The technical level of the young judoka has been very different to what we’re accustomed to. On one side we have athletes with skills and it’s the first time they have faced this level of competition, while on the other hand we have names who are already competing on IJF World Judo Tour.
What has impressed me is the dedication to attack, the high rates of attacks and also techniques which we are not seeing every time such as ashi-guruma. We have seen of course a lot of transitions from tachi-waza to ne-waza and we have seen also a lot of osaekomi-waza, shime-waza and kansetsu-waza.
What makes the difference between here and seniors is the direct taking of kumi-kata grips at the junior level. Juniors are more dedicated; they go and take the grips.
In terms of the accuracy of the techniques, some of these athletes are still in the learning process and therefore immediately when they’re tired, some unable to preform the techniques and elements of the throw are missing such as kuzushi.
A few of the athletes here will be involved in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics but for most the goal will be the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Daniel Florin Lascau won the World Championships for Germany in 1991. In addition to being an IJF Sport Director, Lascau is a key member of the IJF Academy and also serves as a Referee Supervisor for the IJF.