First blood to Burrows in Olympic judo challenge

Sportsbeat's Josh Burrows and Matt Sherry are competing against each other in every Olympic sport between now and London 2012 - and the first challenge is over.

ONE SPORT DOWN: Sportsbeat's Josh Burrows and Matt Sherry with former Olympic medallist Ray Stevens but who won their judo challenge

By Josh Burrows, Sportsbeat

I wasn't convinced Matt would get through the warm-up.

"Nip into Greggs for us would you?" .  He had phoned to ask, as I waited for him at the train station.

"Chicken salad sandwich and a bottle of Lucozade. Ta."

It's what he thinks constitutes a sportsman's breakfast.

By the time we'd walked up the hill to the judo centre he was sweating buckets.

It's fair to say his participation in the warm-up was less than enthusiastic.

To give him his dues though, the Northerner had taken to the actual judo better than me.

While neither of us could be regarded as a natural, when Matt got his practice o-goshis and ippon seoi nages right, I was being comfortably flipped - at one point so convincingly I was concerned I had been concussed and struggled to focus for the next ten minutes.

Understandably then, Matt was confident going into our assessment.

With only a couple of hours of training, expert though it was, it was unfeasible to have a ‘proper' bout.

Instead, we would be demonstrating two throws (three times each).

WISE COUNSEL: 1992 Olympic silver medallist Ray Stevens has been mentoring Burrows and Sherry on their judo challenge (Getty Images)

A stranglehold in front of Khaled, one of the club's registered judo examiners, and Max, an 18-year-old collection of muscles who Ray Stevens describes as one of the country's top young judo players and a potential 2016 competitor.

My first hip throw, or o-goshi (see below) was tidy - feet properly placed, hips correctly set, good drive with the legs.

 

Matt's was more of a haul. Unfortunately my technique then fell apart while Matt's improved dramatically.

Twice I was flipped neatly over his well-padded hip. Round one to the fat lad.

The kataha-jime stranglehold (see above) I performed was reasonable but apparently no better than Matt's.

My technique was better, his grip superior, the point divided.

Much as I had tried not to give him the satisfaction of tapping out, even an inexpertly performed stranglehold is a remarkably efficient way of killing a man and I had had to give in before my eyes popped out of my head.

Into the final round - the ippon seoi nage shoulder throw (see above for how it is meant to be done).

As with all judo techniques, the better your technique, the less effort you expend and unfortunately for Matt, he bottled it.  His throws were sluggish and I took the round 2-1, to level the competition and take us into a decider.

And so our test ended, where our training had begun, with a simple break-fall.  Best of three. It didn't even go to the third attempt. Both judges credited me with the better technique on the first two demonstrations.

Against the odds and to Matt's complete dismay, I was victorious.

"Quite often it's the guy who wants it more who wins," Ray observed calmly as Matt begged for another round.

Even more often, I thought quietly to myself while nursing my Adam's apple, sport throws up a surprise.

Now click ahead to read Matt Sherry's version of events