Judo in the time of Covid-19: Martti Puumalainen, Finland

Martti might not be able to do much judo right now
but at least he gets to ski!

Q: How’s the Covid-19 situation in your country?
A: In Finland, the situation is not that bad compared to many other countries. Nevertheless, all judo clubs are closed, as are most of the public gyms and sport halls. Some of the top judo athletes are permitted to access training halls though.

Q: How are you coping with the lock-down?
A: When the lock-down first started, I went to Lapland with my dad and did cross-country skiing for one month to improve my cardio, which I felt was not at the level it should be after I gained about 20kg after changing categories. I also bought some kettlebells to do some strength training. I guess during these times, willpower and imagination are two key words if you want to improve.

Q: Last year, you moved up from -100kg to +100kg, which seems to be the trend now among many -100kg players. What made you decide to hop on this bandwagon?
A: I had to cut too much weight to make the -100kg category and I felt that this affected my performance in competitions. Honestly speaking, it made me not enjoy judo anymore because I had to suffer too much just to make weight. I saw a lot of guys formerly in the -100kg division make a successful jump to +100kg, so I figured this is something I could do too. Today, I feel it’s the best decision I have ever made with regard to my judo.

Q: What’s your normal training like, before the lock-down?
A: I train about eight times a week. I know in other countries they train more often but in Finland it’s a bit hard because there are not so many suitable training partners for me, especially as a heavyweight. I only get to do judo about three to five times a week, depending on the attendance at the judo club. The rest are strength and conditioning sessions. I wish I could do more judo but there just aren’t enough training partners to do that.

Q: Does this frustrate you?
A: Of course, I wish I had more randori partners but I really don’t want to cry about this. I try to work with the things I have than wish for something I don’t have. Besides, I think it improves my movement when I train with the smaller guys because they move more quickly than heavyweights. I read somewhere that Teddy Riner also does some training with smaller partners for this reason.

Q: Can you describe the judo scene in Finland?
A: In Finland there are lots of clubs but the level of clubs varies a lot and the teaching can be completely different from one club to another. In Finland most of the coaches are volunteers. I feel that this the biggest thing that need fixing if we want the level of competitive judo to rise.

Q: How do you feel about the future of Finnish judo though?
A: Overall I’m optimistic. We have a good group of young judokas born between 1997 and 2000 who are showing great potential. I am very positive about the future right now.

Q: In certain countries, judo is really only for competitors and you don’t really have many adults doing judo for fun. What about in Finland?
A: Over here we do have recreational judo and I’m always happy to see older people come for judo training and enjoying themselves playing this sport.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about your judo club?
A: I’m based in Helsinki and my club is called Meido-kan. I feel it’s the best club in Finland. The people who work in the club are constantly trying to develop the organisation and make it more professional.

Q: How did you get involved in judo in the first place?
A: I started when I was six. At first, it was just another activity for me. I went to judo class because my parents enrolled me for it. I participated in my first competition when I was eight years old and lost to two girls. After I did not fight for two years but the next time I competed, I got a gold medal. Suddenly, I fell in love with the sport and fighting.

Q: When did you decide you wanted to compete internationally?
A: It was when I was 13 or so. I remember deciding to aim for the top because no one really noticed me even though I was winning all the local competitions in my age group. So, I thought maybe I should aim for something bigger and go for international events. To prepare for this I would go for training camps where I would get beaten up because everybody was more senior and more experienced than I was. But this only served to motivate me more.

Q: Do you recall your first few international competitions?
A: My first international competition was in 2010 in Öxelösund in Sweden, where I took silver and my first international win was in 2011 in Kaimu Keerak in Estonia. In 2012 I took part in my first Cadet European Championships.

Q: Do you watch judo videos to analyze opponents and to learn techniques?
A: I watch judo videos every day. Not so much to analyze opponents but to learn new techniques. I like to see how other judokas do their techniques, create openings, search for a grip etc.

Q: Why not analyze potential opponents?
A: I feel that analysing your opponents too much is not good for you. Before the fight you should not think too much about what your opponent can do but rather, have faith in your own judo. Of course, it makes sense to know a little bit about your opponent, like whether he’s a righty or lefty, etc but you don’t have to analyze him to death.

Q: Do you follow closely all the Grand Slams and Grand Prix?
A: I follow them very closely. I watch all the IJF World Tour events and if I don’t get to see them live, I will watch the recorded versions later.

Q: What are your short-term goals?
A: The Europeans in November is my near-term goal. I don’t really know what to expect of that right now though. They might be postponed. I was a bit sad to see so many events postponed because I felt I was improving a lot recently but of course given the Covid-19 situation, there is no other choice but to postpone.

