Emil and Thomas represented Suzuran Dojo in the 2011 Dallas Invitational “D” Level Judo Tournament, which took place on November 19, 2011 in Grapevine, Texas.
Emil Tapper
Emil competed in the lightweight class for 9-10 year old boys:
Emil’s first opponent was Fransisco Manzo. As usual, Emil was dealing with quite a few butterflies before the match began. Once the match started, the butterflies gave away with Emil on the attack throughout the match. The match ends with Emil throwing his opponent for Ippon.
Emil’s second opponent was Corbin Mallo from Northglenn Judo. Being great friends, the boys warmed up together before the tournament. The match between Corbin and Emil was by far the most advanced match of the division with Corbin walking away with the win on a pin after a back and forth battle.
Emil’s third match was against Jacob de la Garza. As always, Emil went on the attack early and often scoring a couple of Yukos before ending the match with another Ippon earning the silver medal.
Emil’s matches:
Thomas Chisholm
In this tournament, Thomas took a large step up competing in the senior 66kg elite division:
Thomas first match was against Caleb Wesley, a slightly lighter opponent who also competed in the Junior Olympics last summer but in the 60kg division. The match went back and forth when the competitors came down to their knees followed by Thomas lifting his opponent for a nice slam. Unfortunately, the throw didn’t count since the competitors were down on the mat already.
After some more grip fighting, Thomas ends the match with Osoto Gari for Ippon.
In his second match, Thomas faced Austin Cook for the OTC. In his previous match, Austin showcased several leg picks into lifting throws — Austin has clearly spent the time to learn how to use leg picks in a legal manner. Clearly the more experienced opponent, Austin used strong grips to control the match forcing Thomas on the defensive. Austin continued his attacks resulting that Thomas got two penalties for passivity earning Austin a Yuko. After the Yuko, Thomas went on the attack several times before Austin block a Osoto Gari attempt into a leg pick landing Thomas on his back for Ippon.
In his third match, Thomas faced Brando Laymeister, a very fast opponent who started out the match in a high pace. Still, Thomas was clearly the superior competitor, which showed throughout the match. After a minute or so, Thomas throws his opponents who’s able to spin to his stomach in the air. No point. Thomas went for a gator roll but couldn’t sink it in. Back to their feet, Thomas quickly got Laymeister back on the mat again. Another choke attempt but again, no dice. Thomas continues the attacks and it pays off with an Ippon 3 minutes into the match.
Thomas fourth match begins with a battle for grips against Balayan Aleksandr. Soon, Aleksandr goes for a sacrifice throw with Thomas spinning out using a handstands. Aleksandr quickly moved into an armbar forcing Thomas to tap out. With this, Thomas is done for the day earning fourth place. Great work.
