Posted by Howard Richman on May 01 2008 at 08:55:41:
An article in the Belleville (IL) News Democrat focuses on Autumn Bates, shown in the above accompanying photo. Here´s a selection:
Autumn Bates was a shy 5-year-old with a history of breathing problems when her parents enrolled her in judo classes five years ago.HowardThey were planning to home-school her and thought the martial art would be a good way to meet physical-education requirements.
It took coaches two weeks to get Autumn out on the mat, but she proved to be a hard worker with natural talent. She began competing in judo tournaments after six months of lessons....
Autumn´s toughness helped her earn the title of junior national champion with the U.S. Judo Federation and U.S. Judo Association in 2007. She also won a Jerry Okubo Memorial Award for outstanding competition in 2006.
Autumn´s father, Tony Bates, clearly remembers her final match at the U.S. Judo Association championship in Indianapolis.
"She was fighting for the gold medal, and the other girl stomped on her foot and split her toenail up the middle, and it stuck in her toe," said Bates, manager of Bert´s Rentals and Sales in Swansea. "She pulled it out and then threw the girl."...
Judo still attracts a relatively small percentage of girls, so 75-pound Autumn often practices with boys. At the tournament, she´ll fight four or five girls in her age and weight class....
Autumn´s favorite throw is the tai otoshi, also known as a body drop. It involves pulling an opponent around and over an outstretched leg.
"They don´t really see it coming," Autumn said. "You can jump in front of them and trip them, and most of the time it works."...
Autumn has come a long way since being diagnosed with severe tracheomalacia as a baby. The cartilage in her windpipe hadn´t properly developed, causing choking and difficulty breathing.
The problem corrected itself over time. Today, Autumn is enrolled as a satellite (home-schooled) student at Berean Christian School in Fairview Heights, which gives her flexibility to practice judo five times a week. It has become her passion.
"I get to meet new friends, and I get to learn different throws, and I get to travel around the United States," Autumn said....