100 days for GP Montreal Shady El Nahas is growing

Last year Canadian rookie Shady El Nahas took silver at the Grand Slam in Osaka. He is definitely one of coming man in judo U100kg and he can throw BIG. We’ve seen a few hipthrows of him and that was just tasty for any judo fan. Last week in Ekaterinburg he caught another medal, bronze this time. With the Grand Prix ahead in exactly 100 days and at the birthday of Shady, we zoom in with this fighters with some extra questions in the series “Meet your Judoka”.

Ekaterinburg

“Overall Ekaterinburg was a good day and I was satisfied with that performance. I knew it was going to be a long day but I did my best and succeeded. My coach Sacha kept motivating me and pushed me and I am happy I ended with a medal in Russia. Soon I will have the Pan Ams in April and I will see what my coaches Michel and Sacha will bring me and I hope to show a gold medal soon.”

How did you start judo

“I started Judo at the age of 5, because my older brother Mohab was doing it. And also because I was a fat kid and I wanted to lose weight somehow, so that’s how I fell in love with the sport.”

Favourite throw

“I don’t think about all throws, it just happens. My favourite tachi-waza has to be O-goshi or Uchimata, because I have big hips so I use that as an advantage and..it looks good on camera when I throw and it makes me win fights so its perfect.”

Newaza

“So my favourite newaza technique is Hadaka Jime, it's just a nice way to win a fight. “

Memory

“My favourite memory from the IJF World Judo Tour has to be at the Osaka Grand Slam when I fought IIda and I did the hip throw. It didn’t score but it was a nice thing to look back on. Also I medalled and that was my first Grand Slam medal so that was a nice way to finish the day.”

Music

“When I’m competing my favourite kind of music to listen to is Tupac and Biggie, its kind of old school I know but that’s what helps me relax. And when I’m not competing I like to listen to more slow songs, so Khalid and a lot of more mellow music.”

Food

“My favourite food has to be pizza, but it has to have Pineapple and Steak on it. “

Movie

“My favourite movie has to be between 300 or Never Back Down. I’m a fighter and they are all about fighting so, it suits me.”

Nickname

“Alright...I have Nicknames but I don’t like them. They call me Elastic or Noodle, because my body is kind of lanky, but I’m growing out of it. I got fifth at the Junior World Championships and I had to gain a lot of weight to become a serious senior athlete. I’m trying to put muscle on so I’ll change those Nicknames pretty soon. “

Other Sport

“Something you might not know about me is that I am obsessed with basketball, everytime when I try and get my mind away from Judo I just watch games. My favourite team has to be the Lakers, and that’s not because of Lebron James! So yeah, its basketball.”

My Hero

“So as cheesy as it is my hero has to be my older brother. He showed me all my moves and calls me before every final or before every big fight and gives me pointers and advice on how to fight and yeah he is my role model. I grew up watching Zantaraia, his throwing is amazing and I just love watching him and since I was a kid he was my Judo Idol.”

Advice

“My advice would be to believe in yourself, believe in your work ethic, believe in your team and of course if you put in the work, you’re gonna get results. Judo brings you closer to so many people, makes you respect people and just teaches you the basics of life, so it's just a nice way to get to know people, be healthy and it just brings positivity to your life that’s all it does honestly.”