Q: How about long-term goals?
A: In terms of Olympic qualifications, I’m far from having qualified but now with the postponement of the Games by one year, who knows… maybe I might have a chance. But my real target is the 2024 Olympics in Paris.

Q: What are your favourite techniques?
A: My absolutely favourite technique is drop ippon-seoi-nage. When I was kid and I heard about one guy, Aku Laakkonen, who did only drop seoi-nage — nothing else — and won all of his fights in the U13 age group. I was about 11 or 12-years old at the time and I thought this throw must be some kind of magic trick allows you to throw all your opponents. In my next competition, I tried it and immediately scored an ippon. Since then, it’s been my tokui-waza. I also do other variations of seoi-nage like morote-seoi-nage and reverse seoi-nage. Related throws like sode-tsurikomi-goshi and kouchi-gari are also in my repertoire.

Q: Any technique you tried to master but couldn’t?
A: For me it’s tomoe-nage. I don’t know why but this technique just doesn’t work for me. I have been in training camps were Craig Fallon and Martin Pacek taught this technique but still, I was not able to master it.

Q: Are you studying as well or just training full-time in judo?
A: I consider myself to be a professional athlete but I am doing a course in business economics. Judo is my main thing but, as we all know, anything can happen in judo so you need to have a back-up plan in case your competition career is interrupted.

Q: Are you a sponsored by the government?
A: In Finland, the government does not directly sponsor athletes but funding comes from a gaming company owned by the Finnish state called Veikkaus, which operates all the gambling games that are offered in Finland. After I got a bronze medal at the U23 Europeans last year, I received better funding. Before that, I had to pay for almost everything myself.

Q: Any words for judokas out there who are under lockdown?
A: Try to make the best out of this difficult situation. Remember, if there’s a will, there’s a way. So search for different ways to train despite the constraints and get to work!

And a special message from Martti to members of KL Judo Centre...

Judo in the time of Covid-19: Distria Krasniqi, Kosovo

Distria with her nephew Ajon

Q: Does the name Distria have a meaning?
A: It’s the name of a historic Romanian princess from Albania who did a lot for Albanians. My grandfather was an historian and it was his idea for me to have this name. But all my friends just call me Disi.

Q: You're Kelmendi’s training partner but she's older than you  so she achieved international success before you did. When did you start giving her a hard time in randori?
A: I would say when I reached junior level my judo was strong enough for me to start fighting with the seniors. So, it was around that time I began to give Kelmendi some good fights.

Q: Nora Gjakova said she doesn’t do much randori with Kelmendi anymore because it started to become a bit too aggressive. Is this the case with you and Kelmendi too?
A. No, we don’t have this problem. We randori every session, sometimes more than once. We fight each other hard but it never gets overly aggressive. This was the case even when I was competing in the same weight category as her.

Q: Has your relationship with Kelmendi changed over the years? At one time you were her junior but now you are a senior competitor as well. Has this changed the dynamic between the two of you?
A: No, I don’t think anything has changed. Our relationship is a good one, based on mutual respect. It’s the same as it’s always been, since the beginning.

Q: In mid-2018, you switched weight categories down to -48kg. What was the thinking behind this move?
A: I didn’t get to go to Rio 2016 at -52kg and I didn’t want to risk that happening again. So, after discussions with my coach, it was decided that going down to -48kg was the right thing for me to do.

Q: Is cutting down to -48kg difficult for you?
A: It’s not easy but it’s totally the right decision. At first, I didn’t do so well in competitions but after I got used to the new weight, I started getting good results.

Q: Is there a difference in the way -48kg players and -52kg players fight?
A: Yeah, it’s a little bit different. The -48kg girls are generally faster and they do a lot more drop techniques than the -52kg girls. It took some getting used to but now I’m totally comfortable fighting -48kg opponents.

With coach Kuka & teammate Kelmendi

Q: You fought at -52kg in the 2020 Paris Grand Slam which raised some eyebrows. People were speculating why, especially since Kelmendi had not competed in the 2019 Qingdao World Masters and was not on the mat in Paris. Can you clear the air as to why you moved up again?
A: I think people read too much into it. Fighting in Paris at -52kg doesn’t mean that I am moving back up again. It has nothing to do with Kelmendi or me trying to take points at -52kg. I have qualified for the Olympics at -48kg and that is the weight category that I will be fighting at in Tokyo next year. In Paris, I had decided to fight at -52kg because I didn’t want to lose weight for it, and I had already amassed enough points at -48kg. That’s all there is to it.

Q: You had won the 2019 Qingdao World Masters and 2020 Paris Grand Slam back-to-back. These are both very prestigious events. Do you feel the postponement of the Olympics has disrupted your momentum?
A: Towards the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020 I was in really good shape. So, when I heard about the postponement of the Olympics, I was disappointed because I had been preparing so much for that day. But seeing how this virus has affected the world, it’s really the only decision that could have been made.

