Mr. Nagata (right) practicing hard at high school
Kyohei Nagata, who graduated from Zama Municipal Minami Junior High School in March this year, recently received the All Japan Judo Federation’s 2022 Judo MIND Award. In the activities of the school’s judo club, where Mr. Nagata belonged for three years, his attitude of working on both the literary and military arts was evaluated as a model for others.
Judo MIND is a project of Kodokan Judo Federation that aims to promote the development of human resources through judo, which was aimed at by Jigoro Kano Shihan, the founder of Kodokan Judo. Elementary and junior high school students from each prefecture were solicited from the standpoint of propriety, independence, integrity, and dignity, and 31 athletes were awarded this year.
Mr. Nagata started judo at the age of five, attending the Yoshiwara dojo in the city. In judo, she set three goals: “appreciation to the instructor,” “positive thinking,” and “challenging high goals.” . In her school life, she tries to be considerate and considerate of those around her, demonstrating her leadership by serving as a class representative and a member of the student council headquarters. Yasushi Tsuihiji, who was an advisor at the time, said, “Not only was he a good judo player, but he was also a role model for other students in his approach to class.”
Mr. Nagata entered Nihon University Fujisawa High School, a judo powerhouse, in April. Feeling the difference in level, she is indebted to her upperclassmen. Her goal is to participate in the Kanto and national tournaments, and she stares at her feet, saying, “I want to improve my skills without being obsessed with winning.”
