Japan has long served as a destination for martial artists seeking to test themselves against the country’s deep pool of judo talent, but few make the trip alone at age 17.
Without corporate sponsors or a national team delegation behind her, Scottish judoka Lexi Buchanan arrived in Japan last month on a self-driven, three-month mission. Her objective was specific: solve the single biggest hurdle stalling her development back home — a lack of female sparring partners.
“Judo Scotland has very few girls,” Buchanan said. “In my last competition, I competed at 48 kilos, and the next girls were around 63 kilos and upwards.”
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