Q: Do you feel perhaps an extra year of training might not be such a bad thing after all?
A: Well, it means one more year of cutting weight, but on the whole I do see good things to come out of it. I believe this extra year will allow me to become even better prepared mentally, physically and technically for the Olympics. So, yeah, I will be fully ready for Tokyo 2021!

Q: Daria Bilodid is obviously the person to beat at -48kg. You’ve fought her twice. The first time was at the 2018 Zagreb Grand Prix where she threw you twice with ouchi-gari. She had a harder time at the 2018 Baku World Championships, where she threw you again with an ouchi, but this time it was barely a waza-ari. Do you believe you’ve figured out her judo by now?
A: It’s true that I lost twice to her but this was in 2018, when I had just shifted down to -48kg. It’s been almost two years since I last fought her, and now, I’m very used to my new weight class. I think it will be a very different outcome the next time I meet her on the tatami.

Q: She’s very tall, with a long reach, but in Paris, she had a hard time with Shirine Boukli, precisely because of the French girl’s intense gripping. Do you think the key to defeating her is in the grips?
A: Gripping is important and I’d say one of the best things about my judo is my grips. I dare say I can outgrip anyone in my category, and that includes Bilodid. But, of course, to beat her I have to do more than just grip fight. There are more things I’m working on improving and now, I have the time to do it.

Q: Speaking of more time, are you enjoying the less intense training sessions during quarantine?
A: I think this different mode of training is a blessing in disguise and something I actually needed. There’s no competition in sight, so I’m able to focus more on improving my judo rather than rushing to prepare for competitions all the time.

Q: You have a European medal, a World medal and lots of IJF World Tour medals. How important is an Olympic medal to you?
A: Of course, having an Olympic medal is a dream for all judokas, and it is for me too. I have a strong belief in my coach and myself, so I think I will soon be able to add this medal to my collection!

Q: How many Olympics do you think you will go for?
A: I guess that will depend on whether I get any serious injuries along the way. To date, I’ve not had any, so if that keeps up, I’d like to go for three Olympics.

Q: When you enter into a match, do you have a game plan or do you go more by instinct?
A: I always go into a fight fully prepared. I know all my opponents well, I know how they fight, how they grip and so on. So, I always have a strategy on how to fight them.

Q: You have a beautiful osoto-gari and uchimata. How did you develop these techniques?
A: All my techniques, I learned from my coach, Driton Kuka. I literally grew up in the dojo, since I was seven years old until now. My coach does beautiful judo, so that’s what we tried to achieve too.

Q: Is there any technique you wished you could do but find it hard to master?
A: I think ura-nage is a very beautiful and attractive throw to watch. I’ve always enjoyed seeing it happen and I’ve even tried it on occasions during training but I was never able to do it well. Perhaps this is something I should work on for the future.

Q: What would you say are your strongest qualities as an athlete?
A: I’m aggressive and I fight to win. I never doubt my abilities. I have a winner’s mindset.

Q: Many people only see you as an aggressive fighter on the tatami but few know what you are like off the mat. Can you name three qualities that describe you best?
A: Calm, kind and positive.

Piano girl Distria Krasniqi

Q: Can you tell us something about yourself that would probably surprise people who don’t know you?
A: When I was younger, I was a dancer. I also liked to sing and I actually took piano lessons for four years. This might surprise a lot of people because they figure me to be someone musical.

Q: Do you have any other interests besides judo?
A: These days, no. I don’t have the time to do anything else besides judo. I’m very focused on training, competitions, analysing my opponents, and so on. Judo is really the only thing I do nowadays.

Q: But during this lock-down you have more time. What do you do when you’re not training?
A: When I finish training, I watch some movies, read books, draw a little, and I’m learning to play the guitar!

Q: Are there times when you get sick of judo?
A: I love judo too much to ever tire of it no matter how tough the training is or what the circumstances may be. I do judo with passion and a lot of love. Judo has made me a stronger person and it’s allowed me to see the world and learn new things. Quite frankly, I can’t imagine my life — now and in the future — without judo in it. 

Q: It’s still a long time away, but what do you hope to do after your competition career is over?
A: One thing’s for certain, I’d still be involved in judo in some capacity, probably as a coach. And, of course, have a family and kids.

Q: Are you a very family-oriented person?
A: Yes, I’m happiest when I get to spend time with my family.

Q: What would you like to say to other judokas who are in lock-down right now?
A: First of all, stay home and stay safe. Secondly, try to look at things positively. Lastly, I hope to see you guys doing judo again, soon!

A special message from Distria Krasniqi to members of KL Judo Centre...

