Naohisa Takato is the complete mix of East and West

Naohisa Takato of Japan is always a top favorite and he certainly lived up to expectations in Budapest this year. He was in great form, displaying a unique mix of traditional Japanese judo and the best of European-style techniques. If there ever was a hybrid judo player, he would be it.

Naohisa Takato  is a complete mix of East and West as far as throwing techniques are concerned.

This year he again reached the world leading position with his unorthodox techniques. Takato can even win his bouts with superb groundwork, an armlock that is not very popular with Japanese players (who tend to prefer pins and strangles). Budapest was an virtuosic display of non-classical but beautiful judo.

In February he became number one again but lost it a few times to , but since his world title, he is untouchable in this class in this ranking as on home soil, he lost to Nagayama last year and this year. Nagayama won the Masters but Naohisa knows when it he needs to be dominant. He won in Paris, the Asian Championships in Hong Kong which is very rare for a Japanese top player and he took gold in Budapest and Tokyo. The man knows when to peak which is his power. With two world titles and Olympic and world bronze the 2-year old tiny powerhouse has a few years to collect more. Since 2013 he has been world ranking leader each year for a few weeks. It looks like he can hold the position for much longer.

He shows great figures against frequent opponents such as Dashdavaa, Kim, Safarov and Smetov who never beat him in multiple confrontations. Nagayama is now second in the ranking followed by Garrigos and Dashdavaa.