Jimmy Pedro PHOTO COURTESY JIMMY PEDRO JIMMY COURTESY PHOTO TRAVEL WITH PURPOSE 86 COLLiDE Jimmy Pedro Continues a Judo Legacy AN INTERVIEW IMMY PEDRO was born to which he won at the 1996 and 2004 WITH THE be a judo world champion, no Olympics. But aside from his many OLYMPIC ATHLETE doubt. But a statement like that wins, one of Jimmy’s most notable AND COACH doesn’t account for the years of accomplishments was not as an training, travel and discipline athlete, but a coach. In 2012, his BY GIGIE HALL Jit took to become one of the most student, Kayla Harrison, became the decorated judo players in American first American judo player to win gold history. His father, James Pedro Sr., at the Olympics, and later repeated the was an Olympic alternate himself and feat at the 2016 Olympics. Today, you an accomplished judoka during the can find Jimmy continuing to coach 70s and 80s. By two years old, Jimmy some of the best judo competitors in was running around his father’s dojo, the country at his own dojo, Pedro’s and by the time he was a business Judo Center in Wakefield, MA. major at Brown University, he was To learn more about the world already winning gold in international renowned athlete, we chatted with competitions. The accomplishments Jimmy about his love for the sport, are endless and include two Olympic the mental training that sets his bronze medals under his belt, students apart and his time at Brown. GRADUATE HOTELS SPRING 2019 87 How did you get your start in judo? Quite honestly, I grew up on the judo mats. My father was a judo athlete and then he became a judo instructor and opened up his own school in 1972. At the time I was two-years-old, so as a young kid, I was at the school every night walking around the mats. I grew up practicing, watching all the kids train, and watching my father teach ever since I can remember. Was it unique at that moment to be in judo or did you know a lot of people in the sport? Well, back then the sport was much bigger than it is today, in the United States anyway. It’s bigger worldwide today than it was back then but in the United States, it was a bigger sport. However, none of the other martial arts had taken off yet — karate schools had just emerged and taekwondo wasn’t as popular, and jiu jitsu didn’t even exist back then in the United States. So, it was probably the main martial art. With that said, it was definitely not traditional or a mainstream sport. None of my school friends did it, but because the dojo was my second home, all of my friends did judo because I was hanging with all the kids that did judo. For someone who doesn’t know anything about It’s all of the above. I attribute all of the success in my somewhat selfish because all of their training is martial arts, what sets judo apart and what life to the sport of judo because in doing and training, involved. But as a coach, it’s about others, it’s about attracted you to it besides growing up in it? you learn valuable life lessons. First, you learn to trying to get the most out of all of your athletes and For me, I really don’t know another way. That’s just fail, you know there is always somebody better than understanding that not all athletes can be treated the sport I knew and it was part of my DNA and part you out there that is going to beat you and you have the same. Some take to positive reinforcement, of my family’s heritage, so I don’t know anything to learn to live with defeat. You have to figure out some take to hard lessons and hard talks. You have else. But, to the novice, judo is more of a grappling strategy to improve and get better and try to beat that to get the most out of each of your athletes based on martial art. There is no striking involved so you won’t opponent next time. So you learn to persevere, you their personalities and what motivates them. What see any chops or kicks or strikes to the body or head. learn to strategize, you learn how to be more efficient I learned is that you have to have a custom program Everything is basically take-downs and submissions with your training to get stronger and better. There’s for each athlete if you are going to help all of them or hold-outs. More of a wrestling or grappling mental toughness, no question. The ability to compete succeed. You can still have the same demands and the martial art than throwing and hitting. against the best guys in the world and in a sport that the same expectations but the way that you reach them United States is not typically very strong at. Then, just and the way that you help them is a bit different. In terms of your career as a fighter, what have discipline — in order to become the best in the world, So I am more well-rounded as a coach than as a been some of your biggest challenges? you want to put the time and effort it takes to train player, because as a player I just put my head down I think in an attempt to become the best in the world, for the sport. You’re not just doing judo training. You and worked and I believe in work ethic. You can finances were a challenge. In order to get good at have to be strong, you have to be powerful, so there’s outwork any opponent, and if you have the mental judo, you need to live and train outside of the United weightlifting involved and there’s strength conditioning and physical fortitude to impose your will, then States, which means many many trips to Asia. More and the track work for explosive power. I think this anybody can be beat on any given day and that was than likely, Japan, and also extensively throughout sport also really teaches respect. The differentiator the mindset that I had as an athlete. Europe, with competitions in France, Germany and between martial arts and typical American sports is that England. As well for the Pan American Union, you there is a level of respect for your opponent, respect Do you feel like that sets your students apart, the often had to travel to South America to qualify for the for yourself, be clean, win but not at any cost and listen mental training that you do? Olympic games. So there was extensive travel around to the rules. That’s the Japanese culture with bowing Yes. We spend a good amount of time on mental the world, and being away from home, I didn’t have before the contest, after the contest, controlling your preparation and how to physically and mentally a normal childhood and a normal family because I emotion, being humble and being honest. prepare for events. It’s a lot of visualization and would typically spend six months to a year on the training. We will visualize achieving success every day, road away from home. As a coach now, are there things that you have closing our eyes and feeling the moment and living the learned by teaching others that you weren’t really moment as if it is really happening in our lives. I’m a On the flip side, what are some of the bigger life expecting to learn? Or that you couldn’t learn as a firm believer that once you can visualize success in a lessons that you learned from the sport? And that competitor? meaningful way, it becomes tangible, that your body can be from the mental aspect of it to the physical When you’re a competitor, it’s all about yourself. then will follow through and help you get there. Of to balancing your life. Most athletes, in order to be successful, have to be course if somebody who only verbalizes it once, and PHOTO COURTESY JIMMY PEDRO JIMMY COURTESY PHOTO TRAVEL WITH PURPOSE 88 COLLiDE expects something to happen and then goes about an Olympic champion, you’re a superstar” and then preparing me for college and how to balance school their day and never really believes or buys into the they’d ask Travis “How did you do?” He would always work with judo training, with wrestling and just my mindset, then this is something that you can’t will to say, “Well, I only did 5th” and he was literally a second whole life. When I got to Brown, it was more of the happen. away from being an Olympic superstar himself, but same, but I had more hours in the day to get done he came home with nothing. After training for four what I did in high school. So I was able to balance it A lot of your competitors that you coach have straight years alongside Kayla and also having various pretty nicely. I was a disciplined athlete. I’d get up at gone on to the Olympics and I’m wondering, what ailments, he made it back to the Olympic games and five in the morning, and I would get my lifting done have some of the highlights been, and when have qualified.