Judo in the time of Covid-19: Shany Hershko, Israel

Q: Is it true you have no memories of your life without judo in it?
A: I started judo when I was six years old and I really only remember aspects of my childhood after that point when I started judo. Maybe it’s a coincidence, I don’t know… but I would say that statement is basically true.

Q: Did you like judo straight away?
A: You could say it’s love at first sight. I did a lot of sports as a child but judo was the one that I enjoyed the most.

Q: What was it about judo that appealed so much to you?
A: There are many things that I like about it. I’m a competitive person and I like the fact that whether you win or lose in judo, it all depends on you. The fight has clear rules and there is no such thing as a draw. You either win or lose. And even if your opponent is stronger or more skilled, it’s still possible to beat them if you are smart and fight them well. Judo is a great sport. It makes you strong, not just physically and but mentally too.

Q: You were in the Israeli national team?
A: As an athlete I was part of the national team in the 90s. I was successful domestically but at the international stage, I didn’t have much success. This paved the way for me to becoming a coach though.

Q: Tell us a bit about Wingate National Sports Centre. Is it also an educational institute where people study sports science or something like that?
A: Wingate is the national home of Israeli sports teams of all ages. It’s where our top players, from cadets all the way to Olympic athletes, go to train. We have an academy of excellence that combines studies and training for elite athletes, and many athletes and coaches take courses there. I also did my studies at Wingate. 

Q: What’s the Israeli approach to identifying talent?
A: We have a system that identifies prospects as young as 10 to 12 and we invite them to join the academy at Wingate where they can have specialized training. That way, we have the best training together from a very young age.

Q: Are national athletes fully-sponsored by the government?
A: Our funding program is achievement-based. We have special funding programs for each age group, and senior athletes receive full-funding including a monthly scholarship if they have good results. Olympic-level athletes are well-taken care of in terms of funding.

Q: Do the seniors only do judo or they study also?
A: The focus of senior athletes is judo and everything revolves around their professional training program. Of course, we also encourage them to learn and be prepared for the day when their competition career is over but it will be a study program that does not disrupt their training.

Q: What do ex-national players, like Yael Arad (World and Olympic silver medalist), usually do after their competition career is over?
A: Israeli judo has a lot of options for those who wish to stay involved in the sport. Yael Arad, for example, holds a professional role on the Olympic Committee. And past champions who want to take up coaching roles will have no problems in doing that. Oren Smadga, as you know, is coaching the men’s team. Yarden Gerbi, at this stage, is not officially involved in coaching but she often comes to training to support our athletes. I hope at some point she will choose to be officially engage in coaching. I’m sure she can do it superbly. We are waiting for her!

Q: How did you end up coaching the women’s team?
A: In 2010, there was a National Selection Coaches Committee set up and I was selected to be the head coach of the women's team. I was delighted to have this opportunity and feel really proud that Gerbi was able to become a world champion, a truly exceptional and historical achievement for Israeli sports.

Q: What do you think is the main difference between coaching men and coaching women?
A: Well, I’ve been fortunate enough to have experienced both because I was also the personal coach for Ariel Zeevi for the 2012 London Olympics. I would say that much of it is the same, whether coaching men or women. Just a few small differences. Yet those small differences are significant. I would say that women’s emotional memory is longer than that of men. So, you have to be more open and know how to use emotions to encourage them and to make them push harder.

Q: How would you describe your coaching philosophy?
A: Just four words: “Invent and not imitate”.

Q: You have been quoted as saying small countries cannot try to be like the Japanese. Can you explain what you mean by that?
A: It’s related to my point above. But this really requires a long answer so I hope you will bear with me. My family’s history is tied to World War II, the Holocaust and the establishment of the State of Israel. As you know, Israel, as a small country, has to constantly find original and innovative ways to succeed. I try to apply my country's heritage to my strategy as a national coach as well. Before I explain my comments about Japan, I would like to clarify that I have the greatest respect for Japan, the home of our amazing sport. I think the Japanese have beautiful judo and I wish we could win competitions with that amazing style of the Japanese but in my opinion, that’s not possible. Judo has a long history in Japan and they have a lot of people doing judo over there. The breadth and depth of their technical base is staggering. We cannot compete with that. We are a small country with relatively fewer judokas. So, we have to pool our judokas together, build a personal program for each and prepare them systematically in technically, tactically, physically and mentally-specific ways.

Q: And you believe this way can allow you to beat the Japanese?
A: Well, we’ve done it. Look, it’s never easy to beat the Japanese but if you hope to do so, it’s certainly not by playing their style of judo because they can do it better than you can. You have to have your own way. My greatest success so far has been with Gerbi, and in her career, she has won three major fights against the Japanese. In both the 2013 and 2014 World Championships, she had to overcome a Japanese opponent in the semi-final and she did it. Then at the 2016 Rio Championships, she had to defeat a Japanese player for the bronze. And she did it too. She’s proof that it can be done but through our own way, not by copying the Japanese.

