Club News
Tony Clark - Written by Tets Kimura
(interviewed on 28/10/01)
Tony Clark is one of the leading
judo players in Australia (from South Australia), actively competing at
international level. He is also a professional motivation speaker, and
plays guitar in a newly formed music band. “Life is good” are his words
– and I shall add, he is totally blind.
“Some people think when you have
a disability it is the worst thing imaginable. It is this very thinking
that is the problem” said Tony, 40, who became blind after a car
accident in 1978. He said he has accepted the accident since it was his
fault – he had drunk a fair amount of alcohol on the night he had the
accident. “The car accident changed my life forever and was probably the
best thing to ever happen to me.”
In 1980, Tony went to his local
YMCA then told a judo instructor “I would like to learn judo, thank you
very much!” The instructor was surprised – he had never trained a blind
person, and Tony had never seen judo being played.
Tony chose judo because it was
one of the rare sports that has no special rules for blind people, so he
thought he may not be disadvantaged as much as in other sports. He
proved his theory at his first interclub competition – his oguruma won
him the competition. Tony said he did not even understand what had
happened, but he soon realised he had won and felt “quite nice.” He then
began to take the sport seriously.
While Tony made his debut in
judo, he also began his life as a backpacker. He hitchhiked with his
guide dog – travelled around Australia and New Zealand for a few years.
Most people he met during the travel were surprised (including Dawn
Fraser – who is still a good friend of his), but he has proven he is as
capable as he was in judo. “Travel made me more responsible, and helped
me discover a feeling of freedom” Tony said.
In 1992, Tony qualified as a
black belt, and also represented Australia at the Barcelona Paralympics,
at which he was the favourite – even though he was Australia’s first
Paralympic judo player. Unfortunately, due to the pressure, he lost
every single fight – ending up in tears.
The following year, Tony got the
bronze medal at the Australian National Titles, along with other sighted
players. It was once considered impossible for a blind person to achieve
a medal at the national level, but Tony proved the belief wrong.
In 1996, Tony went to the
Atlanta Paralympics. This time, he stopped being nervous soon after the
competition begun. He even felt like he was “a cold blooded killer ready
to rip the opponent apart.” As a result, he won every single fight –
winning the gold medal. He said “I was so happy that I kissed the
umpire.”
Tony acknowledges the Sydney
Paralympics was the best sporting event he has ever attended. He carried
the torch at the opening ceremony in front of 100,000 people at Stadium
Australia. More importantly, all competitors were treated as athletes
(not disabled players) – which created a great atmosphere. Tony ended up
seventh, and he admitted he was disappointed – though he also said “I
couldn’t have prepared any better. It just wasn’t my day.”
These days, Tony trains for judo
four times a week, preparing for the world championships next year.
Despite his successful judo career, he said he still has not reached his
potential in the sport yet, and he is realistic about his age. He,
nevertheless, says he will be involved in judo for the rest of his life
– although the sport is not the only thing he commits. He enjoys playing
guitar, and also is taking his speaking career seriously. He has already
had an opportunity to talk at the Australian embassy in Tokyo, where
judo originated. He said he is still passionate about travelling, and is
as pleased at being able to travel in his job, as he was to hitchhike 20
years ago.
“Everything I have achieved I
did because I wanted to do it. This wasn’t to prove a point or to show
people that disabled people can do anything they want” said Tony. His
quest still continues.
Central Zone Titles' Report - Written by
Tets Kimura
The Central Zone Judo Titles
were held at the Sport Centre at the Levels campus on Sunday 8/4/01. The
event is one of annual state competitions in the sport. It is an
important event for state players, since this competition is usually
held only weeks before the national titles. The players already
nominated for the national titles have a final chance to finely tune
their moves.
This year, the event featured 65
players; 14 girls, 25 boys, 9 women, and 17 men. There were about 150
spectators in total; those people are believed to be families and
friends of the competitors. The event was also open to the public, but
as judo is a minor sport in Australia (especially in SA) it was highly
unlikely for the public to attend the event. Judo in South Australia has
no PR person and little public interest.
Edo Colliver, the event
organiser, said the results of the competition would appear on The
Advertiser within a few days, but they did not appear in. The Advertiser
on the following Tuesday and Wednesday had several sporting results from
the weekend, but no judo. They had major sports such as cricket and
basketball and some minor sports such as cycling. I called The
Advertiser to ask why the results of judo did not appear, but their
answer was simple - "We don't know." Perhaps, judo is not even
worthwhile for them to think of.
A university student, Kristina
Kollis, who has been training judo for six months, attended the event as
a spectator. It was her first experience of real judo. Kristina said she
enjoyed competitions between standard players, and learnt more about the
sport. However she also admitted most of the children's competitions
were boring, and a few competitions caught her attention.
For judo to grow, it is
important to keep children in the sport. Children are the future hope
for judo, and it is crucial for them to stay in the sport as they grow
up. Kristina said "I've always wanted to do something like judo, karate
or any of those other sports, partly for self-defence but mainly just
fitness and fun. I just never got around to it and didn't know anyone
who wanted to do it with me."
Children who start their career
at an early age have a greater chance of success in the sport. Chelisa
Engel is third in Australia and has been in the sport since she was
five. A candidate for Sydney 2000, judo is her life. No one in SA can
beat her, and she won all her competitions by Ippon.
However, her motivation in the
sport has not been the competition itself, but something she can get
from the sport. She said "Judo makes me confident, physically fit, and
gives me a social life", but she did not say anything about the sport
itself. It seems that she loves the sport but this is as far as she can
be involved in judo. Practically, she does not receive any financial
benefit from judo - She has no sponsorship and has to pay for each
competition including the national titles, which are held interstate
every year.
A major sport in Australia, such
as swimming, provides a full support to its top athletes. For example,
Ian Thorpe, is now a top swimmer, earns financial income from swimming,
which makes him able to live on the sport. The sport is a part of his
life as like Chelisa, although the size of the sports makes the
difference.
Judo is no longer a Japanese
martial art, but an international sport. In fact, the sport is a quite
big in East Asia and many European countries. The sport had the fourth
biggest venue in Sydney 2000, which was fully packed for all seven days
of competitions. Judo does not look dynamic as karate or kick boxing,
but it (and Tae Kwon Do) are the only martial arts played in the
Olympics. However, judo in Australia is not well recognised. There was
absolutely no media coverage of Olympic judo in Australia, even on
pay-television.
Harshil Shah, a university
student, recently arrived from India enjoyed competing. He said "Judo in
Australia is different to judo in India, but it is still the same sport
and the same techniques are used." The regulations (made by IJF -
International Judo Federation) have been changing every year or two, and
this seems becoming in favour of the media attraction - this is what an
international sport needs to concentrate on. For example, blue judogi
was introduced a few of years ago, to help audiences identify players
easier.
However, judo seems to stay
where it is in Australia. It has only little public interest, and
Australia is far behind the rest of the world. This is a big dilemma for
Australian judo, and it is not easy to solve the problem. But there are
people who love the sport, and that creates the future possibilities of
the sport. It will be a long and big step, but one day we might overtake
the rest of the world.
