has two or
three of those on the Trot it might work
against him you know and it's by no
means an absolute certainty that he's
going to win the Olympic gold medal but
he's got to be one of the favorites top
favorite you know no matter what happens
now Teddy reneer is is the greatest
winner that you know and if you asked
the great yasa he would say the same you
know there's nobody that's you know and
yasa was unbeaten an international
competition and I I trained with yasa a
lot uh over a 2-year period and got to
know him quite well and he was one of
the greatest of all times you know for
me he was one of the greatest Judo men
and um I'm talking about from a
technical point of view from a
spectacular Judo point of view uh
understanding the uh fundamental
principles of of how techniques work uh
sometimes having you know different
techniques that work for you you know so
if one doesn't work and and one
particular direction doesn't work you
can change the direction completely in
case people don't know yamasha is this
legendary jidoka heavyweight Teddy rer
heavyweight that's plus 100 kg so he he
would have caused him all sorts of
problems oh yeah that would that's a
cool who do you think wins the mar yes I
think you but you know wait whoa whoa
whoa whoa you think Mar be St r a i
think so
strong words you think so you think so
yamasha is on the shorter side right
yeah and he he he finds it more
difficult with shorter people you know
and uh so it it was um it would have
been a very interesting uh confrontation
and I think if you asked
yasa um he would probably say you know
that Teddy Renee he's very gracious he's
really gracious it would be really good
it would have been an unbel believable
matchup and I and I've got to say this
that you know Tedy reneer is the
greatest winner of all time competition
wise so it's interesting um both of them
maybe you can correct me but have this
oo gari which is kind of trip that I
never
understood yeah like it's a it's a it's
a very tricky thing to do right it's
very easy to do maybe as a white belt
you roll in you can understand but like
to do it at the high high high level you
see any of the top guys
now um especially if they're second time
out you know so like they might catch
somebody by surprise they come out and
they go bang oh and you go that was
amazing right but if they fought again
10 minutes later you go you're not going
to catch me with that right you got a
different situation here and and so it's
slightly different but the best fighters
adapt like that and and they're able to
see a situation feel the situation and
they attack once and then go again and
attack second third time and in the
third time they make it work yeah both
Yasha and and Ted r with sari they'll
just like hit it over and over in the
match yeah sometimes he'll hit first
time and it won't go and then you make a
Readjustment of the way in it's a little
bit like I mean if you take um a really
easy way of understanding it is that if
we're shooting at a Target and all of a
sudden you start moving that Target you
know it's different hitting a moving
Target but it's also different hitting a
moving Target that's trying to hit you
as well and that's our game right so
we're we're not only trying to throw a
moving Target we're trying to throw a
moving Target that's trying to throw us
so that makes it even more difficult
yeah there's a there's a few folks
who you know what's coming it's like
over and over and over it's the same
attack uh anyway with this uch
it's like it's different it's it's
different there's not many people like
that where it's like this the same
attack I mean there's other attacks also
but they'll just go after the same thing
over and over and over when I watch
great athletes most of them can throw
over both flanks not always going left
and right you know Although our sport
always I mean the Cs are always
demonstrated left and right so you like
if you demonstrate if you do something
on one one side
you know then can you demonstrate it on
the other side right okay so can you do
it equally no but you do it differently
right on the other side so you know when
I'm teaching I I I don't teach left and
right I teach so if I was teaching you
to do a technique first thing I'd do is
say I need you to take a sleeve and a
lapel all right so I'd let you decide
what was left and right okay cuz often
what happens is we impart on people
whether they're going to be left or
right when we start teaching you know
you get a lot of teachers do that all
right and they'll say immediately are
you what do you right with left or right
hand and it's no indicator actually as
to how we do Judo because I'm
left-handed and I do more predominantly
right-handed because I lead off my
strongest hand and actually most people
do you know so actually left and right
is a bit of a trap sometimes you know
when we're teaching better to get you
know because we can go so my point was
is that a lot of people can go both
flanks so they'll do something over this
side and something over this side but
anyway was one-sided he was one-sided
but he could he could switch it so he
had a um a cagi as well on the other
side so he could switch it if he had to
interesting yeah and uh by the way your
opponent in
84 was he righty or Lefty he was a
righty so that drop left yeah s where
did that come from well I mean again it
was you know he could have probably in
other contests he'd hit me with it
several times and i' just stopped it you
know and uh just at the wrong place at
the right time for him right place and
the wrong time for me right that's life
you yeah all right let's let's watch
some tidy
rire this is final of uh Paris
tournament and uh this is against the
Korean the Korean had had a great day
actually again shorter again shorter so
he does find that difficult have a look
at Tedy Rene Tedy Rene will try and
catch the sleeve uh he's after the
sleeve and then the right arm over the
top that's the key point for Teddy
Renee and of course what he um what he
has done if he can't always catch the
big uh osod gar over um his right right
hand side he's been doing uh
something to the opposite side and uh
the koreen just went for a drops
there and uh Tedd rer block with the
hips
he's like I say he has difficulty always
against somebody um smaller dropping
with the c and aies has uh Ted rer ever
been thrown for ION uh never thrown for
ION but he was thrown last week week for
a nice uh uh technique and he's being
caught more and more so it's getting
close yeah and um to say of in the final
of the World Championships they had a
strange situation there where tev um was
a was a technique down and then uh
pulled off a a counter and they didn't
count it but then they over overruled it
unfortunately I was commentating at the
time and I I went for a score for the uh
for TV and uh anyway they overruled it
and then they awarded a second goal
medal to TV what can you say about tamel
and bashev who also gave him trouble
yeah bashev and TV are the two that that
could possibly go to the Olympics
so that was a close one there from Rene
that was closest that he'd actually been
there oh wow so didn't have the sleeve
and he relies on the sleeve greatly big
support there and the French
in the crowd and also maybe can you
explain the penalties for for stalling
yeah so if if they don't attack if
they've got a grip uh and they've got
sleeve lapel or they got two hands on um
if they're too passive and they don't
attack if they've got dominant sleeve
grip they don't attack that was quite
close as well from the Korean so the
Korean here you can see is having a real
go you know the penalties will come if
they don't attack at the right time step
outside the yellow area they'll get pen
ized as well that
uh that's dedication for absolutely I
mean it was really close wasn't it they
nice little coigar there from uh the
Korean and if they touch below the belt
line with the arms so if they they're
not allowed to grab the legs they've
stopped grabbing the
legs wow the Koreans really going the
Koreans having a real good uh go at it I
guess every single person in that
division is probably training for Teddy
rette right you think that Telly Rene
has been there a long time you know and
he's got another guy here in the final
of the Paris tournament he's got 18,000
people watching him they're all on Teddy
Rene's side they want him to win and the
Koreans out there on his own with his
coach but also the pressure that on
