It was a good start to the month for the team that travelled to Inverness for the last Grand Prix of the year: the Highland Budokan Grand Prix. Everyone competing demonstrated fantastic team spirit, supported each other, and represented the club in a way that made us incredibly proud.
The group competing showed great progress in how they approached their contests. Every time they step onto the mat, we see positive developments, whether in attitude, determination to improve, or glimpses of new techniques and skills. There’s still much to learn as they work towards the next level, but the signs are promising and their dedication to training is second to none.
Shoutout to Kirsty W, who refereed at the event throughout the day as part of her assessment towards her National C referee qualification. Kirsty has dedicated a significant amount of time to volunteering and is committed to learning the ins and outs of refereeing as she works towards achieving National C status - good job!
Results:
B Band
Fergus W (-66kg) - Bronze
C Band
Omar K (-73kg) - Bronze
Tom C (-81kg) - Silver
Evan L (-90kg) - Gold
Archie M (+90kg) - Gold
Senior
Nur R (-63kg) - Gold
Craig, Alan, Nur and Euan attended the JudoScotland Gathering, where 2x Olympic Champion (2020 & 2024) Takanori Nagase hosted fantastic technical sessions, alongside 2016 & 2020 Olympic champion Shohei Ono and National High Performance coach Taka Kitahara.
What a great opportunity to learn from some of our generation's greatest competitors!
All of our development squad members who competed at the Bonsai Kyoso in Livingston did a great job putting their judo to the test in another new competitive environment.
We are very proud of everyone for their effort and determination throughout the day; with the whole team implementing the skills they have been working on in class and learning when things work and don’t quite work. Another big step forward in their judo journey!
Well done to all and a big thank you to family, friends and coach Craig for supporting and encouraging everyone on the day too!
ICYMI, one of our senior members Koko, a newly promoted 1st Dan (black belt), recently shared with us his judo journey and appreciation for the club.
Having rediscovered his passion for judo as an adult in 2016, Koko trained across various clubs in Scotland before joining EdinburghJudo in 2021. He describes how EdinburghJudo quickly became a second home to him and how the club has allowed his three children to rejoin and rekindle their love for the sport too. You can read Koko's piece by clicking the button below!
Following the half-term break, our action-packed judo classes for communities across the city of Edinburgh returned for the autumn/winter term!
With classes taking place in 5 venues across Edinburgh, find out more information about our community sessions and get in touch to book a class near you.
Next up in November: our squad players will be hunting for the title of Scottish Champion at the 2024 Scottish National Closed Championships, some of our players will be aiming to achieve their black belts at the National Kyu & Dan Grading and our juniors will show off their skills at the club grading - a lot of hard work ahead!
All of the above, and more, will be covered in the next round-up,
The EdinburghJudo Team