Ben Musaeus is German ID Judo Champion​

The NRW-ID judo squad traveled there on Friday, May 12, with 22 athletes. Ben Musaeus, who only won the national individual championship title at the end of April, was there. Fighters from Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Hamburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Belgium and Holland started in Neubrandenburg.

With fights against a judoka from Hesse and a judoka from Bavaria, who usually starts in a higher competition class WK1 and against whom Ben Musaeus lost the last two fights, the chances of reaching the semifinals were not particularly promising. In the first fight against the judoka from Hesse, Ben Musaeus had to call on all his fighting experience in order not to have to check off the tournament immediately. The second fight against the opponent from Bavaria, who won the last two meetings, was even tighter. The fight went on for the full fight time, since neither athlete was able to win a decision by scoring, so the referee had to decide the fight. Due to the higher level of activity and the more intense fighting style, Ben Musaeus won this important fight and advanced to the final in the afternoon.

In the final battle, squad colleague Valentin Freitag from TGSV Leverkusen was waiting for the “jubo bear”. After a fight that was balanced over long stretches, Ben Musaeus managed to throw his opponent decisively onto the mat shortly before the end of the fight time with one of his favorite techniques, a shoulder throw (Seoi nage).

Ben and his father Jörg Musaeus, who accompanied the squad as supervisor and driver of a team bus, are now targeting the next big ID-Judo event, the “Global Games” in Vichy, France – the ID-Judo World Championships.