rer Amazing pressure you know we we we
interviewed him after this and uh he
said I've got pressure you know people
go well is he going to do it at the
Olympic Games can I do it in Paris he
wanted to go to Paris I mean really I
mean the last Olympic game should have
been it shouldn't it this last should
have been the final one but he's gone no
I've got to do another four years two
penalties are on the board already for
the Korean that Korean is really having
a great
go a bit of a lift on him he's going
after it he's really going after it you
know it's it's an amazing uh effort
there from the Korean and uh he's
getting some last minute uh information
I don't know if you've ever seen his
coach stood next to him like that but
it's amazing he's 6' six and he's he's
about 4 foot six he's a he's a real but
full of passion I love it he's like
screaming so uh golden score how does
Golden score work can you so the golden
score so if it goes without any point on
the board from a throw or a hold down or
armlock strangle uh then it goes into
golden score so two shidos on the board
of piece one more mistake now and it's
going to be all over wow and that's it
he Teddy Rene just manages to turn it uh
on the Korean and that went
really against the Runner play didn't it
yeah because the Korean did better you
know but you know Teddy Renee is a
winner yeah and he says right okay let's
have more uh more cheering finds a way
to uh to score in the and I have to say
you know that even when he loses you
know he's always graceful yeah he
doesn't like it but is graceful yeah
there was so much love there celebration
it's great it's great to see it's great
that he's doing it again going after it
chasing the gold medal again well he's
chasing the gold medal it's going to be
in Paris which is going to be uh even
you know more fantastic you know he's
already the greatest you said you know
what has he got to do to to be the
greatest he's already the greatest
competitor judo's ever known and that
was even you know with um with um the
great uh Tanny you know so Tanny was
amazing as well are you part of the
commentating team for I'm part of the
commentating team but it won't be for JF
because it's independent broadcast have
you ever had an
athlete uh sort of come up to you and
and ask like why why' you say that or
like disagree with your commentary do
you know I've got to say that 99%
99.9% of everybody is so grateful that
I've commentated their fights all the
way through yeah they know if they've
messed up so if I say something and I'm
never disparaging really disparaging you
know but what I will say is you know it
was a great throw by the other guy or it
was a great match and if they made a
mistake so if they walk out they know
that um I will say something that will U
you know mean something so no nobody
really moans about it I I I try and talk
the truth if I can so uh who else would
you consider as as some of the greats so
I I personally just cuz I love the
standing sanagi Koga so there's like you
know the number of times you won the
World Championships and the Olympic
Games but there's also like how you won
and how you wanted to fights and what
you did you know it's not necessarily
about getting gold medals it's about how
you fought and how you represent the
sport and there's certain athletes like
n and eladas that are going after the
big throws only after they want to win
by ion you know and I think that that
that's the difference is they're the
ones that come out there and it's a bit
like you know when when Tyson stepped
out there you you knew what you were
going to get you know and and if they
went Toe to Toe if if if you if Tyson
had somebody going Toe to Toe somebody
was going to get knocked out and you
know we are the same in Judo when people
go head-to-head and it's an open Match
and I often talk about an open Match I
say um they they're it's an open Match
they're both trying to score somebody is
going get scored on somebody's going to
go you know and that's that makes it
exciting and it's when when they come
out and they close up you know then
that's not an exciting match is there a
case for uh for Ono sh Ono three-time
World Champ two time gold medalist I
think that you know Judo wise he's got
to be one of the greatest because he had
such
versatility um he had uh he could go
right and he could go left he could pick
up he could go to the ground as well he
he won a lot of his earlier is on the
ground um I think his
uh empathy you know and how he presents
himself sometimes he falls down and uh I
think that hopefully that should come
with uh tutoring and you know how to how
to be a great champion after you know
it's not just about what you do on the
map but what you do off the M as well
this is to you a great Champion is the
whole package of yeah how how you
present yourself when you lose how you
represent yourself just I think it's how
you present yourself afterwards how you
are with people how much you can help
people I mean people kids uh and um you
know they look up to these great
Champions because they want to be like
them uh so the worst thing is when you
get somebody that's a bit of an ass and
and they're not presenting themselves in
the right way so I like to see somebody
presenting themselves in the right way
and I think that it's something that can
be taught it's something that normally
comes with a little bit of experience a
little bit of age you know and I like to
think that I'm a little bit different
now than I was when I was 19 not that it
was bad you know I I just think I was
just you know I see it often now you
know just full of full of
beans your your beautiful work in
progress uh what about
namura that I he in namura that's three
time gold medalist never lost an Olympic
fight so there's there's nobody
yeah no nobody ever done that you know
what I mean so that's got to be it has
to stand he took two years off in
between every Olympic Games and came
back did the right amount of events to
qualify for not only did he having to
qualify he had to qualify through Japan
now Japan remember have got the greatest
depth so they got people coming through
all the time you know and they and then
he had to win the Japanese trials I mean
we had a four-time world champion from
Japan uh this is when World
Championships was every other year and
this is shoo shoo Fuji um and he was the
greatest middleweight of all time uh and
never got to to participate in the
Olympics because he lost the Japanese
trials twice in two Olympic uh you know
uh possibilities so um you know he had
to qualify for Japan and then go to the
Olympic Games and then do it there you
know so sometimes some of the best
people in Japan can't get outside of
Japan look at the situation they had
with um ab and then they had um marama
marama was uh you know and ab were both
the best by far in the under 66 kilos
category this is for the last Olympic
Games and um they sent one to the world
championships one to the Olympic Games
and they both won gold medals you know
yeah yeah I mean that's why the uh the
all Japan championship like legendary
that there's these
battles with Yasha and all of them well
ab and um and marama they they had a a
trials in the
kodakan uh it was TW 26 minutes I think
it was 26 minutes it went they were
battling it out for 26 minutes that's
great if we can just go to you've
trained in Japan what are those randor
like what what's that training like um I
touched on the
danger that danger of being thrown when
you get hold of somebody or somebody
gets hold of you and I often reflect I
often talk about it when I'm
commentating you know because I can see
immediately you know it's easy isn't it
you know we're in the commentary chair
or if you're in the coach's chair and
you don't really understand totally AB
absolutely what's going on when you're
being somebody's being out gripped and
when they're in danger of being thrown I
mean you know if you're in danger of
being throw and the first thing you do
is stick your backside out and defend by
you know by not being in the position
they they want you to be in all right
and so that's danger you know you feel
the danger and so in Japan that was the
place I used to go to train because I
felt the danger and so my defenses would
be heightened and so somebody that was I
went two two years one one Olympic cycle
I went two years two months without
having a score on me in any
competition and then I went to one
competition in the European
