Several ISU students will find during spring break what their dedication and commitment to judo has meant to them.

After a two-year hiatus from national competition, the ISU Judo Club will journey to Florida International University in Miami and compete against other collegiate teams on March 20. The team is taking an extended vacation, leaving Monday and staying through the end.

The basic principle of judo is to break the opponent’s balance from a standing starting position. Attempts to hurl the opponent to the ground are made by various throwing techniques, such as the throw, pin, arm-bar and choking. By pressuring the elbow, the opponent is likely to submit and collapse.

“The key tenets of judo are minimal effort yielding maximum results and the mutual welfare of others,” said Jonathan Chu, junior in management information systems and president of the club.

Additional principles of judo consist of courtesy, integrity, self-control, perseverance, continuity and citizenship.

In the highest turnout yet for the national competition, six of the 30 members of the club are bidding for success. Brown belts Chu, Pat Trizila, senior in aerospace engineering, Nathan Meier, junior in management information systems and treasurer of the club; orange belts Jon Schmitt, sophomore in engineering, and Rachel Thompson, senior in graphic design; and yellow belt Ben Davis, sophomore in history and social chairman of the club, will all be participating in the tournament. The club will be under the direction of coach and black belt Kenwood Scoggin, research technician in soil tilth.

The tournament is based on a modified double elimination bracket. The competition is open to anyone with a coach’s recommendation of adequate skills. A predicted 200-250 participants will be present at the tournament, Davis said.

The team members are excited for this opportunity to test their skills and compete on such a high level.

“We have so many more members who are enthusiastic and encouraging to each other. We all want to test our abilities and see how well we can do. We want to do well so our club can receive recognition for all our hard work,” Chu said.

Another reason for the trip was the opportunity to spend spring break in a desirable location while vying for desirable titles.

“Spring break on South Beach is a great culmination to months of blood, sweat and tears. We think it will be nice to run on the beach instead of running on slushy roads, splashing through puddles,” Davis said. “We have been training very hard and will not do anything to lessen our chances of competing well, but we will have a good time.”

The team members are taking extra precautions and time to make sure they are prepared for the challenge of a national tournament. Practices five to six times per week for several hours at a time are normal now. Club members who are unable to attend the event aid those going by helping them to train and pushing their stamina.

With many of the participants having no prior experience at a national tournament, this initial trip is one that’s special and unknown.

“We want to use this tournament as a stepping stone to get the ISU Judo program to be a national powerhouse,” Davis said. “As one of the most inexperienced members going to the tourney, my personal goals are to do everything I have been taught, try to learn anything new and enjoy spending time with people that have the same passion in Judo that I do.”

Meier agreed the unity of the team is its driving force.

“We’ve spent hours with each other, sharing advice and improving our techniques,” he said. “Above all, we are confident, and we know that whomever we go up against will have a tough time in moving up the bracket.”

Competing against players who have been training for numerous years doesn’t deter the team.

“We want to bring the gold back home, and if not, just playing hard and challenging ourselves is enough. When you do that, I don’t think winning really matters,” Chu said. “I myself feel like Daniel LaRusso in ‘The Karate Kid’.”