His uchi-mata is one of the most effective on the planet. Joshiro Maruyama wins almost all his fights thanks to this inner thigh mowing. So, when he comes to explain his placement, the best Polynesian judokas listen to him religiously.
« A 16-year-old girl said to me: ‘Can I make my dream of fighting with him come true?’ I told him: ‘go ahead, go and invite him’. He accepted without any problem. He has fought with almost all of our athletes. For them, it’s a dream », smiles Franck Bellard, technical manager of the Polynesian Judo Federation.
« We don’t see this every day », adds Tevaimarevanui Chungues, a young 13-year-old Judokate, “ he speaks another language. Usually, we are shown techniques left and right. He only shows them on the left, so it’s sometimes difficult to do the techniques ».
Japan vibrates with the legendary confrontation between Joshiro Maruyama and Hifumi Abe, the two best in the world in their category. And the champion accepts the fight against the local judokas to place his legendary uchi-mata. But also, to vary the pleasures, another of his favorite techniques: tomoe-nage, the famous Japanese planchette.
And he is ready to reveal his secrets to them. “ It’s a personal uchi-mata that I developed through constant training. There are few people who reproduce an uchi-mata in this way. When I see the children impressed by the effectiveness of this technique, it really makes me happy. », confides the Japanese champion.
On the tatami, Joshiro Maruyama wears two judogis: that of an athlete, but also that of a star. Everyone wants their photo with the Under 66 kg Teddy Riner.
The World Champion will attend the ATN competition this Saturday, and he will refine the techniques of young practitioners and adults all week.
