Judoisti la scoala

For more than a year, a handful of my students had been telling me that they practiced judo in nearby Hincesti. I didn't know until today that two of them are some of the best judoists in Eastern Europe.

At an assembly today, Eugen Vreme, and 8th grader, and Mihail Brinzeanu, a 7th grader, received the well-earned praise from their fellow students because they brought home first and seventh place, respectively, in an international judo competition in Kyiv, Ukraine.

The competition, the Olympic Hopes Tournament, featured boys and girls from 14 countries, mostly in Eastern Europe but also including Israel, Greece and Great Britain. In Eugen and Mihail's under-46 kg weight class, there were 34 boys. Our boys not only made our village proud, but they should make the entire country proud; Eugen was the only Moldovan in the entire tournament to win gold.

How do two village kids from the poorest country in Europe end up representing their country so well? Well, it helps that Mihai and Ilie Buiuc are their trainers. The Buiuc brothers were students of Vasile Colta, and became some of the USSR's best judoists in the 1970s. They took over Colta's studio later, and now train boys and girls from all over Hincesti county.

Eugen received the boatload of the praise today at the assembly, from teachers, the director and students who make appreciated "ooohs" and "aaahs" when they saw his trophy and medals. Eugen, who is normally incredibly talkative in my class, for better or worse, was taciturn in the face of praise; he answered questions that his teacher and a student interviewer asked him about judo, but never expounded on anything. Judo has certainly taught him humility.

The school director closed by making an excellent point; she had looked at both boys' grades from last semester and was happy to report that both boys had excellent grades. Judo hasn't affected their success at school. If anything, it has probably made them even more disciplined and focused.

I already thought highly of these two boys, but now I respect them even more. Especially because they can probably beat me up.