Pearl Harbor Movie Controversy Builds (in National News) Judy Chu Wins Assembly Seat (in California News) Will Sunshine Work With the Two Koreas? (in Business) Penn Masala: Cutie crooners bring Indian style to a-capella singing (in A&E) Emil Amok: My International Incident, Part I (in Opinion)

Judo Girls Go for the Gold, and Get It

By Ethen Lieser

Stephanie Hata has known Sayaka Matsumoto for nine years. During that span, after expending countless buckets of sweat at practice, the two have become best of friends. Yet, when they spar on the mat at East Bay Judo Institute four times a week, they become enraged with competitive fire. The fire is more like a conflagration. But that shouldn’t come with any surprise — otherwise, they wouldn’t be national champions.

“I have never beaten Sayaka,” Hata, 16, says.

Never once in nine years?

“Nope,” she says matter-of-factly.

Later, minutes before they take the mat for another two-hour practice, Matsumoto, 18, jokingly says: “You can never beat me.” Hata just smiles.

Judo champion Sayaka Matsumoto has her eyes set on the 2004 Olympics. Photo by Ethen Lieser.

Needless to say, Hata and Matsumoto had a lot to smile about three weeks ago. That’s because both teenagers garnered gold medals at the 2001 U.S. Senior National Judo Championships in Orlando, Fla.

“Their level of judo is quite high,” says Dr. David Matsumoto, who coaches the two girls and is the father of Sayaka Matsumoto. “So, I wasn’t surprised that they won. I would’ve been more surprised if they lost.”

Matsumoto, a senior at St. Mary’s High School, won the 48-kilos championship match by forfeit when her opponent injured her ankle 30 seconds into the fight. “It’s more exciting to get the win by fighting it out,” she says. “But it was still exciting.”

What if the fight continued? “Yeah, I probably would’ve won,” she confidently says.

Meanwhile, Hata dismantled her opponent, sweeping her in the best-of-three series for the 44-kilos title. Hata, who is much more reserved than Matsumoto, spoke quietly and humbly about her gold medal. Before practice, Hata led the judo contingent of 11 in an elaborate stretching ritual. She looked like a tiny girl who was helplessly drowning in her white judo suit. Surprisingly, she voiced commands like a Civil War general, whipping through neck stretches to push ups to bicycle kicks. The tiny girl from El Cerrito High was a regular Billy Blanks.

According to Hata, the guidance of Matsumoto, a psychology professor at San Francisco State University and head instructor at the Judo Institute since 1983, has been vital to her development as an athlete and person.

“Dr. Matsumoto is like my second father,” Hata says. “He has even helped me out with my schoolwork. You definitely learn discipline and respect from him.”

Sometimes it takes a constructive roar to kick her back in gear.

“I’ve been yelled at quite a few times,” laughs Hata, who started judo at age seven. “But I know he does that because he wants the best for me.”

Matsumoto also gets her share of discipline and encouragement from her father.

“I’m probably more hard on her,” he says.

After being taken to her first judo class at age five, Matsumoto recalled it was just “fun.” But Matsumoto and judo weren’t always a perfect match.

“I went through a phase when I didn’t like it,” she says. “But I’ve learned so much from judo by sticking it out.”

Thank Dr. Matsumoto for that. “I see judo as a complementary moral training for the family,” he says. And that training did not stop for his daughter until she received her black belt at age 15. “Then she has the option of staying with judo,” says Matsumoto, 41, who has been involved with the sport for 34 years. “Because when it comes to push and shove, especially when you’re on the mat for two hours and you’re dying, you can’t [do judo] for someone else’s sake. You have to do it for your sake.”

Hata, too, questioned her involvement in judo: “There were times when I wanted to quit because I thought I really wasn’t interested in it anymore. It also takes a lot of work. And when you’re so tired after practice, you wonder why you’re doing this.”

Last year, Matsumoto was an alternate on the 2000 Olympic team. And even though she will be headed to U.C. Berkeley next year for college, Matsumoto has no plans for sidetracking her love of judo. “I want to continue with judo until I make the 2004 Olympic team,” she says. “I think I have a great shot.”

Dr. Matsumoto, however, has a slightly different opinion: “I just want her to finish college,” he says with the hope of a typical angst-ridden father. “But as a father and coach, I would definitely be proud of her if she made the team.”