Q: In Israel there is centralized training where seniors, juniors and cadets all train together. Centralized training is a contentious issue in many countries. Sometimes players don’t like this because they’d rather train in their home clubs. What are your thoughts on this?
A: I believe there are many ways to success, not just one way. So, I always try to respect different opinions. But once you’ve decided on a way forward, you should persevere with it. There will always be critics and detractors. Fortunately for us, our federation president, Moshe Ponti, is a former athlete himself. He has fought at the highest levels — Europeans, Worlds, Olympics — and he is fully supportive of our approach. For Israel, centralized training has led to a lot of successes so I believe this is the right way.

Q: During a week, how much training do the players do and what are the trainings like?
A: During a typical week, we have 10 sessions over six days. We usually do three to four sessions of physical training, two to three sessions of technical training and three to four sessions of randori.

Q: Do you make extensive use of videos to analyze athletes?
A: In every battle, intelligence is a very important tool to improve your chances of winning. The use of video in the sport of judo is sometimes critical to victory, and this is especially true when you are talking about the highest levels of competition. When your athletes have very strong opponents, even the smallest things can be the difference between victory and defeat. Video analysis is where you can find those small things that can help your athletes win big.

Q: What do you think of the decision to postpone the Olympics?
A: Of course, I was looking forward to the Olympics this year but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, where players can’t train and where there is danger to the health of everyone involved, the decision to postpone was the smart and the right decision to make.

Q: How are you training your players during the lock-down?
A: Once the crisis erupted in Europe, I knew it was just a matter of time before it would hit Israel as well. So, we started preparing for it before any lock-down was implemented. I divided the Olympic athletes into pairs who would be quarantined together. In each pair’s home, we created a gym with full judo and physical training equipment. They would also be remotely guided in their training by the coaching staff through the Internet. So, over the past weeks, our athletes have been training in “capsules” that allow them to have full physical training, proper judo training and detailed coaching. It’s still not the same as the centralized training that we normally have at Wingate but through this approach, we are able to minimize the disruption to training by the corona virus.

Judo in the time of Covid-19: An Changrim, South Korea

Q: Is it true that in South Korea, some top players are still able to do judo training?
A: Yes, I’m doing restricted training with no outsiders allowed. Just with three or four teammates from my club. 

Q: What type of training do you normally do?
A: My training varies depending on which part of the competition cycle it is but basic training typically includes four modules.  From 6.00am to 8.00am, I’d work on cardio. From 10.00am to 12.00pm, it’s strength training. From 3.00pm to 5.00pm, it’s randori time. Finally, from 8.00pm to 9.00pm, I’d do technique training.

Q: How many randoris would you do in a typical session?
A: That again varies depending on the season but on average, I’d say 10 to 12 times per session.

Q: You were born in Japan and formerly trained at Tsukuba University in Japan before transferring to Yong-In University in South Korea. Is the training very different?
A: It’s very different. In Tsukuba, students are encouraged to take their own initiative. You have to think for yourself, do things yourself. In Yong-In, we are pushed to train very hard physically and mentally.

Q: In South Korea, do top athletes train together or do they train at their own universities like in Japan?
A: We train together at the national training centre.

Q: Do you still go back to Japan from time to time?
A: Yes, because my strength coach and my physiotherapist are both based in Japan.

Q: You have fought Soichi Hashimoto four times in IJF tournaments and have beaten him three of those times, including the World Championships. Did you study his judo?
A: Yes, but not just Hashimoto. I also watched videos of other -73kg fighters too.

Q: Besides analyzing videos, how else do you prepare for future battles with them?
A: There are many strong players out there but I’m not too concerned about that. I just focus on myself, my training, my diet, my sleep, my conditioning. That’s most important.

Q: Shohei Ono seems to be a much harder opponent for you. You’ve fought him six times in international events but so far you have not managed to defeat him. How is he different from the rest?
A: I’d say he has good mental strength and physicality. Basically, that’s it.

Q: In the 2018 Asian Games final, you threw him with sumi-gaeshi in Golden Score. Many people thought it should have been a score based on the new IJF rules which allows for transitional throws. Did you think that it was a waza-ari?
A: I was aware of the rules at the time and yes, I thought it should have been a waza-ari but that’s all water under the bridge. No point dwelling on that. I just moved on.

Q: Interestingly, prior to the Asian Games, in your final at the 2018 Antalya Grand Prix, Sweden’s Tommy Macias threw you with exactly the same technique: Sumi-gaeshi when you were on the ground. You objected to the score at the time, why?
A: Well, at that moment when it happened, I thought it was already a newaza situation but later on when I watched the video, I realized it was not. The ippon score given was correct.

