About a week later one of the old judoka passed away. About a month after that the surviving old judoka was at yet another competition when all of a sudden he saw an apparition. Sure enough it was his old buddy who had come back to see him.

"Well, please tell me," asked the surviving judoka. "Are there judo competitions in heaven?"

"I have good news and bad news for you," replied the apparition to his old judo buddy. "The good news is that, yes, there are judo competitions in heaven. The bad news is that your first match is against Jigoro Kano day after tomorrow." (Contributed by Brian Lamarre)