I nearly cried on the mat

The other day when I was at training I saw a young boy crying because he got thrown for a huge Hiza Guruma and it looked like it hurt. He got slammed -poor fella. Have you ever cried when you were on the Judo mat?? Maybe you had an excuse such as you broke a finger or a rib. Maybe you were young and you lost a fight or maybe it was because someone was so much better than you that they completely smashed you into the mat over and over again. When I was 18 I was selected to represent Australia at the Junior world Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Our coach at the time was from the Czech Republic so he organised for us to participate in a training camp in Prague. I was so excited. I couldn't wait. At the age of 18 I had placed second at our senior national championships and had won a few senior tournaments. I was ready to take on the world. I was invincible.  This was until my first randori in Prague where I was completely shut down by my opponents overpowering strength. He completely dominated me. I couldn't believe it. I put it down to the fact that he was a -66kg fighter and I was only a 60kg fighter. But the next guy bashed me...  and so did the next guy. They were just so strong and fast! It was a big eye opener that I really needed to get stronger. I was so frustrated that I nearly cried. I ended up competing in the junior world titles beating a fighter from the Dominican Republic before losing to a Korean in the second round. Although I came home disappointed I also learned a lot about the strength of European Judo and of Judo on an international scale. I then came home and had a good hard look at my current strength program. I talked to some of the best coaches in the country, researched on my own, and then implemented and adapted various strength programs to cater for what Judoka really needed when on the mat. Finally after 11 years I am now happy to report that I very rarely get physically dominated by someone in my own weight division. Next Wednesday I will be releasing my new eBook Strength Training for Judo.  It contains all of my 11 years of international Judo competition experience as well nearly 10 years of experience working in the strength and fitness industry.     I am so excited to be releasing it because it contains 2 of my greatest passions into 1 book. I love Judo and I love teaching people about strength training specifically for their own personal goals. I have helped literally hundreds of people achieve their goals through correct and effective strength training and due to the fact that we are Judo players we should be following a Judo specific gym program.   So keep an eye out on your email and I will let you know when it is released, have a great weekend.   Talk soon, Matt