Judoka Ronda Rousey made her Olympic debut as a teenager at the 2004 Athens Games. The daughter of a former U.S. judo fighter, Rousey now enters the 2008 Beijing Games as a medal contender after capturing a silver medal at the world championships.

Rousey took a break from her training sessions to chat about training under Olympic bronze medalist Jimmy Pedro, moving from L.A. to Boston, and why she thinks blondes are misclassified.

After making your Olympic debut at the 2004 Athens Games, is there anything you learned from that experience that can help you in Beijing?
It was just seeing what the biggest stage of our sport is all about, and realizing that it's not that different from other competitions.

What are your goals for Beijing?
Definitely to win it. I already have a silver from the world championships so I've proven I can make it to the final at a major tournament.

How have you changed since the Athens Games?
The last four years has felt like 10. I think I'm more responsible now. I moved out of my house so I have to take care of myself. And I think I'm more personally driven to work harder and be better.

How is it training under Olympic bronze medalist Jimmy Pedro?
It's really hard (laughs). We have judo practice at night and conditioning training in the morning, and then I work in the afternoon, so I have very full and tiring days. But you sleep really well at night, that's the good thing about it.

What kind of advice does Pedro give you?
He tells me that the Olympics are just another sporting event. There's a lot more meaning behind the Olympics, obviously, but that the sport is the same and the rules don't change, so to just approach it as another competition.

You have to move from L.A. to Boston to train with Pedro. What's been the toughest adjustment during your move?
The weather. That's a huge one. And I miss a lot of the familiarity of being at home. The attitudes are different, too. In L.A., if you're in a traffic jam people are just chilling in their cars. In Boston, no one ever lets you change lanes. In L.A. you can talk to people on the street, but no one speaks on the subways in Boston. I guess people in Boston just value their personal space more (laughs).

You won silver at the world championships to become the first U.S. woman to win a medal at Worlds since 1995. How did you react to your accomplishment?
It was weird because I was so happy, yet I was so disappointed at the same time. I knew I could have won the whole tournament. … Afterwards everyone else wanted to celebrate and I just wanted to mope in my room. …I guess I was just surprised at how disappointed I was.

Now that you've moved to Boston, does your mom -- a former judoka -- still give you advice?
She does, but now she's more motherly and less like a coach. …Although she calls my coach like every 20 minutes (laughs).

What's the hardest part about competing in judo?
Getting used to being the only woman in a room. It's predominantly a man's sport, so I had to learn to not be intimidated.

What's the best part?
Winning and traveling.

What's one thing you want people to know about you?
That not all jocks and blondes are dumb. Because if that's true, then I would be doubly dumb, and I'm actually not that dumb (laughs).