Judo tourney wraps up

Judo tourney wraps up
Published Monday, July 17, 2006
By Mario SarmentoStaff Writer

Judo matches are not decided by mere brute strength. Judo is a sport of leverage, where size and physicality can actually be a detriment on the mat. A combination of fast reflexes, exquisite timing and balance usually decides such matches in a sport that Boca Raton Tomodachi Judo Club sensei Randy Smith called a "mental chess match."
This weekend, many of the best young judokas in the country tested these skills at Florida Atlantic University in the 37th Annual Junior National Judo Championships and the 13th Annual USJA Junior National Kata Championships, the biggest junior event in the country.
Several Tomodachi Judo Club members competed in the two-day event, with two members winning gold medals on Saturday. Full results were not available at press time.Sunday, the lone competitor was 15-yar-old Boca Raton High student Karyna Martinez.
Martinez, who got into the sport just three years ago because of a friend, is one of the stronger competitors in Tomodachi.
On this day, she started slowly with an early loss in pool play, but rallied in her second match to win and even her record. By the time Martinez met Victoria Lewes in her third match, the fatigue accumulated from two earlier matches and the emotion of competing in the event were simply too much to overcome.
Martinez was counted out for not attacking. She had simply run out of gas.
"It was very good, but I guess I didn't have enough power," she said. "I should have done better."
Martinez admitted that she was "very nervous" going into the day's matches, but she said she was going to apply what she had learned from this loss to improve in future tournaments.
Her mother Libuse was just happy her daughter was able to compete.
"I think she did very well and I'm very proud of her," she said. "Win or lose, it's about her just getting what she can done."
Tournament director and Tomodachi Judo Club President Mike Szrejter said the event had lived up to his hopes.
"It was a compete success," he said. "We were finished by 3 o'clock (Saturday) and everybody just enjoyed the rest of the day."
There is no time for rest for Szrejter though, as his judo club will be hosting a three-day international camp starting Monday at Odyssey Middle School in Boynton Beach.
"We have world class teachers from all over coming to tech," he said. "They'll be teaching any aspect of judo."
Special guest and three-time Olympian Jimmy Pedro will be on hand Tuesday afternoon to instruct the kids as well.
Szrejter is also aiming high for his next bid, hoping to land the World Masters Junior Championship, a five-day event that brings the best youth judokas from all over the world.
Success would bring more notice to Boca Raton as a site for judo to flourish, and it would provide athletes like Martinez a chance to see what the world's best had to offer.

Fonte: Boca Raton News - FL, USA - http://www.bocaratonnews.com/