can i become an olympian judoka even if i started a bit late?

i am 16 yrs old and i 've been training judo for a month

Highly unlikely unless you are some sort of super-athlete already, and even then, it would be very difficult.

Why did you take up Judo in the first place ?

Well, that depends on a lot of factors:

• Quality of instruction
  
• ability to absorb instruction
  
• natural ability (genetics, etc)
  
• conditioning (physical, mental, nutritional)
  
• recovery and injury rehabilitation
  
• quality practice (repetitions, basics, etc)
  
• quality training partners (uchikomi, nagekomi, randori, shiai)
  
• exposure to quality tournaments
  
• level of competition within your country
  
• opportunities to train and compete internationally
  
• political factors
  
• finances
  
• parental / other support
  
• planning and time management
  
• focus and motivation
  
• luck
  

Just a few things that spring to mind ...

If you are decent, dedicated, it's possible, especially if you move to an underpresented territory like Hong Kong or Guam, where the chance of getting a IJF Olympic wildcard qualification allocation is very high.

jae kim wrote:i am 16 yrs old and i 've been training judo for a month

That question cannot be satisfactorily answered without seeing you train and assessing your skills and a number of objective physiological measurements. In itself the fact that SOMEONE starts judo only at age 16 does not necessarily preclude becoming an Olympian. There exist examples of people who started even later and became Olympians. It is relatively easier to achieve in the women's division than in the males' divisions. I have trained with one female Olympian medal winner I can remember who started jûdô only at age 18. She never became a decent technician, but she trained very hard, developed high endurance, high strength, and exceptional explosive strength. Given the more numerous representation of world class male jûdôka with out of common physical properties, this is not going to be enough.

Another thing to bear in mind is that in the past it sufficed to be the leading jûdôka in your division in your country. So, all it took was to have to adopt the citizenship of a country whose presence in jûdô was insignificant. With the world ranking/points system this is now no longer so. In other words, irrespective of what your age is 16 or 18 or 10, you are looking at one heck of a challenge.

I have said this before but Dave Starrbrook started judo at 19.

samsmith2424 wrote:I have said this before but Dave Starrbrook started judo at 19.

Yeah but he had genetics on his side. Freakishly strong.

Jae Kim ... why do you want to be an Olympian?

Almost all the answers you received were negative in some way. Most were really answering the question "has anyone become an Olympian even if they started a bit late?" And the answer is yes.

My answer for you is yes, absolutely you CAN. It's certainly possible. Are you aware of what the life of a professional judo athlete is like these days? How much are you willing to do? How much are you willing to sacrifice, how much are you willing to make those important to you share in that sacrifice? And in the end, when all is said and done, why was it worth it in the first place? What do you expect from an Olympic experience?

You would be an unusually wise 16 year old if you could answer any of these questions, make any of these plans with full intent, be able to understand the consequences.

What is also certainly possible is for you to become an excellent judoka for life ... which is a different thing ... takes a different kind of dedication.

May I ask ... this is the internet and you should be cautious about responding to strangers here ... have you been talking to your parents about all this? Is this one of those "life plan" talks? Or are you just thinking about your future and your potential ... dreaming is not a bad thing at all.

samsmith2424 wrote:I have said this before but Dave Starrbrook started judo at 19.

See CK's post...

BillC wrote:Jae Kim ... why do you want to be an Olympian?

Almost all the answers you received were negative in some way.  Most were really answering the question "has anyone become an Olympian even if they started a bit late?"  And the answer is yes.

My answer for you is yes, absolutely you CAN.  It's certainly possible.  Are you aware of what the life of a professional judo athlete is like these days?  How much are you willing to do?  How much are you willing to sacrifice, how much are you willing to make those important to you share in that sacrifice?  And in the end, when all is said and done, why was it worth it in the first place?  What do you expect from an Olympic experience?

You would be an unusually wise 16 year old if you could answer any of these questions, make any of these plans with full intent, be able to understand the consequences.

What is also certainly possible is for you to become an excellent judoka for life ... which is a different thing ... takes a different kind of dedication.

May I ask ... this is the internet and you should be cautious about responding to strangers here ... have you been talking to your parents about all this?  Is this one of those "life plan" talks?  Or are you just thinking about your future and your potential ... dreaming is not a bad thing at all.

i wanna become an olympian just because i love judo

Even if you had started at 5 the odds would be stacked against you. How many Olympians are there every 4 years? Not many. What you can do is enjoy this wonderful art for the rest of your life. Be happy you found it at your age, I was 38 before I stepped on the judo mat. I will likely never compete above local tournament level, but I go to class religiously because the dojo is my "happy place".

jae kim wrote:

BillC wrote:Jae Kim ... why do you want to be an Olympian?

Almost all the answers you received were negative in some way.  Most were really answering the question "has anyone become an Olympian even if they started a bit late?"  And the answer is yes.

My answer for you is yes, absolutely you CAN.  It's certainly possible.  Are you aware of what the life of a professional judo athlete is like these days?  How much are you willing to do?  How much are you willing to sacrifice, how much are you willing to make those important to you share in that sacrifice?  And in the end, when all is said and done, why was it worth it in the first place?  What do you expect from an Olympic experience?

You would be an unusually wise 16 year old if you could answer any of these questions, make any of these plans with full intent, be able to understand the consequences.

What is also certainly possible is for you to become an excellent judoka for life ... which is a different thing ... takes a different kind of dedication.

May I ask ... this is the internet and you should be cautious about responding to strangers here ... have you been talking to your parents about all this?  Is this one of those "life plan" talks?  Or are you just thinking about your future and your potential ... dreaming is not a bad thing at all.

i wanna become an olympian just because i love judo

You can love judo either way, olympian or not !

Chances are the dedication, training, pain and sacrifice needed to become an Olympian will make you fall out of love with judo. Stay in love and make judo your lifelong activity.

Jonesy wrote:Chances are the dedication, training, pain and sacrifice needed to become an Olympian will make you fall out of love with judo. Stay in love and make judo your lifelong activity.

Not being an elite Judoka has its charms:

• Your career can be much, much longer
  
• You cease comparing yourself to those around you
  
• Your chances of suffering from post Olympic depression syndrome is low
  
• You never worried about adding new techniques to your repository
  
• Chances of becoming a late bloomer improve radically
  
• You can truly test yourself when it matters most (when your old :-) )
  
• You will have time to share war stories
  
• Chances are your body will last longer
  
• Less likely to believe your better than you actually are
  
• You just might have more fun