Afterthought

Some of the words and gestures from my friends family and colleagues have been so lovely. My mum made me and the family roast beef followed by three of my fav puddings, all washed down with a spot of champers. The guys in the office decorated my desk with golden balloons and banners and cakes and a card they'd all signed. Tbh I got a little choked up, it was so nice. I didn't really know what to say.  And there have been kind and inspiring words, many of which I won't forget, from people who mean more to me than they realise.

This is all Jack Bishop’s fault of course. Jack is a friend and colleague, manager of Absolutely Fitness in Bracknell. And he kept hassling me about re-entering the World Vets this year to defend my title. So, thanks for that Bish. 

It been a great trip and experience.  In the short term I've got to strengthen and stabilise my knee again. And maybe even a little r&r, time in the kitchen, time with my fam & friends. After that I've got a few plans in my head going forward. But whatever that shall be, I'll be sure to think twice before I doubt what I can achieve if I put my mind to it.

Thanks for reading! xx

 

Job Done (Part 2 The Trip)

Some down time before the final

The whole thing was three very short days. One day travelling there.  One day fighting.  And one day travelling back.  But it’s packed full of memories for me. I’m sorry I know this next part is badly written, but its basically how I remember it.

Outside the Venue - Sports Palace

The relief of finally weighing in. making my weight by 0.08kg swiftly followed by two litres of water and a chocolate cookie……swiftly followed by lying down, bloated stomach, feeling sick after just a few mouthfuls of food.

Sitting in the hotel reception feeling very alone. And then finding the wifi access .  My phone just lit up like a little disco and went crazy with dozens of messages of support and belief and kind words.  I was definitely not alone.

A kind Swedish girl who bought me a Tournament T-Shirt after I lent her one of mine.



Watching the other competitors who all had their own journeys.  The women and the older men’s categories fought on the same day. And you have to have massive respect for the great condition and amazing judo some of these guys produced.

An inexplicable mix of extreme nerves and quiet confidence in the tunnel between the warm up area and the arena.

Photo bombed by the handstanding guy!

The great camaraderie of the British Team.  Massive thanks here to my fellow competitors Sam Dobrowolski and Heidi Park.  But also Sarah Hopkins and Diiane White who just completely took it upon themselves to look after and matside coach us.  Truly amazing. 

Standing on the Podium with the Union Jack. Epic.

Cakes and Sangria ….. that was a nice moment.

Phone goes crazy all over again when I get my wifi signal back.  The response from my friends and family was amazing.

Drinks (and more drinks) with GB players  that evening, made up largely by the Aberdeen Judo Club masters team.  Awesome group of people, even if I’m not quite sure exactly what they were saying all of the night.

Chillaxed and and reflective on the empty Malaga Beach early next morning.

No Memories of the flight home, I crashed. I’m not entirely sure I didn’t drool on the old lady next to me.  In any case she looked a little peeved as I woke up during landing.

Hugs from my kids when I get home… all I’d been thinking of.  Priceless.

GB Gold Silver Bronze with Samantha Dobrowolski and Heidi Park

Job Done (Part 1 - The fights)

Gold Medal in the IJF World Veteran’s Judo Championship F1 (Female 30-35yrs) -63kg  category.  I’m so happy.  It doesn’t always happen.  It doesn’t always go your way, but this time it did and all the hard work was definitely worth it. 

So here’s how it went down.  There were ten girls in my category including two other Brits.  My first fight was against a home nation Spanish girl.  In the warm up area I was bricking it.  So I took a moment to forget what event it was, to block out the bright lights, the spectators and the size of the venue and to forget all the people at home rooting for me.  ‘Two hands on, attack first…..two hands on, attack first.’  I know I should’ve been thinking more tactically than that I know.  But it was all I could manage at the time.   My name got called I went through the tunnel into the arena.  Lane four for Mat four.  Very nervy but all guns blazing.  Those that know my style of Judo…. I’m not the most skilful, but about strength  and very attacking style.  I got some joy from my favourite technique a few times harai maki komi.  And then with a score on the board and very short fights I knew I just had to run down the time and look busy on the ground.  The buzzer went.  First fight over.

A busy warm up room at the start of the day

There was about an hour til my next fight.  A Mongolian who, like me had already won her first bout.   I felt more focussed this time.  At the start of this fight I soon found out she was very quick.  But I was strong and she struggled to get close.  About half way through we went to ground and I got in quick.  She was flat on her front, I got on top and tucked my legs in underneath and as I did her head came up for a fraction of a second.  I got my arm in quick but couldn’t find a grip.  I went for it anyway putting all the pressure I could on the back of the neck, nothing was happening but I kept going pushing as hard as I could.  She tapped the floor and that was the second fight won.  I was in the final. 

