Miles’ 2nd judo tournament

Today, the Albany Judo Club hosted its 45th annual tournament, held at the Albany High gym. In spite of Miles having been in Japan all week and not practicing, he did really well for his second time on the mats. He did not place this time, but we could tell he learned a lot and tried some new, good moves.

More importantly, he made friends with the kids he competed against. I wanted to emphasize to him that just like he competes against his friends in judo class, he will meet the same kids in his age/skill range at these tournaments, and so he will become friends with these very same boys that he will be competing against. Instead of getting too nervous or serious about it all, he can have fun and remember that he’s competing against friends.

In his first match today, he did a perfect throw. I got so excited I whooped, and got scolded by my mother who felt sorry for the other boy. But, I made sure to congratulate all of the kids and encouraged Miles to talk with each of them, to get to know them, whether he won or lost. It was neat to see 6 and 7 year olds shaking hands, patting each other’s backs and talking with each other animatedly about judo before and after they competed against each other. While all of the clubs in the bay area are pretty good, there are some that emphasize the competition more than others. I’m really glad that Albany Judo Club emphasizes fun and friendship and learning skills over winning or even competing. It’s sometimes funny to see everyone warming up in the beginning. You’ll see a lot of the kids in other clubs sparring, running laps, their dads giving them some serious tips. Then, when you look over to our group, you’ll see the kids tumbling and wrestling Flora, their 16 year old sensei (who is a national champion). It doesn’t keep the kids in our club from winning though. Quite a few of the older ones are national champions, and the 1st and 2nd generation founders of the club were in the Olympics.

Matteo, who did not compete, was part of the opening ceremony/show. He was so cute rolling around and showing their judo skills. Then later in the day, he helped pass out the medals to all of the winners. He felt very shy giving them to the girls and later said, “I hope I don’t have to give these to any more girls…”

Teo handing out medals

Also, on another note, Miles and Christopher returned from Japan last Thursday. It has been SO nice to have them back. Both Teo and Niko really started to miss them towards the latter part of the trip. They have been playing with each other non-stop. We are so lucky the boys really enjoy each other. Miles had a great time on his first trip ever with only his Papa. It was a special treat for them both. And even better, he got to meet and spend time with his great grandfather, who turned 100. There was a huge celebration in the city because he was mayor for 20 years; and then they got to celebrate a special festival that happens only every 3 years. Miles got to help pull a float, see re-enactments of Samurais walking to Edo, and even played his fiddle for his great grandfather’s birthday.

Even though Teo really missed Miles, he was glad Miles went to Japan because upon his return, Miles gave him a “Hapi” coat which Teo now uses as part of his Samurai costume.

Teo the Samurai