championships which I won and I was
struggling all the way through it and
got scored on three times in my pool of
you like my first pool of fights and I
was devastated I and and actually nearly
lost the whole competition because I was
more mortified about being scored on
three times when I hadn't been scored on
for 2 and a half years I had this thing
in my head about 2 and a half years i'
you know and and then all of a sudden
right I'm not unbeatable and then you
just you and you go and I I was almost
lost it completely lost it just so
fortunate couple of things went my way
and just came out and I scraped and
scratched my way to the final and and
won the final well all right but was my
best match but uh I almost lost it well
what do you do with the fact if you go
to Japan and you're getting you're
seeing danger like you're probably
getting getting thrown getting thrown
Japan what's that due to Your Ego well
again it's my you know that that was a
winning ego that had to adapt uh I
remember we went to the case Joe which
police Dojo one time and um they wanted
to see they uh they created this uh the
groundwork competition because they
wanted to see my
me do the juji like how I I went in and
how I yeah how the armar right they
wanted to see how I did it from
underneath or over the top and you just
they created this event the cre yeah
they started it so and then winner stays
on competition was happening at the cas
Joe so I did about seven I think it was
seven in and then my coach came in and
said no it's finished that's it now it's
finished you know suddenly we realized
what was going on and I was going no
no no no don't stop it like that you
know and um and it was one of those uh
moments where you know the the boot was
on my foot you could say you know rather
than the other side the other way CU I
had been to Japan uh in situation I
remember as as a
16-year-old I I got such I I got such a
a
drumming um from uh one of the Japanese
guys older students and he had a gold
tooth and um so he was gold tooth to me
you know and he was my nightmare and um
I I remember kept coming out to fight
him because he kept throwing me and and
I was crying and I was upset and I was
like and then that was another occasion
where I got dragged away and I said no
and so I wanted to go back and fight him
and I went back to the same Dojo every
year to fight him he was on my mind mhm
Morning Noon night he was on my mind
gold tooth was on your mind gold tooth
was on my mind you know and uh you ever
get him two years later right I was two
two years to me from 16 to 18 was
totally different 18 years of age I was
pretty competitive with him and uh it
was like you know I was standing up with
him
19 he was in the groundwork competition
mhm and that's when the switch happened
switch happened you know because I
just I well because I remember getting
the arm lock and
and didn't put it on immediately I
needed it to last it had to last sure so
I I spread the the whole thing lasted as
long as I could possibly get it and it
was a a long memory yeah as I was
looking down at him and now and now he
has nightmares about you now he I wonder
what nickname he has for you I don't
know I'm hoping that he remembers me as
as you know he probably doesn't say it
just back an eyelid doesn't say a thing
about
it well I mean can you just speak to
that training with those
folks you know you said
crying just the frustration of being
thrown yeah I mean what what how do you
it's such a beautiful part of the
process of becoming great yeah I think I
think it is just something that you're
you know that doesn't happen at this
level you know we were talking about
levels and then at this level it you it
never happened and then I went out in my
first European CET and and all of a
sudden I wasn't the this this top guy I
was in the mix and then I had to work
myself to the top of that mix and then
to the top of the next one you know cuz
I went to the European senior
championships and you know again you're
not the top and you know you work way to
the top of that and and I think it is a
frustration you know but I think it's
that kind of hatred of losing and and
also um being out of control I think the
the first time first senior European
championships I fought I fought nevs are
of but he was only one of my contest
then I had to fight a Frenchman for
third place but he totally out gripped
me and um and I remember I was more
upset though I won the contest I was
more upset that he totally out he did
out grip me and and I was more upset and
then I fought him a year later and outg
gripped him all right so it was um it
was one of those you know it was a
learning process all the way through
yeah that like
frustration is like whatever that does
to your your soul the building up
afterwards is what actually makes you
better it's fascinating and you think
there's in Japan just killers there that
are like just the world doesn't know
about they just just yeah it's world
champions in the doo you know there's
people that never make it out you know I
remember we were training like so and
everybody that's um that goes to Japan
all my uh friends my that that have been
World Olympic Champions right they all
know what I'm talking about they know
exactly who I'm what I'm saying is that
when we go to the dojo there we all get
thrown by people that never come out to
be world champions you know they they're
just in the mix or they're going through
three years of University and then they
go we we had a
guy we had a guy that came in he came he
was business guy he came in with his
suitcase and his briefcase like that
he's got his tie up like that and he's
so he decides he's going to come in and
he he he gets changed and he's he's in
his uh lunch hour he's in his lunch hour
right so it's got to be quick yeah so he
comes in and he goes through he's
working his way through the whole of the
British team we're all lined out right
he's just working his way through the
whole of the British team and I knew
it's my turn next so I get a hold of him
and I throw him immediately and then it
was what we were talking about when it
happens in the first few minut uh few
seconds of the the the the practice so
then I had four minutes of him coming at
me and I'm going up into the air and I'm
twisting off and I'm like like and then
like everybody's laughing at the side of
the M or the whole British team he's
gone through the whole British team and
then he 10 minutes later he's just TI is
tie up like that you know and back to
work like that you know imagine him
sitting behind his desk and his
computer yeah yeah yeah I'm glad he
didn't get
out um hopefully he listens to this
hopefully anybody else I didn't mention
as part of the greats that just kind of
jumped Kaki uh Sensei is is the uh the
my favorite of all favorites he is uh
what I would call a judo uh genius I
don't know if you can get him up here
can we get him up yeah so going to 1981
World
Championships and uh and I'll talk you
through the great Kaki he was one year
uh in Great
Britain and he was uh he was a guy that
was so much a genius all right so you
want the final of the under 60 65 kog
there the one at the top this is him he
he is uh two weight categories below my
weight category that I won the world CH
championships same year I won
it so this is it's not I'm not sure if
this is going to show his uh final of
this is a highlight oh watch this this
this this he did in the in the final of
the world for people just listening he
did uh an incredible sacrifice throw
yeah and then he was on top for the uh
for the neaz and renowned for his
groundwork and uh he he was on top of
against a really strong Romanian guy all
right so his transition was just
phenomenal yeah let me let me go back
and look at that what what just happened
so he's just showing you so he does this
uh COI thing uh just to create space wow
and it's his follow through into to into
groundwork that is best of all and then
uh the remaining really strong like I
say he' gone all the way through to the
final of the World Championships winning
most by ion I think the Romanian and uh
he's defending really really well here
and you can see that how persistent he
he knows exactly what he wants he's just
got to get his leg out now watch he'll
tie the arm up and then he'll pull the
top leg towards him and then he'll push
the bot one
off always working with both feet always
working always working uh readjust the
balance still one leg trapped final of
