Yuko Fujii's first contact with judo determined the course that followed his life.
It was 30 years ago in Japan, when in his first training, a boy threw it head on the tatami."The Mona that should be caged is now Olympic champion at home ": The Story of Rafaela Silva, the judoka who overcame the prejudices to win the gold in Rio 2016
His first thought was that he would never practice the sport again, but that hot reaction did not end in compliance and Fujii ended up reversing the roles of that first encounter.
She is the one who has now put the men in the lead after becoming the first woman to lead the male judo team in Brazil.
In a traditionally macho society like the Brazilian and in a world-the sports-clearly dominated by men, the choice of a woman to lead a male team in one of the main Olympic modalities was unthinkable.
Thus, Fujii's appointment was unexpected and received as a step forward in women's struggle for gender equality, not only in judo but in sport in general.
Discrimination in Brazil against women is present in any sporting field, to the point that Marta Vieira da Silva, a legend of the most popular sport in the country: football, had to fight since childhood to fulfill his dream of being a player Professional.
And that difference not only affects athletes, but is present in any field, including the technical direction.
The only woman who has managed to coach the women's soccer team, Emily Lima, was fired before completing a year in office despite the protests of the players.
The Brazilian Judo confederation hopes that with Fujii the situation will begin to change.
"Yuko is an excellent example of the increase in recognition of the role of women in sport, especially when taking into account that judo is a martial art in which access for women has been restricted throughout history " Said Ney Wilson, one of the agency's administrators.
"Our choice of Yuko as a coach of the men's team surprised the world of judo. And I'm sure that other federations and other sports in Brazil will follow this example ".
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Fujii seeks to lower the profile of his figure and refers to wanting to do the best for the team, contributing with "All I have ".
She defines her training style as one directed at 100% to the individual.
"I don't teach my own style of judo to wrestlers, I work with them based on their own strengths and weaknesses," he said.
"I never think much about that about men versus women "
One of his pupils is Jeferson dos Santos, participant in the division of 73 kilograms, who described it as "attentive, with guidance to technique and detail, phenomenal qualities for a trainer ".
"When you approach Yuko with a question she gives you 30 answers," she said.
"I got excited when I knew she'd be our coach."
Long Way
It was Fujii's mother who didn't let her daughter leave the judo after her first bad experience.A decision that Fujii today thanks after living a successful career as a judoca in his youth and to take advantage of the sport as a tool to learn English and live in other countries.
Thanks to her knowledge she was named as coach of the judo team at the University of Bath, UK, and after the British team.
It was not easy at first as it used to "suffer" when the children questioned what she was trying to convey to them.
But he recognizes that this experience also inspired her to discover sport from a much more technical point of view, in detail,
This way of understanding judo was what caught the attention of the Brazilian Judo confederation, who hired her as an assistant to the men's and women's teams in the face of the Rio 2016 Olympics.
And the first gold medal for the host country in those games came thanks to one of Fujii's directed, Rafaela Silva.
His reputation continued to rise and confidence in his abilities opened the doors to his new office.
"I was ashamed to train men. I didn't know that what I had as a coach could be of value to them , "he explained.
"I started with an individual training with one of the wrestlers and talked about many details and strategies based on their characteristics. We were both gaining in confidence in the other and self. "
"All my coaches have always been men " He recalled, "It was the norm ".
"But if a person has the potential, he should get the chance " he said.
After his appointment, Fujii received a shower of messages of support that enabled him to realize so much of what he had achieved and of the little space that women still have in the sport.
"But if I can become a coach of the men's judo team in a macho country like Brazil, I think that's a sign that things are changing and that more doors will begin to open," he said with hope.
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