How many people do you know who would: - Fly across the Pacific Ocean to train against Olympians in Europe, aged 17? - Work overnight security shifts, to earn money to fight during the day? - Do 1000 pushups as punishment for being late to training, because the bumper of their car kept falling off on the drive there? I only know one, and his name i…

To say that Daniel Kelly has an impressive fighting CV is an understatement. 4 Olympic Games as a judoka, 1 Olympic Games as a national coach, 1 Commonwealth Games for wrestling, appearances on The Ultimate Fighter, and live-streamed on pay-per-view television fighting in the UFC. So how did he reach the heights of the sport of judo - and beyond? H…

Tinka Easton and Aoife Coughlan from the Australian Judo Team jump on the show to chat about their first competition back since the COVID lockdowns. In quarantine after competing at the Doha Masters, we talk about their competition results, Olympic qualifications and potential plans to become D-list celebrities. Here’s their quarantine workout, “De…

James Austin is known as the voice behind The Original Judo Podcast, and the next in line to the judo commentary throne after Neil Adams. But before that, James earned his place on the world judo scene by becoming British champion across 3 weight categories, winning a world cup in Minsk in 2012, and representing Great Britain at the London Olympic …

Who would have thought that Travis Stevens would be the one to share some of the most hard-hitting philosophical insights on life? And yet - here he is to talk you through some of his most challenging life experiences; and how he used the hardest of times to his advantage, to ultimately set the stage for his biggest victories. In the second half (3…

In the first 10-15 seconds, he threw a closed fisted grip, and it hit me right in the eye and split it. That kind of set the tempo for the match. And from then on out, it was less of a judo match than an “I’m going to break your will”... It was the Olympic games so neither of us was going to give an inch. With an Olympic silver medal at 81kgs, ther…

Sabrina’s first shot at qualifying for the Olympics was Sydney, 2000. She is now aiming to qualify for the Tokyo 2020(one) games. It’s fair to say that less than 0.0001% of the world’s population has invested 21+ years chasing an Olympic medal. Listen in to hear about how Sabrina learned to deal with winning and losing; what goes through her mind o…

While judo is on pause, Hannah Martin is back to share the light hearted, strange and downright absurd moments of being a judoka. If you've ever wanted to know about trophies (does size matter?), being stuck in a Russian Airport, or the experience of meeting your husband across the stands of a sports stadium, then you are in the right place. Just p…

What does it take to be ranked World Number One? In collaboration with UNSW Judo Club, you will get the chance to listen to the mindset and training methods of Rok Draksic. Rok is a triple Olympian, European Champion and the first male from Slovenia to reach the world number 1 ranking. For one year straight, Rok brought home a medal from every sing…

When we sat down to record this interview, gyms in Australia had just been closed down and David had just lost his main income stream. Having spent over a decade developing his mental toughness in international judo competitions, David was faced with the challenge: Could he transfer everything he had curated on the tatami and apply it during an int…

"Failure itself is not important. It`s what happens immediately after that counts – the inner feelings, the turmoil and selfdoubt – and how you deal with it. Whether it`s in Judo, on a mountain or in life..." We're on a video call with Sabrina Filzmoser, three time Olympian on her way to a fourth. She’s nearing forty but has more energy than those …

Part1: Olympic Highs and Lows Elite judo is a rollercoaster, just ask Matt D’aquino. A Beijing Olympian, Matt was reduced back to “green-belt level judo” after the 2010 rule changes forced him to re-invent his fighting style to make a run for the 2012 Games. In Part 1, Matt shares the process of breaking comfort zones to reach goals, and how he dea…

She started judo to prove a point to her dad. She won her first international medal by independently registering herself into the competition. She was a pioneer in social media marketing. Hannah Martin’s story is one of unrelenting optimism and creating her own opportunities where there were seemingly none. Hear it first hand on Spotify, iTunes or …

Oren Janiv has studied and competed in Judo for over 19 years, where he became an Australian representative en-route to qualify for the Rio Olympics. Through this tenacious goal, Oren travelled the world in search of the best in the sport – whether it be in search of bettering his own Judo techniques from world class coaches; to developing his figh…

Oren Janiv has studied and competed in Judo for over 19 years, where he became an Australian representative en-route to qualify for the Rio Olympics. Through this tenacious goal, Oren travelled the world in search of the best in the sport – whether it be in search of bettering his own Judo techniques from world class coaches; to developing his figh…

"Knowing what I know now, maybe it was a good thing that I didn’t make it (to the Olympics). Because I had not, I now know so much more than I did." Leilani Akiyama's judo story is one of perseverance. Having begun judo in Japan, she has chased her dream of going to the Olympics through countless training camps, countries and dropped a weight divis…

Leilani Akiyama's judo story is one of perseverence. Having begun judo in Japan, she has chased her dream of going to the Olympics through countless training camps, countries and dropped a weight division to give herself the best possible chance for Tokyo 2020. This is part 1 of a two-part interview, and we cover the pros and cons of training in Ja…

John Buckley was the Australian National Champion in 1966, 1967 and 1968. He represented Australia at the World Championships in 1967 as part of the first full Australian Team, and has continued to watch judo grow and change as he transitioned into a high performance coaching role, which he has been performing for over 50 years. In that time, he ha…

At 21 years old, Tinka Easton has set and achieved more goals than most twice her age. She's the current Oceania Champion at -52kg, 7 time national Australian champion, and the Australian rep at Grand Slams and World Championships. Listen to her describe her fight with top seeded Erika Miranda at the world championships in 2017, how she grew into h…

Amelie Rosseneu competed for Belgium and Israel on the international judo circuit. She is a qualified nutritionist, and released her book specialising in the intricacies of nutrition for judo, Making Weight and Everything Else, in September of 2017. Watch Amelie Rosseneu v Nikolic in 2014: https://youtu.be/Z-qmOkYL-Uw Her book and online nutrition …

Ivica Pavlinic is a Croatian-born Kiwi who's reached world number 12 and competed around the world since he was a teenager. He's got a great mix of ridiculous stories and honest advice, and we dive pretty deeply into what shaped him as a judoka. Pavlinic v Fernandez (10 Second Ippon) https://youtu.be/U4tffzkqHVM Pavlinic v Malot https://youtu.be/hm…

Katharina Haecker is an Australian 63kg judoka, Olympian, and at time of recording ranked 20th in the world. She has won medals in multiple Continental Championships and Grand Prix events. Alex Lüdeke is an Australian national coach with extensive experience coaching in Germany. -- 0:40 - Stepping on the tatami for the first time 4:44 - From amateu…