World Champs Rundown

Me vs Milous in the -60kg Division

Over the years I have had some pretty good draws at the World Championships but this year it was not to be. I drew the 2010 European champion and hometown hero Sofine Milous from France. I have never fought him before but the French are known for not only having nice Judo, but also being strong with their grips. Milous is a tall fighter that is extreme left and is very tight with his posture.

Throughout the fight he really dominated the grips as well as the footwork and it was so hard to not only attain the inside lapel but also to make sure he didn't control my sleeve. He did an awesome job of mixing up the grips with attacking my feet and I really struggled to get into any sort of rhythm against him. I ended up being penalized three times and then being thrown for a Ko-uchi gari for Waza-ari to lose the fight. My opponent ended up winning his next fight but losing in the round of 16.

In the end I am very disappointed in how I fought but I must pick myself up and keep on going. Because I have worked in the strength and conditioning industry I think of a lot of things in how a muscle works. In order for a muscle to grow in strength and size you must push it too it's limit and sometimes to failure. By doing this it will recover and come back stronger. That's the same with me and my Judo. This competition I was pushed out of comfort zone and lost, but I will recover and come back stronger.

The 60 kg division was won by Rishod Sobirov from Uzbekistan. Sobirov ended up winning his 2nd World Championships and has not been beaten in the last 18 months. Sobirov was very lucky to win his first round and semi final fights but then fought amazingly in the final against Hiraoka to win the day. He really is a great Judoka and when you see someone be crowned 'World Champion' it makes me want to be one so bad.