Warming up with a Swedish Girl

As I came off the mat I turned to watch fellow Brit Sam Dobrowolski  in her Semi Final.  Sam is also fairly local and we sometimes train together (it’s always a close fought thing).  Sam is a really nice girl, an awesome fighter and also a mum like me.  Being on opposite sides of the draw we agreed to warm up together.  I’ve got great respect for her and cheered her on during her fight against a tough French opponent.  Sam won a long battle on the ground with a skilful san gaku technique (it’s a kind of strangle but done with the legs, but this time Sam used it to pin down).  It was an all Brit Final!

The final was about an hour later.  As the ref said Hajime, Sam unleashed a torrent of attacks.  There was no doubt she wanted this just as much as me.  I’m usually a really attacking player but just couldn’t seem to get anything in.  Tactically I was doing enough not to get penalised for passivity.  And strength and agility wise I was getting off most of her attacks (There were a few hairy moments!)  The match reached time with no score which meant we went to golden score, where as soon as one person scores its game over.  Sam had somehow cut her hand.  And in the short medical break I gave myself a good talking to.  Realised she was pinning my right sleeve and that I needed to get back in the game.  I started coming back at her stronger getting my own grips in earlier and some good attacks.  And then, the referee stopped the match.  He gave Sam a penalty (I think for cross gripping without attacking but it’s all a bit of a blur) It was the only score I needed. I’d won!   Not the way I wanted to win.  But I’d done the job I came to do.

I came off the mat.  Found the arena bar.  Sat down and had a bottle of San Miguel.  

 

Judo? What's that?

There’s one type of person that I really don’t have time for.  And that’s the type of person that just doesn’t have a thing.  Bear with me here while I explain.  A thing,  anything  they’re really passionate about that they spend at least a little of their day thinking about, that when you get them talking about it you can see a bit of a spark in their eyes and excitement in their voice.  Just something that makes them tick.  It might be a sport, it might be stamp collecting, or some kind of music, following a team, hairstyling, F1, pole dancing, jigsaw puzzles…… anything,  just as long as there’s something.  Because if you don’t have a thing, what’s the point?

Judo isn’t my only thing….. I absolutely love cooking.  I’m not always very good at it.  I’ve had some out and out disasters and being inherently clumsy, have burnt myself a fair bit.  But I love trying new recipes and creating something.  I’m happy in the Kitchen.

But this isn’t the place for a stuffed chicken thigh recipe or debate on the best chocolate brownie.  

For non Judoka who really haven’t got a clue what it’s all about or why I love it so much, here’s a short intro.  (watch the links! They really are worth it!)

To win in Judo you must throw your opponent flat on their back, pin them down for 25 secs, or strangle or arm lock them into submission.

If we’re looking at throws.  This is my favourite player … watch this, you’ll love it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9QV_CUP1ZQ&feature=share

 

Illias Illiadis is  a great example of why this is so true.

 

And on the ground with hold downs, armlocks and strangles.... bring on the submissions...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fa_W6e6qhVY

its a real art form.

And finally if you're still with me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcdrhNIwJX0

So that's it folks,  it might not be judo,  but whatever it is you're passionate about... go do it!

Next post will be from Malaga!  Bring it!

 

 

 

It's all about PMA

TBH…….I’ve not forgotten the blog, I really haven’t. I’ve just been waiting and waiting for a really good moment, a good day, to have something really positive and inspiring to write for the next post. That moment just didn’t seem to come. And now I fight in two short days’ time. Don’t get me wrong, training’s been going well. I’m feeling fitter, faster and sharper. But prep for this comp has admittedly been an uphill battle. For whatever reason (and trust me I have many theories on this) I’ve found it easily twice as difficult to lose the weight (to get into my weight category -63kg) this time than any other comp. As such I’ve become overly obsessive about all things food and exercise and the dreaded black scales in the middle of my bathroom floor have unhealthily seemingly taken over my life, their figures determining my emotional mood for the day.

Post training pic with Mabbsy and Gallagher

 

Then last week disaster struck. In the middle of a training session I injured my MCL (the ligament on the inside of the knee) turning in for a throw awkwardly against a heavier opponent. I was devastated. I’ve had this injury before on both legs and know what sort of realistic recovery time it can take. And trust me it’s longer than the week I had. On the way home that evening there might have been a bit of a mini melt down in the car. I was 7 days away from everything I’d been training towards and my knee was in shreds and I still had a ton of weight to shift. (ok not a ton 3.5kg to be precise). I’m not gonna lie, giving up and eating a large cake and drinking a bottle of wine seemed a very real consideration at that moment in time.

 

Realistically I had two choices. There was the wine and cake route…..Tempting! Or I could do everything in my power to help the knee recover and get stronger: Ice, rest, mobilise, stabilize strengthen. Buckle down and keep working on the weight. And above all and sometimes the hardest one, stay positive and keep believing. I only had to take one moment to think about the people I’d be letting down,  to see there really was only one choice.

 

Two days later something small happened that made me smile and made the staying positive that much easier. I was lying on the physio bed talking to the physio about the injury and my judo, when my 5 year old boy Archie piped up all excited with pride in his face and all in one breath told her ‘my mummy’s good at judo she wins lots of medals she gives them to me sometimes I got a brown one last time, I do judo I’m going to win medals’ I was shocked, happy shocked. I’d not heard him say something like that before.