the World Championships good referee
because he's refereeing uh something
here that's happening you know that's
going to decide as to whether so he
doesn't call it to stand it up at all
watch him pull the top one now and he'll
push the B bottom
one there's a calmness on his face is
great to see it Cal calm
pushes the bottom leg leg out job done
all finished this is him again watch
this this is another technique that he
does and then just again sacrifice
directly in directly into the
newaza transition is everything isn't it
in Judo yeah you know it's well in
anything really but Judo especially pays
off yeah I mean because we haven't got
that long I mean we had more time here
they've just brought more time back so
we've got more time to transition in and
uh to get the situation that we want and
and to get the attacking situation that
we want because you know I remember I
was um teaching uh in America to were
some Jiu-Jitsu guys and they were saying
oh we'll never give you our back MH and
I said with Judo rules certain
situations it happens that you know when
we try and do throws where we're facing
away from our opponent you know so like
for example C and AIDS if they fail then
the back is there you know and that's
how we get the back and uh it's a
different situation you know than going
on your back in the guard situation
totally different well there a Travis
Stevens I don't know how familiar with
his Judo but he's a really interesting
example because he competed at the
highest level in Jiu-Jitsu as well and
his idea he's a big Sagi guy and he
basically
threw all of that away he in the
Jiu-Jitsu in the Jiu-Jitsu like he took
the sport from scratch for what it is so
his he almost never did a standing Sagi
s AIS at all in jiujitsu no because he
would leave his back all the time you
know if if it
failed but he wouldn't have the same
kind of grip on the the judogi or or the
karate the Jiu-Jitsu yeah a little bit
different and so you have to kind of
consider the sport the art of it and
also of the competitors the Styles and
the culture of the sport if you want to
win if winning is the most important
thing then you're like all right well
let's no but you you learn the game
don't you and and that's what he did he
he learned the game you know and I think
that is credit to him you know and
that's why I'm saying about wrestling
you know the wrestlers I mean we you
good to learn the Judo and for what it
is and the mechanics and and how it
works and then learn the wrestling I
mean I I do the commentary as well for
the freestyle and I will be at the
Olympics for the freestyle and the Greco
Roman so uh and I love the freestyle
absolutely love it m but freestyle is
freestyle Judo is Judo I like to see
people doing Judo yeah but there's
a uh there's a rhyme to the whole combat
thing they're all I mean the the body
mechanics it's all like fascinating
Echoes of each other in interesting ways
there's the the details are different
but there's
still uh two human
clashing yeah we've got some amazing uh
crossovers with uh people like the the
um Mongolians have come in the Georgians
I mean the Georgians do massive pickups
and different uh uh techniques and you
know if you ask the fighters whether you
know grabbing the legs you know a lot of
them would say um some of the wrestling
Styles you know the the um Georgians and
the and the Mongolians might say yeah
I'd like to be able to take the legs
but you know a lot of them just adapted
you get um uh iliadis for example he
just adapted so he thought well I'll
take my arm over the top and I'll just
rip him out the floor that way you know
what I mean they're still doing the big
lifts they're still doing the the big
ripping but they uh they just don't grab
below the legs yeah it's weird they
figured it out and they figured it out
like that yeah you would think it'd take
a long time no it was like a month yeah
no exactly uh the highest level which is
crazy uh so you mentioned Jiu-Jitsu a
little bit what what you an interesting
difference between Jiu-Jitsu and Judo
that you've observed because you're uh
one of the greatest ever uh on the on
the ground in
Judo and so you know jiujitsu is
primarily focused on similar type of
stuff on the ground so what do you is an
interesting difference there they're
different approach different time scale
to to them and they have a different way
in so um like ours comes from a standing
position directly in we've got a time
scale on it so we we have to like the
catch what I always I always talk about
the catch because in Jito terms if you
don't get the catch immediately then the
referee won't see the the transition in
and also the uh continuation from plan A
B C D you know if something buil builds
so we have to build it and we uh we have
to build it quickly and I think in
Jiu-Jitsu terms you have more time to
build yeah there's a there's a kind of
patience like oh if this doesn't work
out I can try a different thing yeah
with Judo there's like an urgency like
every s and there's a ref watching
skeptically so you better show that
you're making progress you've got to
show the progression and that's why you
know I always had a plan A B C you see
there with
you know that was 1981 there the great
cash was Zaki was had um had a
progression you know everything was he
knew exactly where he had to be it was
feel you know that wasn't by accident it
was it was trained and I think that that
transition there and taking uh control
of somebody's mistake so somebody might
have made a mistake or not hit properly
or your defense has caused them to make
a mistake and then you take advantage of
it and that that is the difference so
one of the side effects of that I don't
know with the chicken or the egg but uh
Judo people on the ground are much more
aggressive so probably because of the
urgency but just like there's an
intention behind the the progress you're
making I think
Jiu-Jitsu uh is more relaxed there's
more uh a culture of just finding places
to relax and think of different control
and positions and take your time time
and as a result it's much much less
exhausting so you can go for much longer
feels like
Judo is exhausting it's that 10c blast
isn't it you know it's it's it's like
doing sprints all the time you know and
that that is really hard and that's a
special kind of condition you need and
you need to be able to catch it and know
when to go and when not to go and I
think also I I know I was going to ask
you you think it make a difference I
mean certain uh
Jiu-Jitsu it you can't just throw
yourself on your back you know into the
guard you you have to throw in to the
situation you know I mean so you have
got I mean I know Roger Gracie he he he
decided that he was going to learn Judo
he he saw the importance of being able
to throw for the transition in and uh so
he came to the buddai and he was
learning off Ray Stevens and you know
they they were doing really a lot well
he's a fascinating study because he does
the most basic stuff and he does it well
like we did like another level of well
it's like yamasha everyone knows what's
coming with hajra Gracie but he just
does it anyway against the best people
in the world it's crazy he's like
everybody in Jitsu at white belt learns
the techniques he's using and he just
does it amazing is yeah but he has about
a thousand ways in yeah yeah I mean and
the Thousand Ways are in the details so
kind of might even look the same to
people but there's I mean he finds a way
to choke people so he's on top of them
mounted in a sort of Judo pin position
and you know everyone knows what's
coming next against the best people in
the world and you should be able to
defend it but nobody can it's crazy I
think there's the power element as well
you know that that you don't realize how
you know when somebody's directed in a
particular way then you have that kind
of element of of absolute power that you
can only feel like like when Roger's
doing a
technique I think that you would only
feel it if he did it on you you know
then then you can feel it it's not
something that happens you know like so
tricks is one thing but actually being
able to do something really well from a
power point of view you know it's like
like you say he's he's only does those
few things but he does them really
really really well yeah I don't know
what that is about actually Judo pins is
very interesting case study as well
because people are able to feel so heavy
one of the things judoka are able to do
