Our aspiring Olympians get a judo masterclass from Olympic medallist

Sportsbeat's Josh Burrows and Matt Sherry are competing against each other in every Olympic sport between now and London 2012 - and they're are already fighting.

MASTERCLASS: Josh Burrows and Matt Sherry get a judo lesson from Olympic silver medallist Ray Stevens

As he released his stranglehold Ray Stevens informed me that if he had continued I would have been unconscious within 15 seconds.

It was as good an introduction to judo as anyone is likely to get, from a man acknowledged as one of the most technically gifted European judokas ever. Certainly Stevens is a hugely impressive individual, both on paper and in person, where he still looks impossible to knock over.

At the Barcelona Olympics in 1992, he won silver, despite going into the competition underweight and carrying a serious injury that severely hampered his preparation.

His crocked right knee was in fact so bad that it gave way during a play fight with a fellow athlete a few hours after the final.

“My mate couldn’t believe it,” Stevens told us.

“He never realised how bad it was. Just three hours earlier I was competing in the final of the Olympics.

“It was a shame I had the injury. Immediately after losing, I was gutted, but then when you’re on the podium you realise winning a silver medal is still a pretty big deal.

“I nearly beat him [Hungarian Antal Kovacs]. I was so close getting him in an arm lock twice in the early stages.

"I would have definitely stood a better chance without the injury. Would I have won? You can never say.”

FLASHBACK: Ray Stevens en route to his Olympic silver medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona (Getty Images)

Stevens now spends his time training the next generation of potential Olympians, and for a couple of hours on one Saturday afternoon, Burrows and me too.

Our training started with landing techniques – or ‘break falls’. The lesson came two days too late for Burrows, who is missing half a front tooth after falling off his bike.

He has gone from looking like a poncey golfer to a crack-head.

Next we got into the really interesting stuff – throws. There was something very uplifting about chucking Burrows to the ground and hearing his bones smack off the floor.

After only a few attempts my throws started to get smoother, while Burrows started to look more and more annoyed. A nod of approval from Stevens told me I was doing something right.

Burrows and I will have to do a couple more sessions before we are ready to have our contest – partly because we could only practise a limited number of throws and holds without the required judo jackets and belts.

But what I’ve learned about the sport already has impressed me.

Judo players, including some of Stevens’ protégés, are the fittest of the fit. In the 80s, before sportsmen became obsessed with strength and conditioning, top judokas were performing 600 sit-ups during their warm-up routines.

The techniques also come surprisingly naturally. As Stevens points out, where most combat sports - boxing, taekwondo, karate, etc - keep the competitors on their feet, judo is more realistic in its heavy use of 'groundwork'.

“Judo is fighting,” said Stevens simply. "Throw a guy onto these mats and he's going to be ok, but throw him onto some concrete outside and he's not going to be getting back up again."

Thinking back to the many fights with my brother throughout childhood, it is clear how realistic judo is. As for the bout between Burrows and myself, it will be at least a week until game time, but based on Saturday’s events I think it’s a pretty obvious that I have this one in the bag.

* Ray Stevens coaches Judo at Blossom House School in Wimbledon. The club has been around for only 18 months and has 150 junior members. See www.raystevensjudo.co.uk for more information.

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