Honjamaka’s Hidehiko Ishizuka on His Judo Days: “My First Ever Throw”

It may be surprising, but I was in a sports club in both middle and high school

Hello, everyone. Have you ever wondered why your garden did not sprout even though you watered it, but you did not plant any bulbs? My name is Hidehiko Ishizuka.

This time, I would like to talk about a club activity I was a member of.

From the Swimming Club to the Judo Club for an Unexpected Reason

When I was in junior high school, I was a member of the swimming club. However, I was not aiming for a good time. I was attracted to the fact that swimmers could enter the pool a month earlier than other students.

As I had always been a hot-headed person, it was a great pleasure for me to get into the pool as soon as possible. So even though I was a swimmer, I could neither crawl nor backstroke. I swam breaststroke all three years. I swam breaststroke all three years, at my own pace, slowly. That seems to be the story of my life.

But when I entered high school, I joined the judo club. I had an older brother who was a member of the judo club in junior high and high school. At the time, my brother and I went to the same barber shop, and every time we went, he would ask me, “Ei-kun, how is your judo?” He would ask me, “Oh, I’m in the swim team. He would say, “Oh, I’m in the swim team. After about five times of this exchange, I was getting a little tired of it and said, “Let’s join the judo club when we get into high school, and then this exchange will be over. That way, we won’t have to have this exchange.

This is how I joined the high school judo club, and this was my first time in the dojo. Naturally, people were throwing people. What was this scene? It was different from the leisurely time I had spent in the swimming club. Moreover, from my first-year student’s point of view, the third-year students looked like scary old men.

The second-year students, who were a little less scary than the third-year students, taught us ukemi, the art of throwing the body into the water. However, during the ukemi practice to avoid injury, I got injured. By the time I finished, I was covered in bruises. But I don’t know why. I felt a tremendous sense of fulfillment. This is what club activities are all about.

A surge of confidence,  the days of training

After a while, I was able to do ukemi without getting hurt. Next, I learned throwing techniques. Ota-senpai, who must have been absolutely terrifying when he was angry, gently taught us how to position our hands and feet and how to shift the opponent’s center of gravity.

By the way, according to what I heard from the other students in my class, Ota-senpai was the leader of the group. It was during this practice with Ota-senpai that I threw a person for the first time in my life. Probably, I feel that Ota-senpai flew a little from me. Still, I threw a person by myself. It was still early in the game, but I was full of confidence.

After that, I worked hard in the judo club every day after school and learned the techniques with my body. In addition to practicing the techniques, I ran around Hodogaya Park to strengthen my endurance. When I passed girls from the tennis club on the way, I would speed up to show them off. If I remember correctly, this was the last time I ran in my life.

Bench pressing every other day to strengthen my muscles. I walked back and forth inside the dojo standing on my head and climbed a rope suspended from the ceiling of the gymnasium using only my arms. I could do such things back then. If I did it now, I would dislocate my elbow the moment I stood on my head. In any case, I pushed myself.

I was able to break through things that I would have failed at alone, because I was with my friends. Judo has trained my mind. Even if I run into some challenges in the entertainment industry now, it is nothing compared to the summer camp of the judo club.

By the way, next month, I will have a dinner meeting with Mr. Urada, who was the advisor of the Judo Club. My heart rate is rising right now.

From the March 14-21, 2025 issue of “FRIDAY”