South coed’s judo victories spur Olympic fever
by Tina Sanchez, reporter

    Anyone who walks into the Fort Worth Judo Club’s door gets Olympic fever. One of their own has the talent, drive and willingness to make the sacrifices to be an Olympian.

    Brigette Kubes, TCC student, has been studying judo for the last seven years. Her father, Joe Kubes, enrolled her in judo to lear

n self-defense, but now the sport has become an Olympic goal.
    “At first, I hated judo; I wanted to quit,” she said.

    Her father wouldn’t let her. She is glad he didn’t.

    Kubes lost her first 14 tournaments, but she won the state championship at 13.

    “I would recommend judo for all kids,” she said.

    Judo, Japanese wrestling, is a very physically demanding sport, consisting of throws, chokes, arm bars and pinning opponents on their back. The women’s matches are four minutes long, and all moves have a point system. The goal is to get one point.

    Kubes is ranked number four in the nation for women 70 kilos after winning first place at the Swap Open in Lafayette, La., three weeks ago.

    She is also ranked number one in college judo for women 70 kilos, after winning first place at the Collegiate Nationals in March.

    After taking her basics at TCC, Kubes plans to transfer to TCU and work toward a major in international business and minor in Japanese.

    “I want to do something different, like be an ambassador,” she said.

    The freshman, who maintains a 4.0 GPA, has a very strict routine. She attends class on South Campus in the mornings and trains at night.

    Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Kubes goes to judo practices and Monday, Wednesday and Friday runs and lifts weights.

    Kubes even makes time in her schedule to mentor seventh and eighth grade students.

    What she does not make time for is dating.

    “Boys get in the way,” she said.

    They distract her from her routine and she does not have the time for such distractions, Kubes said.

     For the next three years, she has only one thing on her mind—an Olympic gold medal.

    Dating isn’t the only thing that has been sacrificed. She turned down a track scholarship to TCU because the university would not let her continue to practice judo.

    TCC’s Cornerstone program also was sacrificed because it would not allow her to take Japanese as her language.

    At the end of this semester, Kubes will attend Teikyo University in Japan. While in Japan, she will spend time pursuing two of her favorite interests. She will participate in five weeks of intense training in judo and Japanese.

    Kubes is excited about the prospect of getting a head start on her minor and working with judo masters.

    “Judo has made me a better person,” she said.