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hello everyone. Early summer has arrived in Japan, and the days are pleasant. However, there have been a number of days with higher temperatures than usual, making us feel the effects of climate change up close.
Now, as many of you may know, on January 1st of this year in Japan, a large-scale earthquake occurred off the coast of the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture, with a maximum seismic intensity of 7 and a magnitude of 7.6. On April 18th, three months after the disaster, I and my friends who are connected through sports visited Suzu City and Anamizu Town, which had been severely damaged, and interacted with the local people through volunteer activities.
At an evacuation center in Suzu City, where I visited as a volunteer, I helped with the soup kitchen and interacted with the residents (@NPO JUDOs)
Those who visited with me were Toshiro Hirose and Takeshi Nozawa, former members of the Japanese national rugby team, and Ayumi Tanimoto, a judo gold medalist at the Athens and Beijing Olympics and vice-captain of the Japanese national team at the Paris Olympics. This visit was made possible with the cooperation of NOTOTO, an organization that supports areas affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, the Association of Corporate Executives, Team Konohen, a volunteer organization, and the Japanese Olympic Committee.
The day I visited was 100 days before the Paris Olympics, and in addition to running a soup kitchen at an evacuation center and moving household goods from collapsed houses, I also had a rugby experience and exchange at Anamizu in Anamizu Town, and a judo session in Hakui City. We held a judo exchange at the museum and had a great time with the children and local residents.
With members of the Self-Defense Forces engaged in disaster recovery activities (JUDOs)
The disaster-stricken area was still in a difficult environment, with no progress being made in cleaning up the collapsed houses, demolishing buildings, or restoring infrastructure. However, despite all of this, I was able to meet people who are looking ahead and taking one step at a time toward recovery.
When we were athletes, we received support and strength from many people. In order to give back, I would like to continue supporting activities while looking for ways in which we in the sports world can do something. Sports have the power to connect people. This time, we also had rugby and judo exchanges, and even though we were meeting the participants for the first time, we were able to get to know each other in an instant, and we had a great time. It was also a day when I realized that this is the power of sports.
Technical training course for instructors from France
From April 18th to 23rd, a training session for instructors was held at Tokai University, where I work, sponsored by the French Judo Federation. I was also in charge of the technical training session, and introduced several techniques, including the Uchimata technique.
Instructor training sponsored by the French Judo Federation held at Tokai University. We held a technical course and were able to interact with the instructors (JUDOs)
In France, sports instructor qualifications are national qualifications, and judo instructor qualifications are of course also national qualifications. Therefore, many instructors make a living from teaching judo. From the perspective of spreading and developing judo, it is very attractive that the instructor qualification is a national qualification, and I feel that it is a wonderful environment where I can concentrate on teaching judo. All the participants listened intently to my technical explanations and were full of enthusiasm to learn as much as possible before going home, and I could tell that they truly loved judo.
Instructor training sponsored by the French Judo Federation held at Tokai University. We held a technical course and were able to interact with the instructors (JUDOs)
After completing the entire program, participants said, “I was able to learn not only the techniques of judo, but also the heart and spirit of judo.”
I believe that such exchanges will not only lead to the development of judo, but will also be an opportunity to increase Japan’s presence. I would like to continue to interact and learn from people from all over the world through judo.
Author: Yasuo Inoue
Chairman Yasuo Inoue, certified NPO legal person JUDOs
Kosei Inoue, President, Certified NPO JUDOs
Read the English version of this article
2024-05-21 20:53:45
#Judoist #Yasuo #Inoue #give #sports #support #JAPAN
