November has been an action-packed month for the club, with multiple competitive outings and lots of new belts earned by our members!
The month began with a very busy weekend for the EdinburghJudo team, with back-to-back events taking place at the Ravenscraig Regional Sporting Facility in Motherwell; starting with the 2024 Scottish National Closed Championships.
We had a team of thirteen players competing at this event, across the cadet, junior and senior divisions. It was the first competition at this level and a return to competition for some, and for others, it was the next step towards the British Championships in December and the Scottish Open in January. There was great effort and determination by all who stepped on the mat, with the whole team putting in solid performances in their respective contests. Win or lose, everyone came away with more valuable experience in the bag and something to work on going forward - well done and good work everyone! (+ Morgan, Ethan, Fergus and Szymon who unfortunately missed the group photo)
Thank you to Craig, Sarah A and Sarah C for coaching the players matside, and to the friends and family for their support throughout the day. Congratulations to the following players on their podium finishes:
Cadet
Kirsty W (-70kg) - Bronze
Senior
Reece E -73kg) - Bronze
Hazel T (-78kg) - Gold
Another day of judo at Ravenscraig for those who took part in the JudoScotland National Kyu & Dan Grading following the Scottish Championships. It was a very busy event, with 90 judoka from up and down the country taking part in the grading; with a strong team of 17 representing EdinburghJudo.
Well done to Andrea, Kirsty, Tom, Murray, Rafal, Dan and George who all started the day off by successfully passing their theory exams for their 1st Dan, and a huge congratulations to Murray and Rafal who kept the momentum going and obtained all the competitive points required for their 1st Dans, and Mark W for his 2nd Dan!
Murray and Rafal had stellar performances, completing both their theory exams and competitive line-ups on the day to attain their black belts. There were plenty of good contests for the rest of the team too, with some more points towards their next grade picked up along the way. Plenty of positive judo is on display throughout the contests, proving that everyone is moving in the right direction and that more black belts are just on the horizon - onwards and upwards!
Well done to all of our juniors who took part in the club grading! There was great effort and enthusiasm shown by everyone across the two days of grading, from our youngest juniors aged four years old, all the way to our training squad players at fifteen. We are very proud of the hard work everyone has put into their judo lately, and it showed through the excellent technical demonstrations that took place.
Thank you to our staff, coaches, and young volunteers for making sure the grading day went smoothly for everyone involved, and thank you to the friends and family of our young judoka for their constant support - we couldn't do it without you all!
Our visitors from this month brought their French flair to EdinburghJudo, with Louis and Antoine from SOC Judo / Judo Club La Ravoire and Mathilde from the France National Team joining us for some very sweaty randori!
Louis and Antoine, friends from Morgan's home club, got involved in some great practices during their visit, especially for our team preparing for the Scottish National Championships. Mathilde dropped into one of our senior sessions during her week-long visit to Scotland and provided our girls with insights into her drop seoi-nage technique, on top of giving some tough practices for our squad players.
We hope you all enjoyed your time in Edinburgh and we look forward to sharing the mat with you again!
One of our senior members, Daniele Airi, is a very talented florist who creates beautiful handmade wreaths for Christmas. He has kindly crafted a special wreath for the judo club, which you can see displayed on our door as you come into the club!
Daniele is currently accepting orders for Christmas, so if you would like a wreath of your own, please contact him via his Instagram page @danflorist, where you can view more of his beautiful work and support a local business!
Two of our senior members, Max and Konstantin, competed in the Scottish Kyu Grade Tournament this month in Cumbernauld; the first competitive event for them.
They both performed well, winning (and losing) contests but came away with a great experience, lots of learning and a desire to do more events. Konstantin came away with the silver medal in his category, after winning three out of four contests - well done!
Both 4th kyus (orange belt), the guys have been steadily increasing their sessions, building their judo knowledge, and gaining more randori experience. Competition is an entirely different experience altogether, and just making that step to compete is huge. Well done both and onwards to the next one!
Our juniors who participated in the Keizoku event at Ravenscraig did a great job!
The team braved the snow to get involved in lots of physical challenges and fun games to test their fitness and judo skills. For our younger ones, this was a good first step out of the club and into a new judo environment, and an opportunity to meet people from different clubs and make friends too!
A huge well done to all 28 adult beginners who rounded off our inaugural Beginners Judo Course by successfully achieving their 6th kyu (red belt)!
We are very proud of the effort, dedication and great energy that everyone brought to the course across all six weeks. The level of technique shown throughout the grading was very impressive, and we’re looking forward to seeing the group continue their judo journey with us at our weekly senior sessions. Thank you to everyone who participated, we couldn’t have asked for a better group to be part of our first beginner's course!
Are you, a friend, or someone you know thinking of starting judo? Our next beginner's course kicks off on Tuesday January 14th 2025, is the perfect place to start and is now open for booking by clicking the button below!
The pace isn't slowing down in December, with our junior and senior squad players gearing up for the final competition of the year: the 2024 British Championships. The action continues in the club too, where we'll be hosting our kid's Christmas party and Christmas camp before we wrap up for the two-week festive break.
Spaces are still available for both Christmas events and can be booked by clicking the button below, or speak to Lorraine at the desk for more information!
See you in the next round-up,
The EdinburghJudo Team