I just registered to compete in my first international Judo tournament. The Pan Am Master’s. It’s worth noting that “masters” in judo means nothing more than “more than 30 years old.” We jokingly refer to it as either the executive or the geritol division.
This is a tournament exclusively for us old guys. However, it is also a Pan Am, which means that competitors will come from North and South America to kick my ass. Fortunately, I’m still a novice. This means that the 31 year old former world champions will not be in my division.
I’m totally psyched, because all the guys from my club who never compete locally are going to come out. This includes my coach – who I’ve never seen go full speed before. I know for a fact that even when we do ‘free sparring,’ he’s just working with us and being nice. I’m quite excited to see him *not* be nice … to someone who is not me.
Also, I get a “USA” patch for my gi. Oh precious “USA” patch …
