Some of Tim ReesB次元官网网址� Paralympic judo opponents wonB次元官网网址檛 see him at all.

Others will have better vision than his, which is limited at best, as heB次元官网网址檚 legally blind.

It wonB次元官网网址檛 matter, he says.

B次元官网网址淚f we are separated at any time, the match stops and we reset our grip.B次元官网网址�

ReesB次元官网网址� level of vision is mostly peripheral. B次元官网网址淚t will be somewhere in the middle compared to the guys IB次元官网网址檓 up against.B次元官网网址�

Matches start with a hold of each otherB次元官网网址檚 gi to level the field. ItB次元官网网址檚 the only difference between the Olympic and Paralympic judo formats.

B次元官网网址淥nce youB次元官网网址檙e in a full grip thereB次元官网网址檚 not much disadvantage to having poor eyes because you can feel where your opponent is moving,B次元官网网址� Rees said.

The 32-year-old trains with the Victoria Judo Club out of the Burnside Gorge Community Centre and competes in both formats. Even with his lack of eyesight, which is due to rod cone dystrophy, a rare form of macular degeneration, he still finished fifth at the Canadian nationals in his weight class last month.

But because there arenB次元官网网址檛 enough visually impaired judo athletes in Canada to populate a national tournament, he had to qualify for the upcoming London Paralympic Games through international tournaments.

He did that with fifth and seventh place finishes at the world Paralympic games in 2011 and 2010, respectively, and a bronze medal at the 2011 Parapan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico.

The bronze came just weeks after Rees moved to Victoria with his wife and two sons, now two and four years old, from Waterloo, Ont. He completed his doctorate in applied mathematics and came here to start his current job as a postdoctoral research fellow at UVicB次元官网网址檚 School of Earth and Ocean Sciences.

His eyesight began deteriorating in his late teens and has declined more rapidly than expected. B次元官网网址淭here is a ray of hope to one day restore my sight through a research project currently underway, maybe five or 10 years down the road, but mine is a rarer condition under the broader scope of the research.B次元官网网址�

In the meantime, Rees says itB次元官网网址檚 a pretty normal life. HeB次元官网网址檚 the only visually impaired member of the 55-year-old Victoria Judo Club, but is adamant in his belief that judo is an ideal sport for visually impaired people to practise.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 a very accommodating club and is a great way to spend time.B次元官网网址�

Rees opens the London Paralympic judo competition with a qualifying round on Saturday, Sept. 1.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檝e faced many of the athletes in my category before, and theyB次元官网网址檙e surprisingly strong. They have a great sense of balance,B次元官网网址� Rees said.