Welcome to the Home Page of the US Military Academy Judo Club

The Army Judo Team was established in 1961 at the United States Military Academy in West Point, NY. The players are cadets who are full-time students training to be commissioned officers in the United States Army. As part of their development, these cadets devote enormous amounts of personal time to learn Judo. Based upon over 45 years of tradition, the team relies on volunteer sensei and alumni to support them. Over the years, the teams has successfully placed cadets among the top collegiate athletes in the country with several graduates continuing on to a lifelong commitment to the art and sport as well as a distinguished service to the nation. With a reputation for sportsmanship and toughness and dedication to the principles of Duty, Honor and Country, the Army Team seeks to constantly improve its judo, bring new members to the Gentle Way, and BEAT NAVY!

Alumni:  Please visit our Alumni Page and, if you have any content, contact me and I'll upload it.

USMA Judo Team, 1961-1962

USMA Judo Team, 2006-2007

 

 

Team 2nd Place,  Collegiate Nationals...Nick Hochertz wins 100 kg!

 

Menomonie, WI (30 MAR) - The USMA Judo Team placed second at the National Collegiate Judo Championships. Despite fighting off a nagging sickness and some injuries, several of the players fought through and performed extremely well on the day. Most notably, Nick Hochertz, a freshman in his first year on the team, won the 100 KG division and is the current reigning champion. Even with a small division, Nick had a total of six matches -- he was hurting, sick and exhausted, but in the very last match of the day at the tournament, Nick rose to the occasion and gutted out a tough win to earn gold. At 60KG, senior and team captain Dave Burris earned a bronze. The 73 KG division, typically one of the hardest contested divisions at the tournament, Gary Bowman, a junior, placed bronze. In only his second year, Gary fought and defeated opponents with years of experience and has demonstrated techinque and skill far ahead of a normal second year player. Likewise, Dan Diccicco -- also at 73 KG -- fought well in this highly contested division, but did not place. At 90 KG, junior Freddie Lewis battled through a rib injury to earn bronze. Freddie was actually in position to earn gold, but in a close match, his injury overcame him and he wound up with a third. Nate Horswill (66 KG), Dan Diccicco (73 KG), Matt Song (81 KG), and Kris Kilgroe (90 KG) – all sophomores -- each fought well winning one, two or three matches. Even with only one or two years of experience, these cadets were able to compete on the mat and win matches at the National Collegiate Championship event. On the women's side, Sara Drane fought well at 78 KG and earned silver in her division. The team took second to San Jose St, yet again, however, this year the team was only one or two matches away from winning the whole tournament. With almost the entire team returning, USMA Judo is poised to look for a gold next year.
 

Liberty Bell Tourney

 

Philadelphia, PA (6 Apr) - The USMA Judo Team traveled to Philadelphia, PA for the 21st annual Liberty Bell Classic judo tournament. With a total over over 700 athletes competing in the two day event, this is one of the premier judo tournaments on the east coast. The team brought 13 cadets to compete in the senior level division at both the novice and elite categories. On the novice side, Andy Meister (100kg) went 3-0 and took home a gold. Dave Burris (60kg), competing in his last competition as a cadet, went 3-2 and earned a bronze. On the elite side, Gary Bowman (73 kg) went 4-2 and finished 7th – an excellent finish in only his second year of judo. Dan Diccicco (73 kg), Matt Song (81 kg) and Art Dominiak (81 kg) also fought well in the elite category.
 

 

 

Tech Tourney

 

North Bergen, NJ (3 Feb) - The USMA Judo Team went to North Bergen, NJ on Sunday for the local “Tech Judo” tournament open to all competitors of the greater New York – New Jersey region. The team took nine competitors of which three actually competed in two different divisions.  Competing for the first time in the novice (white- green belt) division, freshman Brock Chavez fought well and placed second at lightweight. Also placing second was Kurt Reynolds at the 73kg division. Gary Bowman, a junior and recently promoted green belt fought in both the novice and the brown belt divisions at 73kg. He easily won the novice category.  At the brown belt ranks, Gary threw both his first opponents – both brown belts -- for an ippon, or full point, and found himself in the gold medal match. Although a tough match, Gary wound up placing silver. Also competing in two divisions was Nick Hochertz, a freshman and yellow belt. Like Gary, Nick easily won the novice division. He fought well in the brown belt division and placed silver as well. Competing in the women’s light weight, team captain Andie Alexander and Danielle Munoz placed 1^st and 2^nd respectively. Also, team captains Brent Carr (2^nd place, Sr. Black Belt 100kg) and Dave Burris (1^st Place Brown Belt 66kg) fought very well. In all, it was a small tournament and a good opportunity for some of the team members to get out on the mat and compete.

