Here, courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada, is a short documentary, Judoka, about Canadian Doug Rogers, silver medalist in the heavy-weight division of the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.
At 6-foot 3 inches, Rogers was truly the giant of Canadian judo. Leaving Canada for Japan in 1960 at age 19, Rogers was not only a student of judo but, becoming fluent in Japanese, he also absorbed Japanese culture, learning well:
After Roger’s Olympic final, in which he was defeated by the great Isao Inokuma by split decision after a 15 minute match, Rogers had this to say: It was a good decision… he attacked more than I did. He’s very strong and very experienced. With more training perhaps I can do better.
Check out the excellent randori sequence at 9:58 of the full film: Click here for the full film, Judoka by Josef Reeve, National Film Board of Canada
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