 

So, for Archie and for the rest of you Blog readers out there ….and for myself. … I will go out to Malaga on Wednesday. I will make my weight, no excuses. I will strap the hell out of my knee and I will fight hard to beat whoever they happen to put in front of me.

 

(And then I will come home and eat cake and drink wine)

 

Muhammed Ali and Preparation

 

Judo is an unforgiving sport.  In tennis if you lose a point, no biggie, you still get untold chances to win the game, set or match.  Fall over in a race?  No problem, get up and run faster!  (Don’t believe me? Watch this clip of Heather Dornidan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsOBaV_93yQ ) But in Judo one momentary lapse in concentration and you’re flat on your back with no chance of a comeback at that elusive Gold or even Silver medal, after sometimes years of training for that moment.  Many of our London Olympian GB Judo Athletes know the painful truth of that. 

Please do not think I am trying to compare myself to an international level full time athlete, far from it. But with just 21 days to go until the World Veterans Championships, my mind is sharply focused on being as prepared as I can be, otherwise I’m just setting myself up for a big fail.

The basics should be simple enough. Sleep Right, Eat Right, Train Right.  Actually not so simple.  After work I miss my little ones (Sophie is 8 and Archie is 4) and want to make sure they have my time.  The new term is starting, Archie’s birthday is next week and if you do make an unannounced visit to my house please don’t expect to be able to see the floor and feel free to wash up your own tea cup before getting a drink.  Lost school shoes, babysitters, games of hide and seek, early morning networking and late night training make getting ‘sleep, eat, train’ right, a piece of precision logistics, that I don’t always get right. But like Dory says…

 

 

‘Even superheroes had to start somewhere’ is the mantra for Absolutely Fitness.  (Watch out for a random picture of me in Malaga in a superheroes outfit!)  Far short of reaching superhero status, I have at least come some way from where I was, largely due to building a team and support network around me.  Many players have an individual coach and train primarily at one club.  The coach, players and players families form one self -supporting team.  My team is a little more unorthodox, but I simply couldn’t survive without them.  At the centre are my two training partners and my mum (Ta Mum!) Then there are key coaches at a couple of clubs that are invaluable. After this and definitely no less important are a core group of friends and family whose support comes in many forms.  None of these people need naming. They know who they are. 



Abu Dhabi/National Teams/Inspirational Tom Reed

The last part must come from me.  My focus and my work ethic have to be right up there or I’m simply letting myself, my team and my sponsors down.  And more than that, I want to be that example to Sophie and Archie so that they can work hard to get what they want.

I’ve just re-read through this post and realised that it might come off as moaning.  Truth is, although in the future I have plans and ambitions in and outside of judo;  I have a beautiful family, amazing friends,  I know who I am and what I want.  Right now I’m the happiest I’ve been in a long time.

 (Or I will be when I get my hands on that medal)

 

 

 

Malaga 2014 Begins

Fresh off the Podium Abu Dhabi 2013

This picture of me was taken last year at the World Veteran’s Judo Championship in Abu Dhabi moments after I picked up my Gold medal, National Antham blaring and Union Jack flying. It’s certainly up there for proud moments in my life. I’d just turned 30, so old enough to qualify.  I’d spent a year training hard for it , competing in senior national ranking events and also dropped a lot of weight to get to my true fighting weight -63kg.

I was a half decent judo player as a junior, winning a few national medals but never really quite breaking into the senior British squad or having an impact internationally.  Eventually I stopped judo for 5 years (and had a couple of kids in the meantime) and when I stepped back on the mat 3 years ago I was fat, unfit, unconfident and hadn’t competed for 8 years! The journey from then to when this picture was taken was a long, hard and massively rewarding one supported by friends, family, work colleagues and coaches.

Fast forward to this morning when I open my emails to discover that between the British Judo Trust and the company I work for, Absolutely Leisure, I now have the minimum funding required to get me to this year’s World Veteran’s Judo Championships in Malaga to defend my title. I was ecstatic. 

And now there lies a new journey ahead very different from the previous and with different challenges.  First and most obviously the event is in just 6 and a half short weeks’ time!   I now have kept up good level of sparring practice and also a  decent base level of fitness at our Absolutely Fitness gyms  to start from but I’m going to massively have to step it up a gear.  Then there is the minor issue of about 5kg to lose.  It is also a very different kettle of fish this year.  Spain is a massive judo nation and so is its neighbour France.  There will definitely be more and harder fights to get to the podium. I need to be on my game.

But before all this comes the  practical bits.  As well as entry and accommodation, I have to book my flights, as best value as I can to make my funding stretch. Absolutely Leisure and The British Judo Trust have made this possible, and now I have to do my bit.

I know some people hate corny motivational quotes but I love them, and this is one of my favourites ‘If not you then who? If not now, then when?’

Time for me to get hard or go home J