Q: What do you think of the new transition rules that allow players to throw opponents who are on their knees but whose elbows are off the mat?
A: I don’t have any strong feelings either way. Whenever a new rule is introduced, I just adapt to it. That’s what you have to do as an athlete.

Q: Back to that controversial Asian Games final. Ono knocked you down with uchimata but you landed almost completely on your front, yet the referee gave a waza-ari for it. Your thoughts on that?
A: I think these borderline waza-ari calls will vary from referee to referee. It’s not something we can control. We just have to accept it.

Q: You are famous for your reverse seoi-nage. Where did you learn this?
A: I guess the first person I saw doing it was Choi Min-ho (2008 Olympic Champion) but I actually started doing this when I was in Japan. Later, when I moved to Korea, I learned some finer details from Choi himself, and also from Song Dae-nam (2012 Olympic Champion). Many Korean players use this technique.

Q: You fight left-handed. Is that by nature or by design?
A: I’m naturally left-handed, so I stick to that for my judo.

Q: Does the postponement of the Olympic Games bother you?
A: No, I don’t think too much about it. I just change my focus from 2020 to 2021.

Q: Do you go to other countries for training?
A: We go to various international training camps but mainly I go to Japan on a regular basis.

Q: A French judo magazine referred to An Baul as your brother. Is that correct?
A: No, that’s incorrect. We are not related. But he is a very good friend whom I have a lot of respect for. We are from the same club and we have hard randoris with each other every day.

Q: What is judo to you?
A: Judo causes me stress and pain but it also brings me joy. I’d say it’s the main source of my happiness.

Q: What words do you have for other judo players stuck in lock-down?
A: Stay home, stay healthy and use this time to do some introspection.

And, a special message from An Changrim to members of KL Judo Centre...

20 judo lesson; 34 judo interviews

Twenty. That's the number of judo concept lessons I've written for my club members. When the lock-down was announced, I chatted with a bunch of coaches from various countries about what they are going to do. Almost everybody said we've got to offer our players some online lessons.

From what I can tell, most major judo clubs are offering some kind of online lessons. Normally it's showing them how to do high-intensity exercises or some drills with uchikomi bands or things you can do with a dummy wearing a judogi. Quite a few BJJ instructors actually demonstrated techniques with a partner.

I didn't like any of those things. I don't see the point of showing them solo exercises because there's a bunch of such videos on YouTube that the students could easily find. As for techniques — same thing: you can find so much technical stuff online.

I wanted to give them something unique. So, I decided to come up with tutorials on judo concepts. These are things that tend to get overlooked during everyday judo sessions. We're so caught up with learning the technicalities of how to do a throw or groundwork maneuver that we don't discuss important things like stance and gripping and ways to deal with different scenarios.

So far, I've managed to come up with 20 such lessons. I'll just keep going until we can reopen again. By then, my players should be very knowledgeable about judo concepts!

Thirty-four. That's the number of interviews I've done with judokas from across the globe. Most of them are competitors, many are very high-level ones, and a few are ranked within the Top 10 of the world. But I've also done interviews high-level coaches, club coaches, club players, a photographer and a journalist. The idea is to give readers a good sense of how judokas are dealing with the lock-down.

Producing these interviews is a way to let my players know more about the world of judo. I've been to many judo clubs in many different countries. But most of my players have not. I wanted them to get a sense of the different training systems that can be found in different places around the world.

It's also a good way to introduce them to the many judo personalities out there, some of whom are very interesting. I wanted them to see what these various players go through in their quest to achieve their goals.

In producing these interviews, I'm also helping my good friend, Hans Van Essen of JudoInside, by providing him with high-quality, original content. We've worked together on many projects in the past, and support each other all the time, so I'm delighted to be able to collaborate with him once again during this time of Covid-19.

How long will this series go on? Well, it'll come to an end once the lock-down is lifted. Once that happens, I'll need to focus on rebuilding my judo club. But from time to time, I will do some more of these types of interviews because people like reading them. How often do you get insights into the life of judokas in other countries?

Judo Concepts. Lesson 20: Situational randori

In my last posting, I wrote about purposeful randori. In this posting, I'm going to talk about situational randori. This is when the coach restricts randori to a certain scenario only.

For example, ashiwaza randori is when players can only use foot techniques during the randori. You could further limit that to smaller ashiwaza, meaning big leg throws like uchimata, osoto-gari and ouchi-gari are not allowed.

The purpose of doing these restricted forms of randori is that it will force players to try stuff they might otherwise not try. Ashiwaza is something a lot of beginners don't like to try because they don't yet have a good feel for judo and as such, they have great difficulty pulling off ashiwaza, which is very timing based.

