Teenager Lexi Buchanan puts in around four hours of work each day, balancing weightlifting with sparring alongside university athletes.
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.
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