I got introduced to judo at the age of 7 by my father. He was a black belt under the world renowned Yoshisada Yonezuka Sensei in Cranford, New Jersey. I remember completing the kid’s judo class as a child and then staying an extra hour and a half to watch him train with the adults. I really didn’t like judo for the first few years, but I loved winning trophies at tournaments. The older I got, the harder it was to win trophies without training hard. I quickly learned one of the most important lessons of judo and life, which is that hard work works.

I eventually began to enjoy the process of preparing for a competition. I became obsessed with the concept of being the hardest working person in the room. When I was seventeen years old and graduated high school, Yonezuka sensei and my father decided to send me to Japan by myself to train for four months. I went to Nihon University (Nichidai) and immediately realized that I had no idea what hard training was. At Nichidai, we trained 6-7 hours, 6 days a week. It was an incredibly grueling experience, but also one that prepared me for the rest of my judo career. Without that initial experience, I would’ve never achieved the success that I have in judo.

After leaving Japan, I decided to attend San Jose State University to study and train under legendary coach Yosh Uchida. While at San Jose State, I was team captain for 4 years, won 3 National Collegiate Judo Titles, and made my first Olympic Team.

After the Rio Olympic Games, I left San Jose State to move to Boston, Massachusetts to train under Olympic Team Coach and Medalist, Jimmy Pedro. I trained there for two years before ultimately moving back to the NJ/NY area to train under my father. I would drive to Montreal and spend two weeks training with the Canadian National Team and then train for two weeks in New Jersey before traveling overseas to compete. While in New Jersey, I qualified for my second Olympic Team.

After competing at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, I decided it was time to end my competitive career. I had personally accomplished everything I set out to as a competitor and decided to give back to the next generation of judoka. I’ve been teaching at various dojos throughout the country as well as working privately with grapplers for over ten years.

The joy I get from my athlete’s achieving their goals is very similar to the joy I got when I won a major medal or had a breakthrough. I am now on USA Judo National Team Coaching Staff which is a huge honor. I also will be opening my own Judo/BJJ Facility (Colton Brown Training Center) on February 12th. The goal of the training center is to provide instruction to grapplers of all levels. I am so grateful to be doing what I love every day and hope to have one of the biggest training centers in the country one day to help spread martial arts! Since retiring from Judo after the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games, I’ve put all my energy into coaching. I have numerous clients at all different skill levels that I personally coach. I am also on the USA Judo National Team Coaching Staff.

While competing in judo, I was always afraid that I wouldn’t find something that brought me the same joy. When I started coaching, I immediately realized that I got the same joy from helping my students achieve their goals.

Tokyo 2021

At the Colton Brown Training Center, we encourage people of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life to join our martial arts community. We strive to make sure every student has a great experience when they walk through our doors.

Updates:

• 17^th Sunday - California State Games Judo Event, San Diego, CA

• 21^st Thursday to 24^th Sunday - Grassroots Judo Summer Nationals, Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• 28^th Thursday to 31^st Sunday - U.S. Open, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

December - 2022

• 2^nd Friday to 4^th Sunday - Grassroots Judo Winter Nationals & Clinics, Azusa. CA

I’m always looking for new subjects to write about regarding judo as well as contributions from my readers. Please send them to gary@garygoltz.com,