Four Days in London: Kyle
Part of Four Days in London. A memoir about trying to find a way to the Olympics, and finding something else instead.
I first met Kyle Vashkulat when I was sixteen. He was maybe fourteen. Kyle has the kind of genes where he was always destined to turn into some kind of giant. He was born in Ukraine but immigrated to the United States with his family when he was a kid. He nearly made the finals of the under 20 division at 90kgs the summer I met him (in comparison I wouldn’t get that big until I was in college). Stylistically you could very much tell he was one Jason Morris’s guys. His judo was based around getting in the pocket against other players. When Kyle went to the Olympics, the only American his size who could enter the pocket against him was another one of my favorite human beings: Shintaro Higashi (who has a great Instagram).
Kyle has been, consistently, a reliably friendly human being. I remember a period when I was being consistently fairly immature towards him when we were teenagers, and he still turned around let me borrow his iPod. When Nick Delpopolo and Carrie Chandler left Pedro’s Judo, as I understand Kyle gave them a place to stay while they got on their feet.
While he came back briefly in 2014, he was the only one of the London Olympians not to return for the Rio games. Honestly, thinking back about it, Kyle just needed more time. Had he taken another four years to develop some more weapons, and became a more well-rounded grappler, I think he would have been a real threat in Rio. He, however, did the smartest thing he could do. After going to the Olympics he went back to college. He finished his degree and now, just based on what I see on social media, is in a pretty good place.
A lot of people don’t take the smart path after the Olympics. I know too many people, far too many people, who blow their entire lives chasing something that may never happen. Kyle achieved his dream of becoming an Olympian, and still had his whole life ahead of him. For that, he deserves a lot of credit. I am still really happy for him.
One of my favorite moments with him was about ten years ago. I had just gotten back from Japan and I was competing in a really tough regional tournament. I drew the number two player in the United States first round. Harry St. Leger absolutely kicked my butt. He threw me for a small halfway into the match, and I was eventually penalized out of the match because I couldn’t produce a decent offense against him. I would in a couple more matches than lose to the number three player from Canada, Justin Imagawa (Fumi). I felt like garbage.
Kyle walked up to me and told me about how much better my grip fighting looked from a few months ago. I have no idea at that moment if he realized I felt like garbage, but it was something really nice to hear. When I thanked him he responded by informing me that “homies need to recognize each other” and then went off and fought his match. It’s worth noting that Kyle largely learned English as a kid from watching BET and Sportscenter.
