“In the IJF Gender Equality Commission, following our vision of gender equality, we are trying to attract women to judo but also to retain them in different positions, so that with different aspects we can develop judo all over the world and make it equally suitable for men and women.
Within the various jobs in judo, coaches have a special place as they influence the new generations the most but, as a position, it is the most difficult for women as it involves not only working at home but also many trips to competitions and team preparations. Within our small 'community' of women coaches there are many specific and usually inspiring life stories.
Visiting the Kodokan as an historic place for judo, where every judoka would like to come, train and learn, one woman stands out as a judo instructor among a majority of men: Akyama Hinako. She is a young woman, now on maternity leave with a one year old child. Coming from a family with no traditions in judo, she started to train when she was seven. She continued practising judo during junior high school and then she studied the sport at Hiroshima University. My main question to her was to explain to us what motivates her through her judo career.
After spending 3 years in Jordan, the Kodokan wanted her as an instructor and she found her life mission, “to make people happy through judo,“ and that is still her life dream. Akyama values the influence that judo has in her life and she would like every judo practitioner to be able to acquire life experience through judo.
In the visible 'judo world,' orientation towards competitive judo is obvious but Akyama Hinako is making us think about all the values of judo and the difference we can make in life through practising judo, regardless of our age, competitive level or gender. That makes her not only an instructor but a real judo teacher.”