 

MLK Weekend of Judo

Brooklyn, NY (20 JAN) - The USMA Judo Team participated in two events over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend. On Friday, the team ventured to Warwick, RI for its annual pilgrimage to the Mayo Quanchi Judo Club for a Winter Mini-Camp. The Mini-Camp consisted of over 100 judoka training together over a two day period. At any given point, there were approximately 60 athletes on a small mat working tirelessly. The team participated in a 3-hour grueling practice Saturday morning as well as a 2 hour afternoon session. Although not as intense as it has been in the past, the team gained some tremendous experience and learned a few new Shimewaza – or Choking Techniques – to take back.

On Sunday, the Team traveled into Brooklyn to compete in the 15^th Annual Starrett Cup Challenge. An increasingly growing competition, this was by far the largest ever turn out. With hundreds of participants ranging from 5 – 35 years of age, the cadets unfortunately had to wait until the late afternoon to begin competing. Showing their mental toughness, the cadets were ready for the challenge as several of them competed in the Elite Brown & Black belt division. In the women’s category, team captain Andie Alexander placed third at 57kg. After losing to a nationally ranked opponent, Andie battled back and won three matches in a row – all by Ippon (or full point) – to earn Bronze. Over on the men’s side, Dave Burris, who recently earned his brown belt, fought against a sickness while winning three matches in the 60kg division. Dave made it to the Bronze medal match, but lost and placed fourth. Showing much promise at 73kg, Dan Diccicco, who only recently earned his green belt and has been doing judo for less than 18 months, fought in the elite brown & black division as well. With nearly 20 players in his division, Dan beat both a black belt and a brown belt on his way to a 5^th place finish. Of important note, Dan defeated an opponent who had beaten him last year, showing the incredible improvement he is making in his judo skills. Several of the other team members who fought at the novice level also performed well, to include Kris Kilgroe (1^st Place, 90kg), Andy Meister (1^st place, 100kg) and Nick Hochertz (2^nd Place, HVY). Many of the other team members who fought up at the Elite level came back with a  great amount of appreciation and experience. Having competed at this level, the cadets showed that even with less than two years of experience here at USMA, through their hard work ethic and dedication to winning, they know they can compete with players who have been doing judo for 10-15 years.

 

 

US Military Academy Hosts Local Judo Tournament

West Point, NY (10 NOV) - For the first time since the attacks on September 11th, 2001, the United Stated Military Academy hosted an open judo tournament on post at Arvin Gymnasium on Saturday, 10 November 2007. Historically, USMA had hosted local and regional tournaments, to include local junior tournaments, East Coast Collegiate Championships and the National Collegiate Judo Championships in 1995. This past weekend, however, USMA open its doors and welcomed competitors from all over the northeast region to engage in a well fought shiai open to children and adults. In all, there were 120 entrants representing 20 different judo clubs from ages 6 up to senior men and women. The tournament participants came from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Maryland and Massachusetts.

Be sure to view the results from the Tournament

While USMA Judo provided most of its team to manage the scoring tables, run the concessions stand and the registration table as well as oversee other activities, the team was able to free up eleven members to compete. Fighting in the elite (brown & black belt division) at 90kg, junior Freddie Lewis fought well against nationally ranked Harry St. Leger, but could not last. Lewis continued on winning his final match and earning a silver. Taking home gold medals were Gary Bowman in the Senior Men's novice middle weight division and Nick Hochertz at the senior men's super heavy division. The Senior women's novice division saw a battle of freshmen women from USMA for the silver medal where Aubrey Lowe defeated Danielle Munoz. Likewise, in the Senior Men's novice lightweight division, USMA's own Curt Reynolds defeated teammate Michal Zhou for the silver medal. Also taking home medals in the novice categories were Stephen Barnes who placed silver at heavy weight and Jamaal Smith who took a bronze at middle weight. One more important note worthy of mention among the novice competitors: USMA Team members Gary Bowman and Stephen Barnes both defeated Navy Opponents. On the day, among the three matches directly pitting Army vs Navy judoka, USMA won twice. Also representing USMA was Aliena Deraney. A junior in high school and resident of West Point, Aliena trains with the USMA Team. She won both her matches in the girls, 13-16 heavy weight category to capture the gold.

