The Abbotsford Tournament started on time around 9:30AM and ended by 2:00 PM. I believe that there were 150 competitors from all the Dojos in the Lower Mainland.
We had 10 Competitors They should be commended in their performance today.
I was pleased with the confidence that they displayed on the Mat, showing their determination and fighting spirit.
Logan placed second and Lawren received a bronze.
Logan
had 2 wins while Lawren won 1 match. Both of them were constantly
attacking their Opponents with their Seionage and Osotogari scoring
points.
Laya placed first in his division. Laya had an easier Opponent and scored with winning both of her matches with Ippons.
There were 3 in Sofie and Jenna division with all 3 receiving the Gold. They all won 1 and lost 1.
Sofie beat Jenna, Sofie lost her next match and Jenna beat the Girl who beat Sofie. Each won their matches with Ippon.
Helena received a bronze metal. She had 3 fights which she lost. Her Opponents were bigger and more experience.
Considering
that it was her first tournament, She put in her best effort and from
this , she gained valuable experience which will prepare her for the
upcoming tournaments.
Jaimie
won Silver. In his Gold Metal Match, he made a TACTICAL mistake. He
charged his Opponent which is okay but you must be in control when you
do it . HIS OPPONENT REACTED WITH A FOOTSWEEP (SASAE TSURI KOMI
ASHIBARAI )TO SCORE AN IPPON .
Jaimie’s
mistake was running at him from the beginning which gave his Opponent
plenty of time to react. Jamie should have approached him normally
until he was about an arm length away. At that point he should rush him
and hit him with an OUCHIGARI.
His Opponent would be caught off guard and be unable to Counter because Jamie is too close for him to maneuver Jamie’s attack.
In Jamie’s first match, he scored with 2 Wazari (1/2 point) .
Hailey received a Silver for her efforts. She fought Mandy from Abbotsford twice. Mandy is Hailey’s NEMESIS.
She
got Hailey with a Ouchigari for a YUKO because Hailey was looking down
at her feet instead of looking at her Shoulders . From there, She moved
into Kesagatame (Holddown) for an Ippon
Her
second match with Mandy was much better. Hailey came in with Seionage 3
times but was out just as quickly. Moved in and out because she didn’t
have the confident to throw Mandy with her Shoulder Throw.
Lesson
to learn – Once you are have succeeded in getting under your Opponent
and have her on your back, follow through by continuing to pull harder
on their Sleeve at the same time turning your Hips.
This
is how you throw your Opponent. Never back out of a throw. You can be
Countered. See your little brother and Sister video matches as an
example of following through on your Throw.
Nikolai
placed second with a Silver with 3 wins and a lost. Nikolai Gold Metal
Match was very close. His Opponent has more experience but if Nikolai
was a bit more sharper with his Taiotoshi move or did an Ouchigari
Osotogari Combination, he could easily have won the Match.
Even
though Nikolai won his other matches with Ippon and Wazari, I thought
his timing was off. He put in a lot of effort to score these Points. If
his execution or movement was smoother, his Opponents would have been
flying threw the air.
Andrey
Ponomarev who moved to Coquitlam in September won Gold in both of his
Matches. Even though, Andrea is now a member of the Poco Judo Club in
Coquitlam in his heart he will always be a member of our Dojo.
In
his first match, Andrey threw his Green Belt Opponent with his
Taiotoshi . It was so fast that when his Opponent crashed to the Mat, he
held onto Andrey so that they both banged their heads. Andrey got a
fair size bump on his head besides being concussed.
He told the Medical Examiner that he was Okay to continue in the tournament.
He won his final match quickly with another Ippon executing a Taiotoshi.
Kameron
had 2 fights with the same Opponent who is a Blue Belt. In his first
match, Kameron was thrown with a Drop Seionage within 10 seconds of the
Match.
For his second match, he
made adjustment in his defensive strategy to counter his Opponent’s
Seionage . This time, Kameron blocked his attempts but he finally got
Kameron on a Taiotoshi on the Left Side. Kameron had an opportunity to
counter this Throw which he did not take.
His Opponent succeed in throwing Kameron because he kept pulling and following through on his throw.
Next tournament is in Steveston on November 19.
Frank Nakashima
Head Instructor
