The real problem was being able to watch it ! During the Olympic Games the TV coverage was quite poor. The main networks were focusing on more popular sports, including the ones we can see every week on air. It may have been more interesting to focus on sports we can see every four years only !

In some cases it was possible to watch streaming versions of the competitions on the Internet, a simple way to bypass the limits imposed by the small number of channels used by broadcasters. But there were several restrictions imposed by the Olympic Committee, so each country had different sources and a different way to watch our favorite sport. Right now there are no recordings easily available: either you saw it live or… you missed it.

This is Carol Huynh (Canada), winner in the 48Kg category.

The action here is always top-level, although most of the matches end with armbar submissions, which in my opinion make some of them a bit boring and obvious. But sometimes you can see other great submission techniques like ankle locks and chokes, along with KOs from punches and kicks.

Hisae Watanabe appeared in many matches over the years, usually fighting in the < 48 Kg or < 49 Kg weight category (somewhere below 108 lbs). She’s light and aggressive and started her career as a kickboxer. In her first matches she always tries to have a standing fight and she often succeeds in winning by KO, sending her opponent to the mat with deadly punches. Lately she also got trained in submission techniques, so she started to be dangerous in ground fighting too.