Hoosiers bring age-old martial art to IU campus

Judo has been around for hundreds of years since its development in 17th-century Japan. Now the martial art is entering its 42nd year at IU.\nThe Hoosiers started a judo club in 1964, flourishing in the 1970s under U.S. Olympic coach Dan Phytila and producing numerous national and regional champions.\nThis weekend, IU tried to produce another individual national champion in the National Collegiate Judo Championship.\nThe NCJC was held in Tinley Park, Ill., and was open to any full-time student who is part of his respective school's judo club. This year, IU's team consisted of senior captain Neil Coker, freshman Jimmy Walters and coaches Vern Ellett and Daisuke Hirata.\nCoker had high hopes for the tournament. \n"I go into every tournament hoping to win," Coker said. "This tournament was no exception; I trained incredibly hard for three months in order to prepare myself for this. I wanted to win, and leave my college judo career on a high note."\nCoker had an eventful ride to the bronze-medal match. He beat an opponent from San Diego State University and advanced to the quarterfinals, then advanced to the semifinal round by defeating an Army wrestler. In the semifinal match, Coker lost to another opponent from Army, putting him into the consolation bracket. There, he defeated the San Jose State opponent that he originally topped in the first round, taking Coker to the bronze-medal match.\nHowever, in the medal round, Coker encountered a referee dispute. He used the same combination that won him the match in the second round, but it was waved off.\n"I jumped up with my hands in the air as soon as he hit the mat, but I saw the corner judges waving off the score," Coker said. "The score went to my opponent in one of the more controversial calls that I've ever seen in this level of judo."\nThe points were awarded to Coker's opponent, giving him fourth place in the competition. The team contested the call to the referees, the coaches' liaison and the tournament director, but no official change has been made to the ruling. \nCoker was upset that he lost the medal due to a referee's call.\n"I feel like I could have won the whole thing if I would have played just a little smarter," said Coker. "I would have settled for the bronze, but getting screwed on a bad call like that really bummed me out. I fought really well, and no one really dominated the bracket. I think the top four (competitors) could go any way on any given day." \nSince Coker is graduating in August, his judo career at IU is complete, but he hopes to continue in the sport. He plans to try out for the national Olympic team either in 2008 or 2012 and then plans to earn his coaching certificate and eventually begin teaching.