My first judo competition took place approximately half a year after I started training. I was 11 years old, weighing around 40 kilograms. Among my peers in our section, I was one of the best, as far as I can remember (although sometimes my memory fails me).
The competition and weigh-in were on the same day: the weigh-in - early in the morning, around 7 o'clock, and the actual competition started at 10 am. At the weigh-in, I noticed a guy in my weight class. He looked too strong for his age. I asked the guys from my section if they knew him. They replied that it was Anatoly, that he was very strong, had been training for a long time, and had already won various international competitions.
I was already nervous to participate in judo competitions for the first time, and now this champion! His confidence radiated in everything: in his gaze, in his walk, in his movements. Everything about him said that he was the best here. I became even more frightened. I said to myself, "I hope I don't have to fight him." Needless to say, I really didn't want that.
The competitions began. And then I was called to the tatami. They called my last name and the opponent's last name. In that moment, it seemed funny to me, and I thought, "Well, this definitely isn't Anatoly's last name." Imagine my surprise when I stepped onto the mat and saw that monster in front of me!
The referee's command sounded:
– Hajime!
The match started swiftly... and ended just as swiftly. I tried to grab his kimono and immediately found myself on my back. Ippon - a clean victory. It seemed like not even 30 seconds had passed.
I felt both indignation and relief: it was all over.
Many years later, I met Anatoly at some competition. He had changed: he had grown, matured, weighed around 60 kilograms. I had long passed 80. We talked, and I told him this story: how scared I was, how quickly our match ended. He listened, smiled, and said: "Honestly? I don't remember ever fighting you."
I laughed. There was something ironic about it: a moment that I remembered for life was nothing to him. He smiled back, shook my hand, and we went our separate ways. And I thought to myself, "Maybe he doesn't remember, but for me, that match will always be the first. And it will always remain special."
The image was taken by Artem Podrez and sourced from pexels.com
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