One of the big names of this era is Tato Grigalashvili, a metaphorical giant in the -81 kg category, a rare athlete, evidenced by his record. Not many judoka in the history of the sport have managed to appear in 5 consecutive senior world finals; Tato has!
Last weekend he was the guest coach for a Judo Scotland coach education weekend, an annual event which has seen great champions such as Shohei Ono, Masashi Ebinuma and Loretta Cusack-Doyle take the reins. Tato’s contribution was exceptionally well received with many judoka noting his commitment to the details and to making sure everyone has the opportunity to improve their technique. He was ably assisted at the event by British-born Georgian and recently crowned European -21 champion Irakli Goginashvili, a perfect translator.
Following his stint in Largs, Scotland, Tato travelled back to London with Goginashvili’s club, Palavani, based in the east of the capital. While with his Georgian friends in the UK Tato was happy to speak about the Georgian spirit and what underpins it.
“It’s really difficult to explain to someone what it means to be Georgian without them actually feeling it. It’s something perhaps only Georgian people have with each other. We are a very small country with a big history, but the people are warriors. Whoever from outside reads our history, they’re shocked, actually even we are once we understand it all. Through family, history and community, it is part of our spirit. It is in us, it’s in our upbringing.
In the end, it doesn’t matter which flag you wear, it’s what is in your heart that counts. I respect a lot of people who fight under different flags because underneath their judogi is a Georgian heart; Georgian blood screams no matter where you are born."
"The main reason to come to the UK was for the masterclass in Scotland but finding a little Georgia in London, this has now became very important to me. I didn’t know really what would be here at Palavani Judo Club and now I know, I really would like to stay longer. If you come and visit the club, it doesn’t look like the best dojo in the world but I know the real value of this type of place. I grew up in a place like this and became a champion from this kind of beginning. London should be proud of this club.”
Tato led a technical session and then joined in with the randori part of Palavani’s Wednesday night class, enjoying judo with young British Georgians and non-Georgians alike. Again, Irakli Goginashvili stepped up to translate, patted on the back by Tato; incredible support for the young Brit.
Irakli was keen to speak about what it means to him to have the support of the Georgian elite team. His dad and coach has long-standing judo friendships in Georgia and this has provided Irakli with an outstanding catalogue of judo experiences during his childhood and even now.
“Before I went to Georgia for my final preparation training ahead of the Europeans, I had both lost and won in competition but no matter the result, I was always fighting by myself, alone on the mat. After a long summer camp in the Georgian mountains where I had the opportunity to enjoy great talks with Lasha Bekauri, I felt a bit different"
"The way Lasha spoke about himself stepping on to the mat, that it wasn’t just him but his whole history, that talk helped me a lot. I knew then that I wasn’t alone either. I have my heritage behind me as well as my British support. Altogether that is a lot! It helped me much more than I imagined on fight day in Slovakia.”
Goginashvili is now preparing to compete in Lima at the 2025 World Junior Championships, with wise words from Tato, Lasha and his dad all contributing to his progress.
Between Irakli and Tato, a clear picture has been painted of what it means to carry the Georgian spirit into a sport like judo. It’s powerful and inspirational and no doubt both men will be enjoying sporting celebrations again soon.