is pin extremely well yeah like and it
makes you realize that it's not about
the weight it's about some kind of
technique that makes people feel like
they weigh 1,000 pounds it's about it's
about weight distribution and change of
balance you know what a lot of people
don't realize that there's huge changes
of of balance in on the ground massive
you know you know what it's like I mean
you know you're a jiu-jitsu man and and
you know the detail of the techniques is
what really interests me you know I mean
I'm always looking small ideas you know
I'm always looking at the Jiu-Jitsu and
um I just it fascinates me you know I
would have done Jiu-Jitsu for sure but I
wouldn't have forgotten uh the uh the
Judo way in to the techniques you know I
mean I I think you've got to different
apprciate the two but I would have I
would have loved the Jiu-Jitsu I would
have absolutely loved it you know but it
it wasn't as prominent then you know the
I where the neas it came from I it came
from a mistake me getting beaten in a
particular contest and I went I'm not
going to be beaten again on the ground
that's oh that's how it happened Yeah
well yeah the story of your life is like
a loss
creates uh the Phoenix Rises well it it
it was 1978 and it was it was a you know
it wasn't a mistake it was a a
particular movement and uh I was
fighting weight up from what my normal
weight but I'm I stayed in the same
position for one second too long got
caught and choked sangaku yeah triangle
triangle triangle wow and I uh I said I
literally just the same as I said to you
when I said I'm not going to drink
anymore I came off and I said I'm never
going to get caught on the ground yeah
never going to lose on the ground and I
never lost in in my whole competitive
career
again wow but yeah I I I I should
mention that there's nothing like a pin
from a from a judo person and I don't
actually know if people in jit have made
sense of that like loaded that in but
it's not part of it's not part of the
game is it you know it the pin it's
submission yeah but you know
control is part of the game and nobody
controls a human body the way Judo
people do on the ground like they have
understood the science of control and I
think that's control is extremely useful
in um Jiu-Jitsu as well just that people
don't because there's so many other
domains of exploration but the that's
interesting I mean just and especially
when you apply Jiu-Jitsu to U the
fighting setting so mixed martial arts
that control control that side control
that pin control is really really really
important so but then you add punching
to the thing and it becomes that puts a
whole different uh thing on it doesn't
it I mean there's an alternate history
where you would have been part of the
early UFC's if time was a little
different you
know uh maybe a few years
later cuz your your your style of Judo
and Jiu-Jitsu and the and the
Transitions and the aggression and the
all of that would have worked really
well in the early UFC's I'm sure I was
being set up at one stage by one of The
Graces um and that was when um when he
was winning all the matches but he came
him with with a couple of the cousins to
one of my seminars yeah and uh he was
one of the first ones wasn't he that uh
that that's how I love to see the kind
of UFC because it was different martial
arts different skills and you know I
mean he he'd get close and he just choke
them out or arm locked them or you know
armar them and that was uh that was
brilliant you know that was for me that
was a revelation that was how I saw it
yeah and it's a fascinating science
experiment of which aspects of different
martial arts work well and not when they
clashed together and it it did turn out
that
nawaza worked well was the key yeah it
was the key wasn't it yeah yeah it was a
it was a big Missing Link in our
conception of fighting it's the
neutralizer of s
and a lot of other components and it
just blew people's mind like okay it's
not just about size it's not just about
big big guys
swinging the hands it's it's a lot of
other components and the ground work is
really really
important and of course there's a few
judoka that succeeded in the UFC since
then which is always interesting how
they adapt you know when you take off
the ghee how can you still throw people
how can you still do control how can you
still take take advantage of the
transition on the ground Ronda Rousy is
a good example somebody that took
advantage of that yeah I think one of
the biggest things for the Judo C is
we've never you know there's no strikes
and uh I think that's the
biggest um shock if you wish you know
that that when you get one punch in the
face you get punched in the face and and
and you're not used to that you know
that's that's not what we're used to
some people are able to get punched in
the face better than others yeah for
sure uh then again there's Ronda Rousey
who doesn't need to get punched in the
face you just gets in close throws a
person arm bar right there yeah and
Kayla you know Kayla well Kayla Harrison
that's another incredible person she
could have probably been just winning
Olympic gold medal after Olympic gold
medal but chose to whatever you know she
decides I mean Rond as well you know
whatever they decided to do they they're
great athletes and they hate losing I I
don't
anybody that hates losing more than
those two you know I don't like it and
Kayla Harrison like I don't know anybody
that works as hard as her that's a crazy
crazy crazy work ethic well let me ask
you about training again Jimmy
Pedro said he learned a lot from you he
learned how to do uh taosi the armar G
katami but he also learned from you
training methodology
so what's he talking about he told me
about this what what what what's your
approach to training throughout your
career and as a developed I always
wanted to train harder than anybody else
I still train now every day if if I
don't train do something I do do an hour
of my physical work and I still go on
the mat a little bit you know I'm 65 now
and so I'm not doing really heavy stuff
on the mat but I still like to train and
when I was 21 20 up to 30 I was one of
the best trainers but you know Jimmy
Pedro was one of the best trainers as
well he was one of the he's one of your
dream athletes you know that when Jimmy
Pedro stepped through your door and he
was just a kid you know he was like he
was just young when he stepped through
my door and I had a lot of full-time
trainers so I had up to 20 really good
athletes that were training hard and I
only wanted hard trainers give me 10
that train hard rather than you one
Primadonna that you know you're skillful
the one that that you know could do it I
I just I wanted 10 you know or 20 really
hard trainers because you can do so much
with them you can make Champions you can
make them world champions you know if
You' got somebody that was a special
talent and they wanted to work hard then
you had a special athlete well when you
say hard trainers what what do you mean
are these people that just like every
single day are able to just grind it all
do randor do the training do the the
boring things just keep coming back when
they're going get tough you know and and
I I think that that was him he had a
special mentality and you know and the
thing is you see when you got him in
your dojo all right even when you're
tired when somebody's tired and when you
know what an example to the others so
he'd pull the other ones in in as well
you know so I so I I had somebody that
when everybody was tired and everybody
was sick of it and everybody just wanted
to you know and he'd still be there you
know so they had to do it so that was
for me a win-win you know so he I had
all the Americans actually and I had um
Bobby berland and I had Michael Swain
and I had Ed liyy and I had had them all
coming to visit me uh at different times
uh Jimmy was there you know they they
wanted to be the best in the end we had
such a a great Club atmosphere they
wanted to come for for for the hard work
and they knew that if they came they
were going to be dragged out and we were
going to do physical training and it
physical training like they hadn't done
before uh but it wasn't just the
physical training it was the Judo and
and the uh and the skill side of it as
well and so I always had a great empathy
with the US team Olympic team so a lot
of your Olympic medalists have been
through with me you know and so I'm I'm
proud of that because we had you know
