Sayonara Nippon

My journey has finally come to an end.

Poland did not go as planned but I learned a lot so I do not consider it a loss. I know exactly what I need to work on and I have a little over 3 weeks before my next competition to do so. Senior Nationals is going to be April 11th in Virginia.

Since Warsaw, I have been going nonstop. Judo has been relentless and I can honestly say I gave it my all! I am totally EXHAUSTED. As soon as I got back to Japan, that weekend Otoguro Sensei took me to the Olympic Training Center where they held the biggest camp I have ever been to. There were hundreds of women on the mat in a dojo the size of a soccer field and I was the only foreigner!

When I walked in I instantly felt the tingles that come before a big competition. Bordering the mat were all the top universities in Japan (Teikyo, Tokai, Nittaidai) with teams of 20-30 women who were stretching together and taping up. There is one entry way into this club and everyone who walks in is immediately sized up. You can imagine how I felt walking in solo! I had an instant rush of adrenaline! Time to fight! Otoguro picked out all of my rounds and made sure I went with the best. Everyone I fought with was either a World Champion, Olympian, about to go to the Olympics, or a highly ranked fighter. IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE BRAWL, but I loved it!

The next camp, that I completed as of today (YAY!), took place at Heisei International University. It was unbelievably hard and I know my body will be feeling the pain of it for the next week at least!! This camp consisted of 3 or 4 Universities, so considerably smaller then the one at the Olympic Training Center, but there were still a good amount of women. At least 70, no more then 100.

This camp was unbelievably intense. It was 3 days long with a practice in the morning and afternoon. I say intense because I have never fought so many rounds at a camp before. I fought 18, 5 minute rounds… an hour and a half of straight fighting! During the 10th round my whole body got goosebumps and my face felt like it was on fire AND during the 15th round my forearms and fingers started cramping so bad I had to take a few seconds from the match just so I could straighten my fingers back out. The 10am practice consisted of 30 rounds of newaza randori (ground work). After a certain point of exhaustion you stop thinking and you just DO. Your body goes into auto pilot. You become a machine. And that is exactly what I have been needing. I am not going to lie. There is nothing fun about working out this hard, but for me the feeling of pride I have in myself for finishing and finishing strong makes it ALL WORTH IT!!! There is no better feeling then being able to look in the mirror and be proud of what you see.

This whole experience has made me realize ‘IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING’, a slogan I have loved since I saw it on a billboard at the 2004 Olympics by Adidas. Attitude and mindset is everything. I have the best supporters in the world. I have my coach, my family, my friends, and the community… all backing me 100%. BUT when I am on the mat, it is just me out there. Which is why this trip to Japan is going to be so beneficial to my future in judo. Two months of extreme training, bouncing around different universities and fighting in packed camps without any teammates or English speaking friends to give me words of encouragement and help me get through the workout. It has taught me I CAN rely on myself to get me through a battle. That is a tool I will have for the rest of my life and I am very grateful to all the people who helped me get it

I am going site seeing with Otoguro and his family tomorrow and then I’ll be going back to TEXAS Saturday at 12:05 pm!!! SO EXCITED!!! As much as I have loved Japan, the culture, and the people… THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME!!!

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