April somehow managed to slip past under the radar, so this club round-up is going to be a big one covering the events of both April and May!
April began with some of our youngsters attending the Bonsai Kyoso development event, hosted by Jidel Judo 93. It was fantastic to see lots of hard work put in by everyone, with the kids having fun and meeting new people from other clubs.
Our kids had a great day and we are very proud of the effort everyone put into their judo and technique!
Nieve R - Gold
Nina W - Gold
Matthew N - Bronze
Yunus K - Gold
Ilyas K - Gold
Jan M - Gold
Finn C - Gold
The momentum continued in April via the players that competed in the Northern Irish Open over in Derry. There was a great display of technique, some big throws executed and pieces of the puzzle coming together - keep up the consistency and the results will follow 💪
Finn T: -100kg Gold, +100kg Silver (Juniors)
Bethany M: -57kg Silver (Juniors)
Reece E: -73kg Silver (Seniors)
Hazel T: -78kg Silver (Seniors), Open Weight Bronze (Veterans)
Gav M: +100kg Silver (Seniors), +100kg Silver (Veterans)
April’s competitive action rounded off at the Clyde Grand Prix in Paisley. From pre-cadets, cadets and seniors, everyone gave it their all. Contests and medals were won, and a handful of contests were lost too.
For everyone, there was lots of learning and development. We had some people attending their first event and adjusting well to the aspects of the competition. For others, it was a step up to the next level.
Well done to everyone who competed and a big shout out to Kirsty W, our young referee for doing a top job on the day!
B BAND PRE-CADET
Fergus: -66kg Bronze
Jack: +66kg (4 contests)
Ci Ci -57kg (2 contests)
C BAND CADET
Liam: -73kg Gold
Evan: -90kg Gold
Archie: +90kg Gold
Omar: -66kg Silver
Tom: -81kg Bronze
Ella: -48kg Silver
Rafa: -60kg (1 contest)
Oscar: -66kg (3 contests)
SENIOR
Murray: -100kg Gold
Thomas: -90kg Silver
Nur: -63kg Silver
Kirsty: -78kg Bronze
Patrick: -73kg Bronze
Dave: -81kg (2 contests)
George: -81kg (2 contests)
KoKo: -90kg (2 contests)
Nick: -100kg (2 contests)
Finn: -100kg (3 contests)
In May two of our members, Paddy and Finn, received their black belts. Patrick, AKA “Paddy the Baddy”, gained the final 20 points required for his black belt at the Clyde Grand Prix after completing his 1st Dan theory over a year ago.
Over the last few months, Patrick‘s judo has developed through consistent training and putting his all into every session. He is a great competitor, speaks to his opponents whether he wins or loses and is very responsive to mat-side coaching.
Patrick is now looking forward to competing more and putting in more time in the gym to get stronger. Billy (his coach and uncle) is extremely proud of him and is looking forward to his next steps in the sport.
Well done Paddy! 👊💥
Finn received the final points required for his black belt in March and completed his theory exam in South Shields in May.
Finn’s consistency and increased commitment to training over the last year has shown through his recent results in competition and now in achieving his black belt. We look forward to seeing Finn continue to work hard on the mat, and in the gym whilst putting in the time to develop his judo further as a 1st Dan - the real work starts now!
Well done Finn! 🤜💥🤛
It’s safe to say that the highlight of the month for many of our members was the club gradings. First up were the squad and juniors, who showcased their judo to Billy the Boss and the rest of the coaching team.
We are very proud of the level of effort, determination and enthusiasm for judo that everyone demonstrated across the two days of grading!
A big thank you to the family and friends who support our young members and our club, day in and day out - it wouldn’t be possible without you! Thank you to our coaches, staff and young volunteers for making sure the grading was a success for everyone.
The grading hype continued through our seniors, with some great technical demonstrations across the two evenings of grading.
We are very proud of everyone who has taken the next step in their judo journey, and we look forward to seeing everyone continue to put in the effort to develop themselves and move through the ranks!
