Konan Judo

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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