some great times and they're still great
mates now now and and so in New York uh
in a couple of weeks time uh I'm going
to have everybody who's going to be
there they're all coming in Old Friends
all old friends and new friends so uh
what what what's the tough week look
like at your Peak physical training
randori uh is there days off uh a
training like twice a day twice a day um
so we do the preparation training we do
the running we do the weight training we
do the skills in the morning as well uh
the skills is for me one of the biggest
advantages that any full-time trainers
can have because um what happens is is
that with most clubs you're trying to
fit everything into that hour and a half
or two hours you know you fit your
skills you f your your physical training
and your your uh sparring and your you
know everything's in there all grouped
in so the biggest advantages of having a
full-time group is that you can split
your skills and your skills lay your
foundation so the biggest Advantage is
being able to work specifically on
things without having to worry about
getting to do your free you know your
randor or your your sparring or then you
got to go out for you just do the skills
well when you talk about skills like
what is say your specialty as a taoshi
what are we talking about Uchi comi
doing a bunch of f working with bands
are you doing throws are you actually
just having conversations about like
specific like tiny details of throws
like what what does skills mean all
those things about doing your repetition
practice making sure the repetition is
correct you know there good repetition
so when we say good repetition does it
would you call me when you just fitting
the throw versus doing the throw where
do you land on the value and getting it
moving you know so one of the biggest
most important things is getting it
moving uh if we do something static
again it's that static Target you need
to get it moving so you need to do a
repetition
and also you need to do a correct
repetition because if you're doing 100
the repetitions that are not correct and
repetitions under pressure too much
pressure without somebody overseeing
those skills to make sure that that that
you correct the skills because if you're
doing a skill if you're doing it uh 99
times incorrectly all right then uh
repetition doesn't make perfect
repetition makes permanent so you got to
make it per as perfect as you possibly
can so actually that skills group there
is the most important thing and what I
used to do is oversee it so I'd oversee
it to make sure that it was done
properly so you're watching the the
footwork you're watching the gripping
and then just constantly adjusting
people I give you an example Jimmy Pedro
Jimmy was one of the hardest when he was
19 years of age right so I was he always
asking me to practice always so he's
always on me all the time so I did
groundw with him and could I put him on
his back no I was all on him and he'll
tell you you know but he was just
wouldn't go he was just it was going to
be great without a doubt all right so I
wanted everybody on with him everybody
so everybody went on with him you know
and and so it only improved their game
and it improved him and then with you
know small technical things that have
stayed with him that we were doing with
the juji katami that it's passed on to
Kayla and then gone on you know to Ronda
and it's all small things that I can see
sometimes that you know it's passed on
what about the taosi he said he learned
a lot from you from that thr and he does
it differently and so I should mention
that's one of the
trickier uh throw I mean I don't I still
don't understand it is I don't
understand so for people don't know it
it it um boy how would you even explain
it it doesn't make any sense it's uh
when you just look
solo the the movement you make is very
it's quite simple but uh how you get
person to be off balance how you yeah uh
actually get them to be thrown and when
you do throw it successfully it looks
like a whipping motion that's effortless
it makes no sense it makes no sense
other than it's every technique starts
with the hands so it's what we call
kazushi and you know you're pulling
somebody off balance getting them moving
pulling them off balance
uh taosi means body drop so it's
basically uh two legs across your
partner's body well I've got my back to
you all right and I've already pulled
you off balance with my hands and then
I'm going to just Flex my legs up just
as you're coming onto my back and uh and
then you're going to go over you know if
I coordinate it all right if it uh if it
doesn't get coordinated right then
you're going to come right on my back
and try to rip my arm off you know so um
yeah got to get it right what was the if
you can put convert it toward
words uh some secret ingredients that
allowed you to pull it off at the
highest levels the T the hands start
every technique uh so getting the
repetition right first of all so you
need uh to get the repetition right you
need a good partner so uh actually
training your partner to react in the
right way is just as important as
learning the throw so actually what
happens is you know I we could get a
lesson of beginners we teach the throw
and then go right off you go and 90% of
them will get it wrong because their
partner's not reacting in the right way
so half of it is to get the person to
react as they should so if I was doing
it with you you and I um first thing I'd
teach you to do is to react the way I
want you to react and then I'd react the
way that you want me to react all right
so then we'd have success with it rather
than you leaning back in the wrong way
or resisting or frightened you going
over so you know so actually that's why
nine times out of 10 people get the
technique wrong it's actually
fascinating to me because in the United
States where I came up Judo I mean the
level of Judo is not comparable to the
level of Judo in the rest of the world
um of course uh the the Pedro Center is
an exception to that so certain athletes
yeah certain athletes like I mean when I
trained recently with with Jimmy Pedro
it's like even like the 16-year-old kids
are just all deadly so it was
terrifying uh but you know I remember
the Russian national team came through
Philadelphia and one of the things that
really impressed me is just how much
easier Judo was training Judo with them
they moved correctly as like UK as the
people getting thrown every aspect of
their body movement was correct in terms
of it felt right to be throwing them to
be training with them everything about
the gripping about the position of their
hips about the shoulder everything it
was it was fun it was easy and like and
I was felt like I was learning so I
think all of that is loaded in I guess
into proper training so you're
developing through the throws you're
developing the right develop yeah and
you have to develop um between you know
I always had training partners that I
trained with up to each Olympic Games
and we um we work together for the we
did the skills together and then we um
you know we we worked together in order
in order to make techniques work and we
got it moving as quickly as we could and
one of the worst things that I see is
and I see a lot of YouTube stuff with um
coaches here we go a don't even start me
on that don't even start me on that but
um you
know what you're laughing because you
know what I'm talking about right okay
I'm actually laughing cuz I'm enjoying
you talking trash but uh but you're
you're talking about technique uh yeah
just oh well you know then you know the
coaches and the clipboard guys you know
with the clipboards and the stopwatches
and you know they got these kids running
up and down the mat and and then doing
Uchi comi of of something that's
technically incorrect um you know 10
times and then running up and doing
another 10 at the other side you know
and actually mixing everything together
and it's just a mess technique is
technical mess that said some of it is
conditioning type stuff that you were
doing so what what what is like the
hardest type of physical conditioning
you were doing probably ran too much you
know when I was a when I was a kid if I
could go back now I wouldn't run as much
and I ran hard and I ran strong and I
remember doing London Marathon one time
and uh I said I'm never going to do it
again I never and then but I ran you
know and I I I was trying to the problem
was when I did the London marathon is I
