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Kosei Inoue, one of the
most accomplished Japanese fighters in history, will spend the
next ten months until January 2010 at The Budokwai in London,
a club renowned for producing many of Britain’s Olympic medallists.
Inoue will be coaching
at several sessions at the club each week and will also be able
to see the city’s preparations for the 2012 Olympics by visiting
the head-quarters of the London Organising Committee and also
viewing the Olympic Park to the east of the capital, where preparations
are ahead of schedule for hosting the Games. For the last six
months, Inoue, the 2000 Olympic under 100 kilos champion and triple
world champion, has been in Edinburgh in Scotland, one of the
main centres of judo in Britain. Here he spent long periods with
George Kerr, the Japan-trained president of the British Judo Association
and former coach to the Austrian team.
The Budokwai , the oldest
judo club in Europe in continuous existence – it was founded in
1918 – is based in Kensington in west London in one of the most
expensive streets in the city. The club’s premises are estimated
to be worth at least 4 million euros and among the fighters, who
have been produced by the club are Neil Adams, double Olympic
silver-medallist and 1981 world champion, and Ray Stevens, the
1992 Olympic under 95 kilos silver medallist. It was also the
home of Charles Palmer, the former President of the International
Judo Federation.
Brian Davies, the chairman
of the club, said:”It is a great honour to have Kosei Inoue with
us. I am sure our members will benefit from his instruction and
inspiration.” Among other leading Japanese to have taught at the
club have been: Yasuhiro Yamashita, the 1984 Olympic Open weight
gold medallist; Kazuhiro Kashiwazaki, the 1981 world featerweight
champion; and Hidetoshi Nakanishi, the 1983 world lightweight
champion.
The main sessions in the
dojo at the Budokwai are already overcrowded and the arrival of
Inoue will make space on the mat even tighter. Anyone wishing
to train at the club must make arrangements before arriving, either
by phoning 00-44-207-370-1000 or e-mailing: harrietenglish @yahoo.com
Inoue first attracted international
attention, when at the age of 18, he won the Vienna World Cup,
displaying his famous uchi-mata and o-uchi-gari. The following
year, he took his first major title, winning the Asian Games gold
medal. Then he moved into his golden period, taking the world
title in 1999, which he retained in 2001 and 2003, three All-Japan
championships 2001,2002 and 2003 and above all the Olympic title
in Sydney, when his five victories lasted a total of 7 minutes
43 seconds. On the podium, he held aloft a framed photograph of
his mother, who had died of a brain haemorrhage in June 1999.
His defeat in the 2004 Olympics in Athens was the biggest shock
of the judo tournament. In 2006, he moved up to the heavyweight
class (over 100 kilos) and finished first in the Tournoi de Paris
but, in 2008, when he lost in the All Japan Championships, he
retired from the sport.
Inoue is being accompanied
in London by his wife, Aki Higashihara, a celebrated actress and
screen personality, and their baby daughter, Mei.
by John Goodbody
©
David Finch
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