My name is Kevin Desmole and I am 16 years old. I started judo at the age of 6, I did it just for fun. At first I was not a great judo player and had little interest to compete. At around 14/15 my interest grew and started becoming more professional. In 2009 I placed 4th at the 2009 Jr. Nationals and 2nd in the California State Championship. In the summer of 2010, I competed in my first international tournament at the Jr. US Open, in Florida. I am currently an ikkyu and getting ready for my shodan in the next few months.
I have a second passion, piano. I started to learn piano at the same age than judo and got really into it at the age of 12 years old. I played in a youth orchestra.
It is not easy every day for me to combine both activities at the same time. I am trying to get organized as much as possible in order to reduce the level of stress with the school.
I want to discover Japan because of its culture, its cities, its civilization. I want to meet other passionate judoka and to see how they can combine their passion with their very demanding schoolwork.
Hi Kevin, Sounds like you really saw and did a lot of great things in Japan focussed on judo. We are planning a trip to Japan next year and I was wondering how you managed to hook up with all your hosts and schools and Kodokan for participation with them.
ReplyDeleteAloha,
Lee Sugai, Kona Hongwanji Judo Club (Hawaii) arctictropic@hotmail.com