“Sometimes I feel too many tactics are at play. In this period, prior to Paris, it is really time to try to throw, to bring your full power. There is no Olympic qualification yet and so it is an important time for the development of big techniques, to fight with freedom. When you always think about shido, your mind cannot find the creative or instinctive ways to throw and to be a big champion in the future will be very difficult from this point. Go for the throw, now!
I appreciate the spirit of the Mongolian team and the Uzbek men, especially Nomonov at -73kg. He has a great posture and an attacking style. He learns to find opportunities when the others present tricky tactics. He’s using this for his own progression and I think it will pay off for him in the future.
Rodriguez (VEN) at -63kg had some good attacks and was looking for the throws. She lost the quarter final against the Japanese fighter but she is on the right path and I’m looking forward to watching her in future events.
I saw a few athletes who had the potential to attack with some powerful tachi-waza but seemed a little frozen and unable to move both feet enough to really have an impact. These are technical points that the coaches must notice and fix. Small changes can produce big results.
I felt really excited to see Esposito (ITA) compete today. He is dynamic and has natural ability. At the beginning he did not bringing his best though. When he was chasing from behind on the scoreboard, he really opened up and was so much better but it was too late by then. He must do that from the beginning and not wait until he is in trouble.
The -81kg category had some real quality today with Casse (BEL), Muki (ISR) Albayrak and many more. It has been a pleasure to watch them.”
After an explosive day Tel Aviv is quietening down, ready to begin again tomorrow at 11:30am local time. One more day, one more analysis and we really can’t wait!