 

USMA Defeats Air Force

Colorado Spring, Colorado (3 NOV) - Army Judo performed superbly this weekend with both varsity and junior varsity victories over Air Force.    In the varsity match-up, Army won by a score of 40-30.  CDT Simor Singh defeated his opponent with two exciting throws, Dan Varanelli-Diccicco followed this up by pinning his opponent, and Andrew Meister defeated his opponent by arm bar.  With the score tied 30-30 going into the final match, Freshman Cadet Nick Hochertz stepped up and defeated his opponent by an amazing foot sweep that brought the crowd to their feet.  In the JV match Army won easily by a score of 40-10 with CDTs Jackie O'Conner, Matt Song, Frank Edmunds and Abe Bailin posting victories over their opponents.

 USMA New Comers Show Promise at Local Tech Tourney

North Bergen, NJ (4 NOV) - Eleven cadets competed in the Annual Tech Judo Tourney in North Bergen, NJ and took home several medals. Most notable, freshman Aubrey Lowe and sophomores Art Dominiak and Nate Horswill won all their matches to earn gold in their respective weight categories. Only a white belt, Aubrey fought against two women who were much older and more experienced green belts. She outlasted each scoring with a kata garuma technique (i.e. fireman's carry throw) to win by points. Art demonstrated an excellent counter to win one of his matches by ippon and employed a shimewaza (choking technique) to force his opponent to tap in the gold medal match. Nate displayed his throwing abilities with a beautiful seionage (a.k.a. shoulder throw) technique to win by ippon in his gold medal match. Also competing well in the tournament were David McCurdy who placed second and new comer Joseph Lambert who also earned silver. Of note, Joe won two matches with an brutal shimewaza (choking technique) to force his opponents to submit.

 

Judo Drill Training Clinic at the U.S. Military Academy, 27-28 October

The Unites States Military Academy Judo Team hosted a weekend “Drill Training Clinic” with special guest, Sensei Bill Montgomery in its dojo located on post at West Point, New York. The clinic featured three sessions of judo on Saturday and Sunday morning with Bill introducing the audience to the advantages of drill training. In attendance were thirty cadets from the Army Judo Team and several other judoka from southern New York and eastern Pennsylvania, totaling 45 people on the mat for the event.

Providing Instruction on Newaza or ground technique

The clinic on Saturday morning began with an intense introduction to the drill training. Bill demonstrated drill training as a repetition on throwing techniques, known as tachiwaza, and the importance of throwing in a series of combinations. Students not only learned how to train on these techniques, but also how to adapt and apply these techniques to competition. After a strenuous morning of drilling, the attendees enjoyed a lunch provided by the Academy at Eisenhower Hall. The afternoon session built on these same concepts, but focused on other aspects of judo: gripping techniques as well as newaza or ground techniques. Not to be solely focused on drilling, the students also got to apply their skills with a session of ron dori or “free techniques” where students competed head to head against each other on the mat. With over forty judoka conducting ron dori concurrently, action was very intense. The cadets, who practice daily with each other were delighted to have some new faces on the mat for training. The Sunday morning session concluded the clinic by summarizing all that was covered the day prior and reinforcing the concepts through a typical practice.

Sensei Bill Montgomery coaching Cadet Dan Diccicco on the Four-point break down

A member of the US Judo Association Coaching Committee and head coach for the Norwich Judo Dojo in Norwich, CT, Bill has over forty years of coaching experience in judo. He has accumulated a wealth of knowledge in working with world champions and Olympians and he uses the same techniques employed by some of the top athletes and coaches in the nation. For more information on this or info on training in Judo at the U.S. Military Academy, contact the Army Judo head coach, Major Ben Ring at ben.ring@usma.edu.