does taraje have any comp?

i only saw 1 match of his via live webcast, but he dominated the other guy in the final. from watching his ny open matches, the webcast and a couple other tournaments, he seems like there is nobody in the u.s. that can really give him a real challenge at 60kg. who else is up there at his level?

Nobody.

Taraje will win the World Championships at 60kg

i haven't seen this guy on the european circuit, but from what i remember, he lost in the worlds in cairo and the 2004 olympic games.

unless someone is on the european circuit and wins consistently, by far the hardest circuit of all, its hard to make case for them to win more than 1 or 2 matches at the worlds, let alone the world championships.

but who knows..there are exceptions...

You don't have to win in Europe, you only have to win on that one day at the Worlds or that one day at the Olympics.

That guy with Rhadi as his coach. I think there's no stopping him.

Carlos

Rhadi is right, and so is judom...

While the vast majority of the world and olympic champions have also won many events on the EJU A and Super-A circuits, there have also been quite a few who were relative unknowns who showed up and "stole" medals.

Brasil is actually quite famous for this. At 73kg they have had 2 world/olympic medals from people that nobody favored. Cuba has done it with numerous women. North Korea has done it. Japan has done it. Korea did it with Lee at 73kg. Argentina and Venezuela actually do it all the time-- almost nobody ever expects it when they suddenly pop-up on the podiums.

Taraje is not an unknown-- he has finished in the top-10 at the Worlds/Olympics already. But, becuase of his EJU results there would be lots of people surprised to see him taking a medal.

All the same, I think Taraje's fighting at 66kg was a very good thing for him simply becuase it helped him learn how to handle physically stronger opponents like those he will face internationally. So long as he can continue to make the weight with "relative ease" then I see him doing very well at the Pan-Am Championships and Games and being a serious dark-horse for anybody he faces at the Worlds.

i know him and rhadi have trained together, is rhadi his full time coach
now?

coaches in EJU have discuss this problem that the qualification from Europe is so hard. Because all these asian and brazilians, etc. come to participate as well, so its hard to get the points to qualify. Qualifying from Europe is the hardest by far and is grueling: europeans, super-A's, world cups all the time.

As far as Taraje, I haven't seen enough of him on the european circuit which I follow closely to know how he will do. Even some brazilians frequently come to participate in Europe like Derly and Canto. And they organize these contests where they invite teams to train there like Russia, Japan A and B teams, etc...to Brazil.

anyway..good luck to him...i say that to all judokas competing at this level regardless of nationality. to compete at this level...takes huge sacrifice and talent.

Brasil is doing a lot more with bringing in international teams than they did before and there are some very good reasons for this-- 1, they are hosting the Pan-Ams and the worlds and want to make sure that they do a lot of "build up" publicity for these events and 2) Rio is putting in a bid to host the Olympic games so they need to do everything they can to win over the world's top individual sport and the IOC votes they carry.

I am Taraje's FULL Time coach, but NOT his only full-time Judo Coach. Taraje has more than one coach as most Professional athletes. His Judo Coach is Coach Arkady. Taraje's judo style is outside of the scope of my capabilities. I can't coach what I don't know and I don't know his style. As a matter of fact, Joshua Resnick is probably more familiar with it than I. I'm not aloof. I know whats going on, but I can't coach that style at this particular time. I'm learning Taraje and he's learning me. Mine was similar but more simple. I do Taraje's S&C, newaza, gripping, scouting, nutrition, and other kinds of prep.

I have a GREAT working relationship with Taraje's coach. I DO NOT overstep my boundaries and that's why the relationship works well. You gotta know what you know and you gotta know what you don't. His coach and I both recognize our strengths and our shortcomings.

If more coaches had Coach Arkady's approach USA Judo would be a better organization.  There's not one coach that can do EVERYTHING, it takes a collaborative team/effort.

My coaching model is inclusive not exclusive. Taraje has been up to see Jimmy Pedro and he trained there the week before coming down to see me in Boca Raton. I believe there is much to be learned from everyone.  I'm not the "Michael Jordan" of Judo  :-)    I'm the Magic Johnson of Judo. I'm just trying to "assist" as much as I can so everybody can take their shot. 

 

wow......the guy is in good hands. sounds like an ideal situation

rhadi, great comments. and, yea, i like the way taraje plays the game.. it would be interesting to see if any of the pick-ups or takedowns i used would fit him, but surely what he is already doing is working very well. =)

LOL at rio and the olympics. Never will happen. They are going to cut it to the wire just to host the pan ams.... they are behind one year on the constrution.

yes, they are behind on the pan-am's, but that still puts them well ahead of construction for the Olympics, which is not until 2016. if they can meet even 1/2 the construction goals for the Pan-Ams then they will be in good shape for 2016.