Okuri Judo Club

It has been a very busy last two weekends for judo. Here are a few updates:

1. Houston Open - November 3: We had four players make the trek to Conroe for the Houston Open: Debi Brantner, Russ Epperson, Chris Martin, and Melinda Meche. We had a good day and won a few medals for the effort. Russ began his "rode to Nationals" bid. He won gold in his masters category going best 2 out of 3. Chris is still finding his way to the podium, but is making progress as he continues to work hard and learn from his matches. Debi and Melinda were in the same novice division. They played a round robin of 4 players, each fighting 3 fights. Debi went 2-1 and Melinda went 3-0, earning silver and gold medals in the division. Debi was excited to get to play and threw some nice throws. This gold medal was bittersweet for Melinda as it was her last tournament in the novice division. She'll be retiring her green belt in December and her novice days will be behind her.
 

2. Benito Juarez - November 3: While we were in Conroe, Akin Kurtulan was in Mexico City for the Benito Juarez. This is a D-level point tournament and with the trials this summer, there was a lot on the line. Akin fought all the way to semi-final match. With 30 seconds left until he would fight for the gold, he was winning with 1 koka and 1 yuko. Akin went in for a yoko tomoe nage. Unfortuntely, the referee called ippon for the other player. It cost Akin the fight and he finished 5th.


 
3. Continental Crown - November 10: Akin went solo to Seattle, WA to fight in the CC, one of the last opportunities this year to get Level E points. He had a long and exhausting day, including a 15 minute match (YES 15 MINUTES!! You guys wonder why we do so many drills....) that went to flags. He won the decision that sent him to the gold medal match!! He fought hard and ended up winning the SILVER! This is HUGE because this win puts Akin on the US National roster!! Now, he has to keep adding points with the next few tournaments. He was tired, but thrilled when he called me on Saturday. I'm sure that 6:45 a.m. flight home the next day was rough.


 
3. Denton Developmental Tournament - November 11: OJC was invited to participate in a developmental tournament hosted by Denton on November 11. OJC had 7 players participant, 3 for the first time: Lucas Delano, Megan Flores, Darcey Gray, Garrett Mason, Rachel Mason, Jake Price, Richmond Wolfe. Lucas, Jake, and Richmond were all first time competitors. This was a great opportunity for them to get started with tournaments. It was low key and instructional. All of the players won 2nd place, count them, 7 second place winners! 


 
4. Judo Podcast - I was interviewed by Mike Darter of http://www.thejudopodcast.com/ on Friday about the LSC 2008 and hosting tournaments. Help support the site and go take a listen. They have a section where you can leave comments, please be NICE! :o)