Shori Hamada Explained

Shori Hamada
Headercolor:2020 Olympic Champion
Nationality:Japanese
Birth Date:25 September 1990
Birth Place:Kirishima-Shi, Kagoshima-ken, Japan
Height:1.67 m
Country:Japan
Weight Class:–78 kg
Worlds Rank:1
Worlds Year:2018
Worlds Weight:Women's 78 kg
Regionals Type:AS
Regionals Rank:1
Regionals Year:2017
Olympics Rank:1
Olympics Year:2020
Olympics Weight:Women's 78 kg
Updated:23 May 2023

is a Japanese, medal-winning Olympian judoka and army officer.[1] [2] In 2018 She won the gold medal in the 2018 World Judo Championships. In 2021 she won the gold medal in the women's 78 kg event, and silver in the mixed team event, at the 2020 Summer Olympics held in Tokyo, Japan.[3] [4]

Career

Hamada was born in Kagoshima prefecture and started Judo at the age of ten. When she was in Kagoshima Minami High School, she was taught newaza (ground grappling techniques) rigorously by her school judo coach, which made her win the second place in the -78 kg category of the All Japan High School Championships. Also during this period, she repeatedly studied videos of Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki and absorbed his newaza techniques.[5] After the high school she played at Yamanashi Gakuin University, where she started Sambo, a Russian combat sport, alongside Judo to expand her range of newaza skills, and won the gold medal at 2014 World Sambo Championships.[6] After the university she joined the Japan Self-Defense Forces where she brushed up her transition skills between tachiwaza (standing/throwing techniques) and newaza. With her highly skilled newaza, she won the gold medal at the 2018 World Judo Championships,[7] and the silver medal in the 2019 World Judo Championships. She won the gold medal in 2020 Judo Grand Slam Düsseldorf and was officially nominated by the All Japan Judo Federation for the -78 kg category representative of the Tokyo Olympic Games.

In the Olympic Games held at Tokyo in 2021, she won the gold medal in the -78 kg category, defeating Beata Pacut (Poland), Aleksandra Babintseva (Russia), Anna-Maria Wagner (Germany), and Madeleine Malonga (France), all with Ippon by newaza. Also she got the silver medal as a registered member of the mixed team category though she had no opportunity to fight in the category.[8]

As of July 2021, her rank in the Ground Self-Defense Force of Japan is captain.[9] [10] She is often referred to as the "Newaza no Jouou (Queen of Newaza)" or "Newaza-shi (Newaza Master)" in Japanese media.[11] [12] [13]

Judo Style

Hamada's judo is characterized by her overwhelming newaza skills. Most of her recorded wins were with Ippon by newaza. Although she has some powerful standing techniques such as Uchi mata and Ouchi gari, she mostly uses them as a transition to a ground fight, and once on the ground, she attacks from any direction (under, over, or side of the opponent) with her masterly newaza techniques such as Hikikomi gaeshi and Ude garami (Kimura Lock) gaeshi, which, with a high probability, leads to osaekomi or tapping out by arm-joint lock.[14] She also favors using various shimewaza (choking techniques) to finish her fights. In Japan her relentless newaza attack is often compared to an ant-lion larvae attacking ants.[15] [16] [17]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.ijf.org/judoka/17473 IJF profile
  2. Web site: 【記者会見】防衛大臣.
  3. Web site: Hamada Shori continues Japan's judo dominance by winning gold in women's -78kg. dead. 29 July 2021. Tokyo 2020. 29 July 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210729105958/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/en/news/hamada-shori-continues-japan-s-dominance-in-judo-winning-gold-in-womens-78kg.
  4. Web site: Judo HAMADA Shori. dead. 29 July 2021 . Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. en-us. 20 July 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210720075340/https://olympics.com/tokyo-2020/olympic-games/en/results/judo/athlete-profile-n1315330-hamada-shori.htm.
  5. Web site: 「寝技の浜田」生んだ2人の恩師 高校で基礎固め、大学で格闘技サンボ勧めて飛躍(スポニチアネックス) - Yahoo!ニュース . news.yahoo.co.jp . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210810143651/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/aedbc2b2e0079b2925b8857228349362f7225307 . 2021-08-10.
  6. Web site: 金メダルの浜田尚里、思い出は「ロシアの虎の穴」サンボで点を線に<柔道女子78キロ級>:東京新聞 TOKYO Web.
  7. http://judolive01.lb.judobase.org/www.judo-world.net/ijf/world/wc_sen2018//tta.php?tta_mode=&aktion=pdf_sheet&klasse=-78 2018 World Judo Championships –78 kg results
  8. Web site: 【記者会見】防衛大臣.
  9. Web site: 「濵田尚里1等陸尉、優勝!」防衛相や自衛隊が金メダル祝福 「敗者への配慮、お見事。日本の誇り」の声も(中日スポーツ).
  10. Web site: 【記者会見】防衛大臣.
  11. Web site: "寝技の女王"浜田尚里 ルール改正が追い風に!かつては「サンボ」も制覇、"柔道&柔術の女王"になった(スポニチアネックス) - Yahoo!ニュース . news.yahoo.co.jp . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210729111728/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/cd9254934d437565993f05faf4c7765157769c90 . 2021-07-29.
  12. Web site: 浜田 寝技の女王 女子78キロ...柔道 : 東京オリンピック2020速報 : オリンピック・パラリンピック. 30 July 2021.
  13. Web site: やはり最後は..."寝技の女王"浜田尚里「狙っていました」最高の舞台、得意技でつかんだ金メダル【東京五輪柔道】:中日スポーツ・東京中日スポーツ.
  14. Web site: 【柔道】その道の〝プロ〟も絶賛 金メダル・浜田尚里の寝技はココがすごい!(東スポWeb) - Yahoo!ニュース . news.yahoo.co.jp . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20210729211324/https://news.yahoo.co.jp/articles/921bedf50ca2805674600f2942b65f64262f174a . 2021-07-29.
  15. Web site: 金メダルの浜田尚里、寝技はまるで"アリ地獄" サンボで学んだ技術で世界一. 29 July 2021.
  16. Web site: 遅咲きの30歳、浜田尚里が金メダル 「あり地獄」の寝技で頂点に<柔道女子78キロ級>:東京新聞 TOKYO Web.
  17. Web site: 【柔道チャンネル】柔道ニュース.