Sports · Judo
My story
s with judo.
Before triathlons, before long-distance challenges, there was the tatami: a simple, demanding place where you learn very early on to fall, get back up, and try again.
I started practicing judo at age five at the Grasse Judo Club, with Yves Frangioni. That’s where I learned my first lessons as an athlete: discipline, repetition, respect for my opponent, and the very concrete idea that nothing is achieved without commitment.
5 years
First Steps on the Tatami Mats at the Grasse Judo Club.
17 years old
Earning my 1st-dan black belt—a major milestone in my early athletic career.
2012
A more serious return to training, with the goal of earning a 2nd dan.
A school that emphasizes discipline.
Judo was my first real sports program. At that age, you don’t yet use very elaborate words to describe what you’re learning, but your body picks it up quickly: showing up on time, practicing, accepting correction, respecting your partner, and not confusing intensity with brutality.
I’ve found a kind of balance there. Fighting requires you to be present, clear-headed, and fully engaged. You may have strength, but that alone is never enough. You have to feel the movement, use the energy at your disposal, and sometimes be willing to give way in order to come back stronger.
A black belt at age 17.
Earning my 1st-dan black belt marked the culmination of my first phase of training. At seventeen, you don’t always fully grasp what such a milestone means, but you know very well just how much work it took to get there.
This period also left a lasting impression on me thanks to my coaches and the club: Yves Frangioni, and the entire community in Grasse, which inspired me to improve in a healthy way.
Falling, getting back up, starting over: Judo has given me a framework that I still use in other areas of my life.
What remains today.
Judo is no longer at the forefront of my athletic life, but it remains a foundation. I see its principles reflected in endurance, teaching, music, and even entrepreneurship: staying calm, remaining open to others, working long hours, and accepting setbacks without making a big deal out of them.
When I’m preparing for a very long race, when I’m putting together a project, or when I need to persevere through a difficult period, there’s still something about the tatami: moving forward without cutting corners, with patience, and returning to the right technique.