This is me and my little future judoka, Lena. As any parent that just absolutely loves their sport of choice, I hope she grows up developing that same love. I hope to start her into judo early on, possibly having her join the actual club classes at age 5 or 6 (she'll be 3 this month), but I'm already starting the education process early. She recognizes judo when she sees videos and she already uses the word "gi". She also can do a nice somersalt (takes about 30 seconds per effort) and now she knows how to tap out. I'll wrap my arms around her from behind and won't let her go until she taps twice on my elbow. No, I don't apply an actual choke, so don't be calling child services on me. I'm willing to go out on a limb and say it's probably the most adorable little tap out you've ever seen.Judo as a sport in the US is growing, but it hasn't caught on like soccer, another widely practiced international sport. So the talent pool in the US is much smaller than say baseball, basketball, or football. That means a US athlete in judo has a greater chance of becoming one of the greats in their field than an NBA or NFL hopeful. If little Lena learns judo starting at age 3 to 5 and has a black belt dad at home to reinforce her teaching, could I possibly have a future Olympian on my hands? I may have the future Rhonda Rousey playing with dolls in my house. Time will tell.
Of course, all this fatherly wishful thinking and dreaming kinda depends on if Lena even likes judo,decides to stick with it, or doesn't develop an all-encompassing interest in something else. Don't worry, even if she hates judo, she'll still be Daddy's little girl.
