We were deeply sorry to hear recently of the passing of Chris Read in December 2023.
Chris trained with us as an adult beginner, gaining his yellow belt and becoming the fourth member of his family to take up judo. Wife Sue was a former judoka, whilst children Sophie and Andy also trained with us. Andy went on to join our coaching team and helped with the administration of the club, as well as gaining points towards his Dan grade.
Chloe Lymer contested her first National Championships on Sunday 3rd December.
Held in Sheffield, the event is a highlight in the British Judo calendar, and is the largest domestic event, with four categories being contested over two weekends.
Chloe entered as the current English number one player, but unfortunately was unable to turn that to her advantage on the day, being eliminated in two fights.
The experience gained will stand Chloe in good stead for when she tries again next year.
Chloe Lymer continued her excellent competition form, with a bronze medal at the Welsh Open at the end of October. Chloe won three out of four fights with maximum ippon scores.
This has now placed her top of of the British Judo Ippon League ratings at the beginning of the 2023/24 season! Congratulations Chloe – and good luck at the British Championships this weekend.
Harry Webb was also in action at the end of October, competing in the Halloween tournament organised by Holbrook Judo Club. Harry did exceptionally well, having learnt from his experiences at the previous novice event organised by Holbrook, and claimed a well deserved third place and bronze medal.
Chloe Lymer has kickstarted the autumn season with two strong competition performances at a high level.
Chloe contested the English Closed at the beginning of September, scoring a good win in her first fight before conceding defeats in her next two contests.
Chloe finished this up with a gold medal winning performance at the Surrey Open, beating players from a heavier weight group with a combination of throws and holds.
To round it off, Chloe has successfully passed her examination for 12th mon.
Well done to all those who graded in June. Overall the standard was very high, all the way up from novices to more experienced players, which was very pleasing and made our job a lot easier!
All your grading results have been passed to British Judo, keep an eye on the post for your certificates.
It’s important to keep your body fuelled when training. There is a lot of research available online and in print as to what to eat and when to eat.
All evidence suggests that there should be a clear 2 hour window between eating a meal and training. The body needs time to digest food before exercise.
Eating too much too soon before exercise can lead to feelings of sickness and in extreme cases the body will look to get rid of what it has eaten. Physiologically, this is because the body needs blood to aid in digestion – the same blood that it needs to transport oxygen to and remove lactic acids from working muscles. The body sees supporting exercise as more important – as part of its fight or flight response – and will therefore look to remove any obstacles to maintaining muscle efficiency.
We recognise that with the younger players starting training at 6pm it is difficult to achieve a 2 hour gap, but please can meals be kept light to minimise the risk of any unpleasant moments on the mat.
The Judo Code is a list of values that Professor Jigoro Kano believed all judoka should follow. By following this code, they would improve themselves and ultimately society.
British Judo has added another value, that of Fair Play. This was added in response to the horror stories that we hear frequently of player, parent and fan behaviour in other sports, at all levels. Fair Play really can be summarised as being a good sport, playing by the rules, don’t cheat, equity and equality.
Players are asked about the Judo Code as part of their gradings.
This provoked an interesting discussion with the younger players on Thursday – is it ever ok to swear at the referee when their decision goes against you/your team (they were all very clear, NO!). To “dive” to win a penalty, to feign an injury to get a free kick? To take drugs to enhance performance? The posturing, posing, name calling and showboating of other combat sports that get regular media coverage? Some of these are harder to answer – some are plainly cheating but play out regularly across our TV screens in elite, professional sport. If sporting idols demonstrate this type of behaviour, what chance is there for grassroots sport? Just imagine if all tennis players had followed the example of John McEnroe….
It would be foolish to deny that Judo has had some unsavoury incidents. But as one of the largest sports in the world (both in terms of member countries and participants) they are rare. This may be of course simply because there is no (or very little) money to be made in Judo (sad but true) so less incentive to cheat. Or it may be because of the values that Professor Kano built in from that start.
All sports coaches in the UK should follow the Code of Practice for Sports Coaches. Players and parents should also be aware of the Code of Conduct published by Sport England. By following the Judo Code and these simple rules we can keep Judo and sport in general fair, safe and enjoyable for everyone.
