Out of the 26 countries present, the French kata team stands out. They are all in national team wear, representing France Judo and they came in great numbers. The team members know each other well, they have a national coach and there is an expectation of medals.
Last year’s -23 champions in both nage-no-kata & katame-no-kata are a French pair whom have being practising together for the last 8 years. Victoria Kaska and Dylan Meddour are 22 and 21 years old, respectively, and the world championships is there target event for the year, of course.
“We both compete in shiai too and I was in the French second division,” said Victoria.
Dylan offered some background, “We had only ever studied kata in order to fulfil the requirements to pass our grades but in 2014 our club coach suggested we enter a little regional kata competition in France, just to see how we might do. He thought we had practised well and it turns out he was right.”
Victoria continued, “Yes, our coach trained us in kata just for the belts but he saw there were local competitions and then we competed in 2015 in a bigger competition in Belgium at the Belgian Open Kata Championships.”
What was the draw though, the drive to continue? We might suggest that it is the same every time.
“No, we loved the atmosphere and the search for excellence. We found a new way to enjoy judo.
France decided to send us to Krakow as part of a national kata team. We have really good team members, ready to perform at a high level. We have a national coach for kata, André Parent. He gives us advice here, some guidance and small tips. Any bigger issues will be discussed when we get home as it wouldn’t be realistic to change something major on the spot but the tiny details really help.”
Dylan added, “The French team is well prepared. We went to a special preparation camp for 3 days, one month before the championships, assembling the whole team in the Champagne region of France.“
Maybe this is a metaphor for the pair’s success. Champagne might just be on the menu once the pair have finished competing. They have ideas about that too, though. Victoria is clear, “Every competition is new and we come here from scratch. We don’t want to think about previous results, they can bring pressure. We won the last championship but even kata evolves and there are many details that are evolving in our training. We have a beautiful symbiosis in our team and we know everyone but we also know the level in Krakow is very high, especially from the from Polish, Swiss and Germany -23 teams. We do our best not to think about them, focussing only on what we are doing.”
There is no doubt that kata can be enjoyed in its own right but there are links too, to shiai, to understanding the fundamental principles of judo, “It is the grammar of judo,” stated Victoria.
We work on both the right and left, using different techniques in all directions. Kata allows us to have a good feeling in shiai and makes us more complete as judoka. It gives us tools for developing focus and other mental skills, for judo but also for life.”
“There is even more to enjoy than the judo itself,” said Dylan. “The public is very respectful of everyone competing and this is a lovely aspect of kata. There is an appreciation of effort, no malice to be found anywhere. It’s a special environment to be involved in.”
From environment, to skill development and the overall search for excellence, Victoria and Dylan are in it for the long haul, for all these reasons and many more.
And, by the way, they can raise that glass of Champagne after all. Shortly after the interview, Victoria and Dylan won gold again for their nage-no-kata in the -23 age category. They are now world champions two years in a row!