Shokichi Natsui ( Japanese 夏 井 昇 吉 Natsui Shokichi , October 10, 1925 - September 13, 2006) - Japanese judoka , the first ever world champion.
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Biography
Born in Akita Prefecture in the modern city of Oga ; became a cop. In 1954 he became the bronze medalist of the Japanese judo championship, in 1955 he won a silver medal at the Japanese championship.
In 1956, the first ever judo world championship was held in Tokyo . There were no weight categories, a participant of any weight could get into opponents. Shokichi Natsui won his first fight in three seconds, throwing an opponent from Cambodia over his shoulder with a seoi-nage throw. In the second fight, he met with Johansen from Denmark, and defeated him in 8 seconds with a tai-otoshi throw. In the third battle, the enemy was Vodrey from Belgium; it took 44 seconds to defeat him. In the semifinals, Seokichi Natsui met with Henri Kurtin from France, whom he again defeated in 8 seconds using tai-otoshi . The final fight against Yoshihiko Yoshimatsu ended in favor of Shokichi Natsuya.
In 1957, Shokichi Natsui became the champion of Japan.
Links
- Shokichi Natsui - profile on judoinside.com