was trying to beat three hours it's a d
it's totally insane you know it was
insane and I went out through half
marathon in what I thought was a good
time anyway I got to 16 17 miles and
totally blw and so you went out too fast
yeah I went out too fast and then you
just died going absolutely just I died
Le I I I got in I I crossed the line I
remember seeing this bridge over there
right and the bridge it was the
Finishing Line over the bridge and I had
to get it was the longest bridge I've
ever ever walked over like walk run like
so I got over the bridge and I took one
step over the the line like that and
there was a guy over there and he was
trying to rush everybody through you
know and he was going come on come on
come on people behind get get your hands
off
me said your hands off me now right
there cuz we're going to out you know
and uh and uh I couldn't move I I I
couldn't move I was white and um it was
amazingly you made it to the Finish Line
though I did I got I got over there and
um you know yeah Donald Duck passing me
was was a was a tell oh there's a person
dressed as Donald Duck Donald Duck
yeah but the thing was I still crossed
over 338 I crossed over 338 but I lost
38 minutes in the last four miles so
that bridge longest bridge ever see you
regret the run so anyway I I would do
the running a little bit differently but
we ran we ran hard we did the weight
training we did good weight training it
was all conditioned so I mean it was
never the same training all the time so
it was always um we'd uh have certain
phases building up it was scientifically
done it wasn't just out there run weight
training Judo SE Judo all the time it
was always pretty scientific good
variety there was a good variety and it
had buildup and it had a speed phase and
it had a power phase and it had um you
know a like a base condition what about
the randori was there a a method to the
madness there how much randori did you
do a lot so the most important thing for
me um I mean I see now that there's a
lot of people out there that are not
getting enough rander they're not rander
enough and there's a lot of sports
science people and they they're running
and they're weight training and
they're doing it all to death and
there's not enough Judo and the only
ones you know like you have a look at
some of the um the Eastern block
countries are getting together they're
having these Mass camps and the Japanese
they have you know just massive people
that they can do there they're doing
probably 50 60 rander a week wait what
50 or 60 a week wow the average person
is getting together I mean when I was
doing
rander uh when I went to Japan it was
just purely for 60 rander a week how
much is each one how long is it so they
were five minutes then they're four
minutes now but that's a lot especially
given the level of the the competition
there well you can do it in Japan
because it's fairly light if they throw
you they throw you you throw them so
there's like a level of like you're
moving at like a close to 100% but the
actual power in the force is not quite
different in Korea Korea was harder it
was more physical so you couldn't do 50
randers in in Korea you you die yeah so
you do 30 randor wow but you need you
need the randor and uh so I chase the
randor so I Chas them into training
camps I trace them all over my country
so I I was getting 40 to 50 a week in my
club and then I would go to training
camps and add
more and I honestly don't think that
they do enough now a lot of countries
somebody who doesn't know randor is live
training so yeah sparring was there a
few people you remember that were just
like really tough to go against you
mentioned
goldtooth is there others like gold Toth
is pretty horrific
yeah he was oh you got him pretty I got
him in the end and um yeah there like I
iose I suppose I should say not just
tough but just good training part
partners that you great training
Partners I remember with Nida and Nida
was I mentioned him earlier said he was
one of the best I mean he was just such
a great technician so I I would go there
to his dojo and he'd ask me to practice
and he'd always he' finish the practice
and you you know that he would always
say another one we'll do another one
right so you'd go a yeah because you had
to make out that you you weren't that
bothered that you had to do another one
so you do another one back to back and
then he goes some sometimes let's do
another one so we'd end up doing 15
minutes with the same guy who could
possibly throw you at any time you know
and and that was hard yeah know so but I
remember those particular um uh guys and
there were plenty of those what do you
do with the exhaustion that you're
feeling in those like how how deep did
you go in terms of you dig deep and I I
think that that was the great thing
about having certain like European
training camps were more physical so I
remember know that we would have uh
European training camps where you'd
fight Germans and then the Dutch and
then the French and then you know the
Russian or the you you'd have all sorts
different styles and people uh to fight
and uh that that was something then you
you'd have to dig in at a different
place come out of there where do you go
mentally when you you know how many
times have you gone there where like
you're really in deep Waters exhaustion
wise in in competition actually
competition it's happened you know so
sometimes you go past where your
forearms are absolutely blown I remember
the final of um Czech uh tournament that
we had and I fought a Frenchman uh in
the final and my forearms were so blown
I couldn't shake his hand mhm you know
and then I remember they they were solid
absolutely solid and they lactic acid
and uh and I remember I stood on the
rostrom this and and they were giving me
things and I couldn't grip them properly
so I was saying put it under my armpit
or you know chin like that trying to
hold his I couldn't hold anything you
know and so there there are times when I
really had to go really deep I remember
fighting two East Germans uh the same
day one of the competitions and uh the
number one and the number two East
Germans and um that was another day had
to really dig deep that's the the
fascinating thing about some of these
tournaments is you if you get if you go
full distance on several matches in a
row the way you're seeing in the finals
are two people that have like fought a
lot that day yeah and we have golden
score now you know so we we see a lot of
guys you know that going into golden
score and they've done one contest at
four minutes and then they go another
four minutes and then you know we've had
some go into a third four minutes that
is all back to back it might be in the
first round it might be in the final you
know and we've got some now that are
coming out and you can see the stats and
the the ones that winning golden school
so we got uh Japanese Hashimoto he's the
Japanese representative now uh instead
of Ono because Ono's finished so
Hashimoto is coming out he was in a
tournament last week to look up yeah
just have a look at him so Hashimoto's
in white here all right and uh there
great example there well I'm glad we got
on to that you know so I mean he has got
great technique hasimoto
e right so you can see exactly what
we're talking about that great um
timing and again you know sometimes he
backs them up to the edge and then he'll
wait for them to come back in towards
they don't want to step out to get a
penalty I guess that's a Cross grip TT I
should they see that wrong yeah Cross
grip different grips oh great examples
there just just what we were talking
about making it look so easy wow so he's
going to be their representative uh at
73 kg looking him back him up again and
again just catching him as as he pushes
back so push push push and then y action
reaction at his best there yeah and uh
slight change of Direction he sometimes
goes down onto his knee there which is
siosi it turns from taoshi which is
springing up to siosi that's going
down oh the the title of the video is uh
his titos is a work of art yeah this is
uh him at his best showing him uh doing
what he does Best But he had to go three
times into golden score last week and
dick deep and lost one of them I think
but you're still going at it you're
talking about all those training
sessions I uh Nikki your wonderful wife
told me that you were looking you were
going all over like from Target to
Target looking for workout clothes cuz
your luggage got lost