If left to their own devices, they may never try it. So, you do things like ashiwaza randori to force them to try it.

Other examples could be one-handed randori. Sometimes, you have to fight one-handed because either you can't get two hands on the other person or one of your arms is injured. One-handed randori forces players to be creative and find ways to try to throw or fend off throws using one hand only.

Sacrifice randori forces players to do only sacrifice techniques. Left-handed randori forces them to use their left hand more. And so on.

I think you get the drift. If you want players to learn a specific skill set, using situational randori really helps.

Judo in the time of Covid-19: Luise Malzahn, Germany

Q: How are you handling the lock-down?
A: The past few months of Olympic qualifications was an exhausting period for me. To be honest, I’m thankful that my body now has the chance to rest so that I can recover from my injuries. At the moment I´m in my home town, Halle, where I do one training session per day with my home club coach. In Halle, athletes who might have the chance to go to the Olympics are allowed to use the training hall. But my main focus right now is on my job as a policewoman. I knew that I can´t really plan my judo activities right now because I don’t know when competition will resume. So, I asked myself how can I be useful in this time of crisis? I called my department head and he said I could support my colleagues the fight against Covid-19.

Q: Before the lock-down, what was your training schedule like?
A: When I’m in training, I live near the Olympic Training Centre in Berlin where I do two to three sessions per day on weekdays. Sometimes I start my day with a short run in the morning, then breakfast and usually the first session starts at 9.00am with judo or strength training. I eat lunch at home and after that I go for physical therapy to treat small injuries or just to recover a bit. At about 6.00pm I do the more intensive session — usually randori — and at the end of the day I relax with my teammates in the relaxation bath. All in, I’d be at the training centre for six to seven hours a day.

Q: How about weekends?
A: If I have no competition on the weekend, I would usually drive two hours to my home club in Halle to do some sessions and to visit my family and friends. The training in Halle offers some variety to my training.

Q: You are one of the few competitors who has a very nice website. Why did you bother to do this?
A: In Germany judo is an almost unknown sport, so it´s not easy to get sponsors. Taking that extra step like having a professional website and a strong social media presence will certainly help. Doing these things properly conveys professionalism, confidence and authenticity.

Q: Do you have a professional manager who helped put the website together for you?
A: No, I don’t have a manager. My brother-in-law, who learned graphic design and is an art teacher, helped me to do it. I gave him my input on how I wanted the site to look like and we worked on it together.

Q: I understand that you work for the police. In many countries like Italy and Slovenia, a judo athlete who works for the police or military are allowed to be full-time athletes and they don’t have to do police or military duties. Is that the same in Germany?
A: I´m a police inspector in Saxony-Anhalt. My employer supports me a lot when it comes to judo and during the past year of Olympic qualifications, I was completely exempt from police duties. But I know there’s also more to life than just sports, so I am furthering my education in police studies.

Q: When you retire from competition, will you still be working for the police or do you have other plans?
A: I definitely want to work for the police after my competition career is over. I want to help and work with different people and I believe my job as a police inspector can give me the chance to do these things.

Q: You have an older sister who was a top international competitor. Growing up did you train with her all the time?
A: Claudia is not only my sister, she´s also one of my closest friends, therapist and coach. When I was growing up, we trained together, but eventually I became too heavy for her because she was in the -63kg category and I’m -78kg. I hope I wasn´t responsible for her back pain!

Q: How is it like having a sister who is also a competitor at the same time you are?
A: When we were in the same competition together, such as the 2010 Tokyo World Championships of the 2011 Paris Grand Slam, it always felt like I was fighting twice. I had my own fights, of course, but when my sister is fighting, I felt the same rush of energy and pressure although she was the one out there fighting. As I watch her fight, in my mind I’m in that fight too.

Q: According to JudoInside, you have had 332 fights under your belt. That’s a lot of matches. What is it about competing that you enjoy the most?
A: I wouldn´t say that I love competitions because they’re always a massive form of physical and mental stress. But competitions are a way for me to test myself and to go beyond my own expectations. It’s hard to describe how it feels when you go one on one with another fighter and everything depends on what happens during those four minutes on the mat. You either go to the shower early or you proceed to the next round. I can tell you it’s an indescribable feeling when you win a major tournament like a Grand Slam or a Grand Prix.

