I was watching the Wimbledon Mens final last week and at the end of a great match I noticed something about the eventual runner up that impresses me and struck a chord in my head. I watched the facial expressions of Andy Roddick – How gutted was he? After losing an epic match to probably the best tennis player in history i could see that passion in his eyes that told me he had desire. Although taking defeat graciously you could see deep down inside he wanted to win that title so much he was almost grieving over losing out.  I would relate this to a judoka in that there must be a desire to win above all that burns deep inside to win. If you lose to someone better than you in randori who should be your next practice? is it another person who you feel you can handle or maybe beat? I think it should be the person who has just given you the beating of the night. If you have that desire to win or be the best its no good looking for easy practice or taking it easy in training. Having the desire to win is what will bring you through eventually. I listened to Kosei Inoue not so long ago at Bath University where he was giving us a Keynote lecture. Most of his conversation was around wanting to be Shinohara. He was the person who drove him on to practice hard and set a goal of beating him, it instilled him with that desire to win.  I wonder if any of our Judo Apprentice students have that desire deep down? we will see ? – I notice it occasionally in some of the students and it then gives me desire as a coach – you can see how the coach – athlete relationship can spur each other on. What are your thoughts?