NY Judo Open: Recap

Sunday March 20th, 2016
Stepping into Manhattan’s NYAC to see the New York Judo Open tournament was a special treat, in that it was a team tournament. This meant that judoka would face off as a group (in this case by countries), representing five weight categories. Participating countries included the USA, France, and Germany.

A brief primer may be in order as, to the uninitiated, the scoring of a judo match can be confusing. Any throw subjectively judged to have been executed “perfectly,” downing an opponent onto his or her back with sufficient force and speed, can immediately win a match. A throw deemed less effective garners a partial score, and the match continues as ground grappling. This phase of a judo match is similar to a BJJ competition, with the difference being that if too much stalling occurs on the ground, the referee will promptly stop the match to have the players stand up and attempt more throwing techniques.

Spectacular throws were in abundance, as would be expected, and some skillful submissions were displayed, including a very sweet Juji Gatame armbar by one of the female judoka. In the end, the men’s competition was won by the German team, and the women’s by the United States. Many of the athletes present will represent their countries in the upcoming 2016 Olympic Games. Former Olympians present included Jimmy Pedro, Travis Stevens, and Kayla Harrison.

Writer: Pedro Tommy Gonzalez

Editor: Kyle Antonelli

Photos: Kevin Smith