Judo, Haruka Funakubo, missed Tokyo Olympics participation and restart to Paris | Tarzan Web

It was so bad that I didn’t feel frustrated

Haruka Funakubo won the All Japan Judo Weight Championship Women’s 57kg class on April 2, 2022, and won the championship in a row.

The tournament also doubles as a selection for the Olympic and World Championships that year, which she has also decided to participate in this year’s World Championships.

He also won the Grand Slam Paris in October 2021 and February 2022 for the second time in a row. This tournament is always attracting attention as it is held in France, which has a good reputation in judo, where powerful players from all over the world gather.

I imagined that I could have had one confidence as a judoka from all the events, but she seems not to be completely satisfied.

「I came one by one without thinking too much about the future. I thought that if I could win firmly, I would be able to become a representative, so I’m glad I was able to do that.However, it was still not good for judo, and I wanted to go throw more by weight, but I couldn’t decide.I now think that I have to grow from now on」

Originally, he was a remarkable player. He has won the Inter-High for the second time in a row in high school and the first time in history for the World Junior Championships for the third time in a row.

When I was in the third year of high school,I want to be a player who wins a gold medal at the Tokyo OlympicsI was also expecting the people around me. But it didn’t reach at all. Looking back on those days.

「It didn’t work at all. It doesn’t feel frustrating. I couldn’t do anything and I didn’t have the ability. That’s why I watched the Tokyo Olympics on TV simply, wondering how I would fight (laughs).」

Why did Funakubo, who was a big success in high school, not even scratch the Olympics? There is, of course, a strong reason.

I’m tired and tired.But it was fun when I was in middle school and high school

Seeing what my friends are doing, I started judo at the age of six. She joins the Sports Boy Scouts and practices three times a week. When she was in the second grade of elementary school, she won the prefectural tournament in Yamanashi, her hometown. However, she couldn’t become a national district all the time. Even though she participated in the national competition as a representative of the prefecture, she couldn’t make it to the top.

「I didn’t want to lose. I think it’s very frustrating.I didn’t win much at the national tournament, so I decided to continue in junior high school.」

Therefore, I enroll in Fuji Gakuen Junior High School.

Just this year, Yuta Yazaki, who also participated in the world championships, was appointed as the coach, and his wife, Senko, who is also a former world championship representative, was appointed as the coach. This school, which is a consistent middle school and high school, was established for the second year when Funakubo entered. He set out to strengthen judo and invited high-level leaders. Director Yazaki also put a lot of effort into it.

「The only junior high school students were me and another boy. The rest is mainly high school boys.Since the axis was practice for high school students, I was in elementary school from morning training to afternoon training, and I was doing the same menu together, and it felt like something was wrong.」

Running three times a week in the morning. However, it is unusual. It makes five round trips on the 398 steps. In the afternoon, after school, practice orthodox judo such as kumite and randori. So, if you think that this is the end, then the ground fighting reinforcement will be added.

It is an offense and defense of sleeping on tatami mats. You can put your weight on it and endure the pain. Run away from it. You can master the joints. I can’t breathe. I did that every day for 3 hours and 4 hours.

Well, it gets stronger. And, from this practice, a return technique that became known as “Funakubo return” is born.

「However, I was tired and tired every day. That said, I didn’t like the practice. I do my best every day, and when I get home I can’t do anything and sleep, and when I wake up I go to practice.It was fun and fulfilling」

There is one episode. He injured his knee when he was in the second year of junior high school. He cannot practice judo. It was a pull-up that was ordered there. His goal is 1000 times a day.

I was able to reach my goal in 3 hours. Back muscles are important in judo. This is because the action of taking the opponent’s collar and pulling it greatly affects the outcome. Of course, once the pull-ups are over, the ground fighting will be reinforced. This does not affect the injury.

And her pattern, which Funakubo calls “power judo”, is completed. The opponent throws or goes to throw by himself. And if you get out of shape and bring it to a ground fight, it’s one. I was absolutely confident in my ground fighting. Funakubo lightly made her victory a thing.

I’m really toothless.It was made bumpy

After graduating from high school, Funakubo joins Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., Ltd., a powerful member of society. And there he is shocked. He doesn’t work at all with his judo.

「In the first and second years, I was really sick. Whether it’s standing or grounding, it’s been messed up. The level was different.I couldn’t do anything and I didn’t know what to do」

Funakubo didn’t know the basics of judo, “breaking”. When throwing, even if you go to throw honestly, the top players can easily handle it. So, first, break it. Then, aim at the collapsed gap and perform a technique.

Funakubo up to high school didn’t have to be destroyed. He won by force.

「Until high school, I just worked hard, and I didn’t know anything about how it would be thrown and how it would be decided.It feels like I came to Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance and had the director and seniors teach me that kind of part, and gradually understood it.」

However, reviewing one’s judo also poses a great conflict. He is an all-Japan junior who won the championship for the second time in a row in high school, and has lost twice since he became a member of society, and this is probably the reason why he missed the Tokyo Olympics.

「It was hard, and I wasn’t sure if I could do it, so it didn’t go well.I thought it had to change, but it didn’t take shape for a long time, right?」

Now, Funakubo basically works for the company in the morning, spends one hour of training in the afternoon, and spends about three hours practicing judo every day.

「Weights personally do regular events such as squats, deadlifts and bentover rows. Because physical is important.

However, it is also important how to utilize the power cultivated in training in judo.Recently, since I started thinking about it, I’ve been able to use my body well, I’ve had fewer small injuries, and I feel a little strange.」

Two years later, the Paris Olympics are imminent. Funakubo is a strong candidate for the representative, but he says, “I feel like I’m always standing on the edge of a cliff.” How is he thinking of paving the way in the future?

「I would like to participate in Paris and win the championship both individually and as a group. In order to become such a player, it is important to win this year’s world championship first. For that purpose, there are still many skills, physical strengths, and spiritual parts that must be acquired.

There are many good players in Japan, so I always feel the tension that I can’t stop. However, I can spend a very fulfilling life while feeling the tension.I’ve been doing judo so far, and I think I’m really happy.」

Interview / text / Ichiro Suzuki Photo / Makoto Fujio

First appearance “Tarzan” No.835 ・ Released on June 9, 2022