August 18, 2016 – September 21, 2016
Daniel Chow and Cole Chandler ventured off to Tenri, Japan for a month where they trained with the Tenri University judoka, enjoyed the Shohei Ono festivities, and endulged in some yummy Japanese food – see below for more!
Tenri University Practices
Daniel and Cole practiced with the University judo team twice a day, Monday through Friday, and once a day on Saturdays.
Morning practices were about 2 hours long and typically consisted of a quick warm-up, an hour of tachiwaza randori, and shark bait randori rounds. Afternoon practices were between 1.5 and 2 hours and varied as either newaza, uchikomi, or running. Daniel and Cole were also able to lift in the University weight room.
They biked to and from the university for practices as they stayed in a dormitory about 10 minutes away. After practice, they would eat with the team at the boys dormitory.
Shohei Ono Festivities
While they were there, Daniel and Cole were fortunate enough to attend the festivities held for Shohei Ono, 2016 Rio Olympic Gold Medalist. Shohei Ono, a graduate of Tenri University, won a gold medal in the male 73 kg weight class in Rio. The city of Tenri welcomed Ono home with a festive parade and later held a party with over 800 people in attendance!
Food & Fun
In their spare time, Daniel and Cole ate lots of yummy food and were able to visit some neighboring cities on Saturdays and Sundays. Daniel even went to watch an anime movie, “Himi no Nawa,” in Japanese! They also observed the Kansai College Tournament, a qualifying tournament for the All-Japan College Competition.
Hawaii Tenri Judo 