We had quite a few visitors from around the world visit the dojo in May, with judoka from Japan, France, Cyprus, Germany and the USA stepping onto the EdinburghJudo tatami!
Antonis, a judoka from the Cyprus national team, came to the club and trained with our team during his week-long visit to Scotland. Antonis gave the guys good practices throughout his stay and we hope he enjoyed his time in Scotland!
Moritz dropped in for an evening of randori during his visit to Edinburgh from Germany. His good friend Phil, who has trained and coached with us many times over the last couple of years, recommended Moritz fit a training session into his itinerary and we are glad he did! We hope to welcome both Moritz and Phil to the club again soon.
Masa, a friend of Shohei’s from Japan, also joined us for an evening of randori and got involved in every practice with our guys. We hope Masa enjoyed the training at EdinburghJudo and the Performance Centre at Ratho during his visit, and we look forward to welcoming him again!
It was also Quentin’s last evening with us after spending the last 9 months studying in Edinburgh. Quentin, originally from Toulouse, France, brought great energy to training throughout his time with us and we wish Quentin all the best in his next endeavour; he is always welcome back in the future! 🇫🇷🤝🏴
Our final visitor of the month was Kosei Cuyler, whose home club is Sport Judo in Alexandria, Virginia.
Arriving in Edinburgh on 7th May, Kosei dove into 3 weeks of training with our club members and the national team at Ratho. He came to train with Billy and the team as recommended by his coach, Maurice Allan.
Beyond participating in 1-2 training sessions per day, Kosei explored the sights of Edinburgh, enjoyed social events and sharpened up his football/soccer skills through some five-a-sides with the team.
Kosei is a great person who gets along with everyone and fits in well with the group. We’ve thoroughly enjoyed having him here and he’s always welcome back - visit again soon, Kosei!
The month's competitive action finished with our team fighting at the Granite City Grand Prix in Aberdeen.
It was Szymon’s first competition and he did a great job throughout the day. No medal this time, but a good performance to kick off the beginning of his competitive journey.
For the rest of the team, there were wins, losses and many opportunities to learn and grow. There’s always something positive to take away from a tournament; whether the result is what you hoped for or not. How you win, how you lose and how you move forward are what’s key!
B Band
CiCi F -57kg: Silver
Fergus W -66kg: Bronze
C Band
Liam T -73kg: Gold
Tom C -81kg: Bronze
Evan L +90kg: Gold
Archie M +90kg: Silver
Ella CL -52kg: Bronze
Kirsty W +70kg: Silver
Seniors
Elaine F -52kg: Silver
Well done to the entire team! 👏
Finally, this month concluded Reece Calder's time as our junior development coach. Reece has been with us for many years and will be greatly missed.
Over the past 14 years, Reece has coached thousands of children and positively impacted many lives. His sessions have been described as the “highlight of the week” for many kids, thanks to his excellent judo knowledge and ability to make training fun and engaging.
We wish Reece the best in the next stage of his coaching and we will see you around at competitions and when you come back to pop into the judo club!
As we head into the summer, even more exciting events are on the horizon; including our Festival of Judo and Summer Camp!
The Festival of Judo takes place on Sunday 9th June and will feature, games, randori and mini-matches with young judoka from EdinburghJudo and other clubs. The session for 5-8 year-olds is now fully booked, however, there are still very limited spaces left for the 9+ years session which you can book for your child by clicking the button below:
Our Summer Camp will run for two weeks throughout the school holidays: Monday 15th July - 19th Friday July and Monday 22nd July - Friday 26th July.
Summer Camp is open to members, non-members, family and friends and is set to be filled with fun games, team challenges and lots of judo action! So if you're looking for something to keep your child active and engaged this summer, book our Summer Camp by clicking the button below and clicking the "CAMP" tag at the top of the page:
See you there! (Or in next month's round-up),
The EdinburghJudo Team 😎 ⛩️