[The power of Kotoba]”Can you decide and fight for your own life?” Judo Kosei Inoue –Miyanichi e-press

“Can you be prepared and fight for your own life?”

Director Kosei Inoue, who is from Miyazaki City and is the All Japan Men’s Judo Championship, participated in the Judo Tournament for elementary school students held in Miyazaki City on the 24th. We asked him about his enthusiasm for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, which will start this summer.

-We are celebrating the first Olympic year since taking office as coach. It is expected that he will be reinstated from the previous tournament, which ended without a gold medal, but what is the evaluation so far?

Inoue: At last year’s World Championships and Grand Slam Tokyo, I think we are doing well, with results even in the heavy weight class, which was an issue. From here, I want to match the peak to the Olympics.

-What have you been particularly focused on as a director?

I wanted to proceed with things after understanding each other’s ideas with Inoue, and I have cherished dialogue. Regarding the physical strength part, in the judo world so far, the emphasis was mainly on running, but in order to bring out the performance of the athlete considering the balance of the whole body, the cooperation of various (expert) people I received.

-What do you think is important for athletes to win the Olympics?

Inoue This is a big event once every four years, and it is completely different from other tournaments in terms of game environment, atmosphere, and public attention. I think it is very important to be prepared in the true sense of the word and to be able to fight for your own life.

-Again, enthusiasm for the citizens of the prefecture.

Inoue Japan’s judo is always attracting attention and being targeted by the world. I would like to create a team that can do more than that even if the other person researches it, and people (from the surroundings) can say that it is a group that should win. All the players are working hard to aim for the gold medal, and as the head of the team, I believe that and will work hard every day.

(From the paper dated January 29, 2016 at KIRISHIMA Tsuwabuki Budokan in Miyazaki City)