Rantz 'N' RAVES / Izumi takes long shot on different mat

Ken Marantz / Daily Yomiuri Sportswriter

Hiroshi Izumi has never been one to shy away from a challenge, dating back to the time he left his small town in Aomori Prefecture at age 12 and ventured on his own to Tokyo to join the noted Kodogakusha judo academy.

As daunting as that must have been, it could hardly be as unnerving as the task the current mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter has recently decided to undertake.

Izumi, whose memories of the Olympics are mixed, has a long-range goal of making the 2012 London Games. Nothing unusual about that, but the circumstances behind it are anything but ordinary.

If Izumi does make the Japan team to London, it won't be in judo, in which he won a silver medal in the 90-kilogram class in Athens in 2004 but suffered a shocking second-round loss four years later in Beijing.

Izumi, now 28, is trading a tatami mat for a padded one, a loose-fitting uniform for a skin-tight one. He is taking a shot at wrestling, a sport in which he starts completely from scratch.

If successful, he would become the first Japanese in history to compete in two sports in the Summer Olympics.

"I've been competing in mixed martial arts, so I thought that wrestling was possible," Izumi said on Monday. "Taking into consideration my weight class also made me think it's possible."

After the loss in Beijing, Izumi retired from judo and, last September, entered the brutal world of professional MMA, joining World Victory Road, which stages the full-contact Sengoku circuit. After losing his first bout by TKO to Antz Nanson, he has won twice.

While turning pro closed the Olympic door on Izumi in judo--he would have to quit MMA for three years before being eligible to return to judo--the Japan Wrestling Federation has no such restrictions, and officials have been quite receptive. The fact that he can continue with MMA while pursuing his new sport was a factor in his decision to do double-duty.

Last month, the brawny 1.73-meter Izumi got his first taste of what he faces when he trained with the national team as it prepared for the world championships, currently under way in Moscow.

"It wasn't that much fun," Izumi said about getting his introduction at such a high level. "But I learned a lot. I just took it all in, thinking of that as the standard."

Choosing freestyle over Greco-Roman, saying the style that allows for the grabbing of the legs better suits him, Izumi will compete in the 96-kilogram class, where his tremendous power can help make up for his lack of technique.

"In terms of power, he's on this level," Kazuyuki Nagashima, the national champion in the 74-kilogram freestyle class, said by phone prior to leaving for Moscow. "But making the Japan team? That's going to be tough."

While Japan has not had great success in the heavier weight classes, Nagashima pointed out that a strong wrestler has emerged in the 96-kilogram class in Takao Isokawa, who finished third at this year's Asian championships.

"Isokawa's a notch higher than everyone else. [Izumi] might be able to beat everyone from No. 2 down, but winning the national title will be difficult."

Somewhat brashly, Izumi does not consider getting past Isokawa as his biggest barrier. "Becoming No. 1 in Japan will not be easy, but the toughest hurdle will be to earn a qualifying spot in the Olympics."

Izumi's debut in a singlet has not been set, but his camp is tentatively looking at the All-Japan non-student open championships in Tokyo on Nov. 20-21. His next MMA match will be fixed once his wrestling situation is decided, World Victory Road spokesman Tomohiro Iida said.

For now, Izumi will train in wrestling as part of his daily regimen in MMA. Iida said he will learn from two stablemates with wrestling pedigrees, 2008 world collegiate champion Shigeki Osawa and Maximo Blanco, a former Venezuela national team member.

While judo and wrestling have a number of techniques in common, mostly in throws, the difference is in application. Most notably, grabbing the opponent's uniform is requisite in judo; in wrestling, it is illegal.

So which is harder, taking a punch in MMA or having nothing to grab when setting up a throw?

"They're both tough," Izumi said.