Q: You say tournaments are a major source of physical and mental stress for you. What motivates you to carry on despite the stress and obvious sacrifices?
A: Of course, in any competitive sport you have to make sacrifices. But I wouldn’t say that I have missed out on anything in my life. During my judo journey I have visited many beautiful places — the Corcovado in Rio de Janeiro, Rottnest Island in Perth, the Great Wall of China — and met a lot of interesting and impressive people. These experiences have enriched my life and I’m sure that they will help me in my life after judo. Of course, there were also times where I hated this sport, for example when my knees had ligament tears, or the 2017 Ekaterinburg Grand Slam final in where I had to fight with a broken nose, or the beginning of this year where I got a disc prolapse because of over-training. Then, there’s the home sickness you feel after living out of your baggage travelling from competition to competition and training camp to training camp. But I´m sure that at the end of my career, the positive memories will far outweigh the negatives.  

Q: Besides the great experiences you’ve had travelling to different places, what would you say were the other good things you gained from your experiences as an athlete?
A: In order to balance sports and studies, I had a very regimented lifestyle where my schedule was always very well planned. Maybe that’s why I never ended up getting drunk at parties or taking drugs like many young people do. I think my parents are thankful for this. Also, because I went to a sports boarding school when I was just 10 years old, I learned to be independent at a young age. To do competitive sports, you need to organize your life well and I learned how to do that since I was a small kid.

Q: What’s the hardest thing about being a professional athlete?
A: The fact that only good results count. You have to be on top of your game all the time because the IJF World Tour operates all year long. I feel bad for just wanting to take a break sometimes. But that’s the business. You just have to accept it.

Q: Does that hectic schedule affect others around you?
A: Sometimes yes. For example, my sister had to plan her wedding date in 2018 around my competition schedule, so I could attend it. That’s so awesome when I think about it.

Q: Normally you don’t have a lot of time to yourself but during this lock-down, you do. How are you spending your time these days?
A: In time of Covid-19, I have free time like no other periods of my life. Of course I'm doing some training at home but besides that I’m cooking and baking, I'm also doing a bit of crochet and I'm organizing some photo albums.

Q: What about pre-Covid-19 days, what would you do in your free time?
A: I love going out with friends to drink some coffee or try out some new restaurants. I love discovering new, secret places in Berlin, and when my training plan allows it, enjoying the night life a little bit.

Q: You have an incredible 32 IJF World Tour medals, including 5 golds, 11 silvers and 16 bronzes. How do you feel looking back at that?
A: Normally, I’m not into statistics but of course looking back at my competition results, I feel proud. I might not get gold all the time but I think it’s safe to say I’m a reliable athlete when it comes to winning medals. I hope to collect a few more medals before I retire because a few special ones are still missing from my collection.

Q: The flip side of winning is losing. How well do you deal with defeat?
A: I´m a very rational person. When I get defeated, I don’t lament mistakes made. Rather I reflect on what I could have done better. It´s very seldom that I need to cry after a defeat because I can usually check off the fight very fast and move on. But there are exceptions of course. When I lost in Dussseldorf this year (to teammate Anna-Maria Wagner), I cried all through my flight back home because I knew that it meant I wasn’t going to the Olympics.

Q: Now that the Olympics have been postponed until next year, does it mean you have a chance to fight for selection for Tokyo 2021?
A: Well, based on the Dusseldorf results, Anna deserved to be selected for the Olympics but now with the postponement, there might be a chance for me. I don’t know. One year is a long time in judo. Anything could happen.

Q: You mentioned you’re a very rational person. Does that mean you are very strategic when it comes to training and competitions as well?
A: In training, I´m a strategic planner but in competition I often trust in my instincts and my feel for judo. Of course, before a fight, I would talk to my coach and we will talk about what I need to look out for and what kind of tactics I should adopt. But when I look back at my most successful tournaments, I can see many fights where I won based on instincts and not because of some well drilled moves.  

Q: Do you watch competition videos to analyze your opponent’s fighting style?
A: I’ll watch videos of my own fights right after each competition. That helps me to plan what I need to do in training next. As for watching videos of opponents, I only watch videos of my first opponent for each competition because you really can’t anticipate who you’ll be fighting after that.

Q: When you’re not competing do you watch the IJF World Tour on YouTube?
A: Honestly, when I’m not competing, I don’t watch judo. The little time I have in between competitions and training camps, I want to use it to spend time with family and friends and just to indulge in a little leisure time for myself. Of course, I do still check the results at the end of each competition because I want to know who won and who lost, etc.

Q: What are your plans for life after competition?
A: In terms of profession, I already have a secure job in the police force. In terms of my involvement in judo, well, I’d like to teach young judokas who could benefit from my knowledge and experience. It would be such a waste not to pass any of that on to the next generation of fighters.

Q: Any words for other judokas stuck in a lockdown?
A: I hope people will use this downtime to reflect on their lives, about what’s really important to them and what’s not, so they can carry on positively when the lock-down is over.

And a special message from Luise Malzahn to members of KL Judo Centre...