because you had to get work out it yeah
just I you know what I just I I realized
that if I'm a miserable G right then
she'll get me she'll get me into the gym
you know so and the thing is is that I'm
better if I get in there for an hour and
I just do something at least 30 35 to 40
minutes cardio and then I do some
weights and uh more High repetitions
it's not so much heavy weights now but
more functional stuff I mean you travel
all over the world for for for for the
commenter of the competitions so you're
is it is it sometimes a challenge to
figure out how well you know we during
co uh then they closed all the gyms but
we were still going out we were some one
of the first ones out the the Judo were
some of the first out the competitions
were behind closed doors so we were in
the
hotel the gym was closed so we couldn't
use the gyms uh so we had to look for
other ways that we could work out so uh
most most of the uh hotels that we were
in were high-rise hotels so we were in
the steps we were doing the steps right
the way up you know so I started it and
uh and so I started off with me going up
and then one or two of the others and
the referees started to go up with me
and so in the end we'd have this trail
of people going up the steps and down
and every place we went to we had the
steps so um yeah that was an interesting
situation so we were sick of steps in
the end uh what advice would you give to
um beginners people starting out in Judo
how to
um how to develop their
game how to find the beauty in in the
sport and the Art of
Judah if you put 10 people in a room and
said right get on with it yeah you'd
have Mayhem
right and I think that wherever whatever
sport you're doing you need good
instruction good teaching and a good
club atmosphere you know some somewhere
that's not as so intense that uh winning
is the the the only thing and I think
that if you look at 90% of the people
that practice martial arts are doing it
for pleasure so they want to get
pleasure so you you need a club that's
got a bit of a mixture you know they've
got a a a direction to go into
competition if they want and uh and then
the rest it's for fun and and to enjoy
it but with really good instruction
because with really good instruction and
a good foundation and a good base you
get more enjoyment because you're you
know you you you have more success and
let's be honest you know the more
success we have with something the more
we like it yeah and great technique is a
way to really discover the beauty of the
art and so great teaching is really
important there great teaching is so
important what about what what does it
take to get from the early days when you
started
Judo to to world class level I think
that with most I mean you do here don't
you you know somebody's been doing Judo
for eight years and then they're in and
I think it happened um one of the French
Cho she went to the Olympic Games in
2012 and she'd been doing Judo for eight
years but then she started to lose you
know so she had a relative success early
on the Olympics was one of them she got
a silver medal
but then she went off the boil and then
she came back and now she's been there
for she's still competing and she's been
there for well over 13 years at the very
top so I think that you know any
foundation it's like anything if if you
lay a really solid
foundation generally lasts longer yeah
well that that Foundation again is that
technique or is there um what does it
take to build that Foundation I think
technique you get get away with murder
you know you know you you you with
technique you can get away with you know
having bad condition you know but I mean
you get found out in the end but um you
can you know you can go out and you can
win certain things by doing really nice
technique but I think if you've got the
mixture if you got the whole package
then you can you know Go the whole way
so for people who somehow don't know
you've commentated some of the greatest
Judo matches
ever you've done Grand PRI you've done
all these events Olympics Championship
everything so what what uh just looking
at the history of Judah what like stands
out to you what events stand out to you
what are some good memories that popped
your head I think you know some of the
Paris tournaments are amazing because
the uh crowd they're there you know
they're on the mat they're they're all
judoka they all they're well educated to
the sport every time somebody Twitches
you know they they're very biased
towards their own which you kind of you
expect but you know sometimes I haven't
been able to hear myself speak and
that's very unusual you know you've got
the headphones on and you you're blocked
out you know and like sometimes Teddy
Rene has been walking out there and the
crowd are going crazy and the and
they're on the feet you know when
somebody twitches and you know and and
then you get this the the crowd silences
we had one of those last week you know
everybody's cheering their man and then
bang their man goes over silence silence
nothing like that and of course we were
we were commentating we were going that
was a bit of a crowd silencer you know
but um yeah that happens yeah there is a
surprising thing that at least it was to
me that Paris and France is really big
on Judo massive you know and and there's
always surprises you know the the it's
um like Paris is great in Japan for the
Olympic Games the biggest surprise was
Ono getting beaten in the team event now
Ono is the greatest Judo man
pound-for-pound probably one of the best
and he won the Olympic title and then
they went into the team event against
France and Ono lost to a not he's not
run of the-mill German but the German
you know it wasn't certainly Olympic
title isk and uh be owner yeah well the
the team stuff is fascinating yeah
fascinating changes the Dynamics of the
whole thing yeah and it's I mean it's
funny to say Paris it it really makes it
really big deal that this Olympics is
being held in Paris like and they'll be
the team to beat French team because
they have the best balance of the weight
categories they have the best balance
with their people that are world and
Olympic
Champions uh and qualified men and women
so three three men three women they have
the best balance out of anybody and an
educated audience educated audience home
grounds it's going to be awesome be fun
it will be super fun you nervous yeah
all right do you get nervous I I get
nervous I get nervous well I get really
nervous nervous right now but you know
given especially because it's the
Olympics and you don't want to um you
want to celebrate people properly right
and it's like it's everything for them
yeah and a lot of people especially like
the finals matches yeah you know it'll
be watched you know millions of times
the highest mistakes all of this played
over and over yeah and I find that you
know with mine I'm I'm now a little bit
more careful you know where like so I'll
celebrate a massive throw and then be
have empathy to the one that's been
thrown you know because it's not the
best feeling in the world especially in
Olympic finals yeah can you imagine that
yeah must be terrible must be terrible
yeah just reflecting so no I I have a
bit of empathy there and I just I TR and
say the right things because they always
do come up to me and say you commentated
my fights yeah you're the voice of the
biggest triumphs and the biggest
tragedies for these athletes for the
world that watches and admires these
athletes no pressure you're the voice
don't screw it up now don't screw it up
your voice is in my head when I watch
these you know it's it's it's it's
fascinating it's fascinating but you're
you're a master of it it's uh it's a
huge honor
uh that you will talk with me um thank
you for everything you've done for the
sport of Judo for the Olympics for Just
Sports in general just celebrating
greatness in all of its forms thank you
for talking today keep going I can't
wait to listen to you in Paris thank you
for having me and uh it's just been an
honor to to be here with you thanks for
listening to this conversation with Neil
Adams to support this podcast please
check out our sponsors in the
description and not now let me leave you
with some words from mamoto
Masashi there's nothing outside of
yourself that can ever enable you to get
better stronger richer quicker or
smarter everything is within everything
exists seek nothing outside of
yourself thank you for listening and
hope to see you next time