JUDO

By: Bruno Carmeni. President IBSA Judo Subcomite

Even though APOC's organization was not exactly up to par in ATLANTA, JUDO HAS PROVED ITSELF TO BE THE SPORT OF THE FUTURE! This statement is not the fruit of fantasy, but rather of an analysis of the compiled data referring to the continuous growth of this sport.

The new slogan "QUANTITY, QUALITY, UNIVERSALITY", has been most detrimental, with the imposition of a fixed number of countries and athletes not permitting some nations to participate. For example, IRAN, EGYPT, KENYA and the UKRAINE could not participate. JUDO was present for the third time in these PARALYMPIC GAMES (SEOUL '88, BARCELONA '92 and ATLANTA '96) and is therefore a relatively new incorporation to the SPORTS MOVEMENT, one that requires assistance in its constant growth.

The sporting record of the British athlete SIMON JACKSON is truly amazing: he has won three Paralympics in a row, in three different categories (up to 60, 71 and 78 kgs.). He has also won all the European Championships (from the first edition in 1987 until 1995) and the two World Championships (1990 and 1995).

His dedication and passion have provided him with such an extraordinary willpower that many of his opponents have felt it necessary to change their weight category in order to avoid having to face him.

He certainly is our greatest judoka of all time. In fact the Judo Subcommittee has considered proposing him for the title of BEST ATHLETE at ATLANTA '96.

Many people will surely be asking themselves: How has such a typically oriental sport been so readily adopted by the visually impaired athletes? The fact is that JUDO allows them to compete also against sighted persons. Until now, we have been TALKING about INTEGRATION, and yet it has always existed in Judo. Most sports require guiding sounds or a reference point; in Judo, they are not necessary. During the Paralympic Games just held in ATLANTA, a deaf and blind judoka commented on the proposal to separate the B1's from the B2/3's:

"I have no problems when it comes to competing against sighted or visually impaired athletes. I have beaten several of them, both during training sessions and in competitions. Those who consider sight loss a handicap may be confused; adequate training allows you to acquire such good reflexes that a partial or total sight loss is more than offset. Furthermore, I have no knowledge of any judoka who stares at his opponent's eyes during combat."

These Games have clearly demonstrated that it is willpower, hard training and the joy of victory that get you on the podium. It does not matter that you cannot see your adversaries; all you need is to be able to feel them with your touch. Just the same as for the sighted athletes.