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A YOUNG judo fighter who dreams of competing in the Paralympics has been hailed an ‘inspiration’ by a leading blind charity.

Caitlin Leigh, who has glaucoma and is registered blind, competes against fully-sighted youngsters and recently scored her first victory.

The 10-year-old, of Leopold Way, Blackburn, took up the sport five years ago after struggling to take part in ball-based sports and her mum is delighted by the huge confidence boost it has given her.

Claire, 32, said: “In judo you are grabbing hold of people pretty much the whole time so it’s much better suited for her.

“She’s absolutely loved it and was over the moon when she won her first fight. We’d been to about five tournaments and she had tears in her eyes and ran over to her dad and gave him a big hug.

“The great thing about it is she’s not treated any differently and she’s made some great friends.

“We took her to see the judo at the Paralympics in London last year and that just fuelled it even more. It’s her ultimate goal to compete at the games one day.”

Caitlin, a pupil at St James Primary School in Lower Darwen, has no vision in her left eye, and her right eye is extremely short sighted. She reads braille and uses a cane to walk.

She first tried the sport at a taster session run by the Action for Blind People Actionnaires Club in Blackburn and enjoyed it so much she joined Beach Judo Club in Westbury Gardens as well as Shadsworth Judo Club. She trains twice a week and now competes regularly, recently achieving her orange belt.

The order of grades generally sees fighters progress from orange to green, blue and brown before black.

Janet Beale, a support coordinator at Action for Blind People, said: “Caitlin is an absolute inspiration to other youngsters with sight problems.

“She’s been a regular at our sessions and doesn’t seem to let anything get in her way. We gave her the confidence to try something different and that’s what it’s all about. Blindness shouldn’t be a barrier to taking part in sport.”


 
SINGAPORE: Singapore's 34th and final gold medal at the Myanmar Southeast Asian (SEA) Games was won by judoka Ho Han Boon.

He took the gold in the men's over-100kg category.

The hulking 188-kg athlete wants to continue his winning ways at the 2015 Games, which will be hosted by Singapore.

Ho defeated Thailand's Saknarin Kaewpakdee in the first bout of the round-robin tournament before overcoming Malaysia's Abdul Razak in the final.

The medal means a lot to the 24-year old, especially as it was his SEA Games debut.

But Ho admits it won't be an easy task to repeat his win when Singapore plays host in 2015.

He said: "The pressure is there, especially it (2015 SEA Games) is in the home ground, and opponents now they know what I am going to do. Maybe in 2015, I got to change my way of doing it, change of styles and throws."

The 1.92m tall giant already knows where he needs to improve if he wants another shot at gold.

One key factor will be to reduce his weight by at least 20kg for better stability and stamina.

Ho had trained in Mongolia before the Myanmar competition, and hopes he could get another trip there prior to 2015.

The Singapore Judo Federation (SJF) has already assembled a squad of about 40 athletes to prepare for the next SEA Games, and some of them have already started training.

The Federation is looking at fielding up to 20 athletes across 18 events when Singapore plays host.

SJF is optimistic that at least five or six of the judokas will reach the finals, with a few of them in with a realistic chance of clinching gold.

Steven Loh, vice president of SJF, said: "Get a big squad early, and we will keep training because you cannot depend on one weight and have one person for 18 months, and then a month before that he gets injured. So we have a few people within the same weight category, and we will send them out for regional competition, which is very important for qualifying and for gaining experience."

On the coaching front, local coach Low Chee Kiong will continue to train the squad.

He had replaced Korean Coach Jeon Ki Young, who resigned in August 2013.

The Federation has confirmed Singapore Expo Halls 1 and 2 as the competition venue for the 2015 SEA Games.

The halls will be able to hold up to 2,000 spectators. A pre SEA Games tournament will be held to test the venue and as a final tune-up for the organizers.

 
Preambule of the IJF statutes    

The International Judo Federation is composed of National Judo Federations and Continental Unions. Each National Federation must be recognized as the sole federation authorized to represent its country in international sporting bodies by its Olympic Committee, which itself is duly recognized by the International Olympic Committee.

The major development of judo worldwide made it necessary to create Continental Unions. These Unions are in charge of implementing the policy of the International Judo Federation and the International Olympic Committee.

Judo was created in 1882 by Professor Jigoro Kano. As an educational method derived from the martial arts, judo became an official Olympic sport in 1964 (after being named as a demonstration sport at the 1940 Tokyo Olympic Games which were cancelled due to international conflict). Judo is a highly codified sport in which the mind controls the expression of the body and is a sport which contributes to educating individuals.

Beyond competitions and combat, judo involves technical research, practice of katas, self-defense work, physical preparation and sharpening of spirit.

As a discipline derived from ancestral traditions, judo was designed by its Master Founder as an eminently modern and progressive activity.

The International Judo Federation was incorporated in Ireland as a company limited by guarantee and as a non for profit organization. In conformity with the decision of the Congress dated August 23, 2009, the International Judo Federation is now a nonprofit Association under Swiss law with seat in Lausanne.

The IJF Aims

The IJF has the following aims, without this constituting an exhaustive list:
  • To promote cordial and friendly relations between its members, to uphold proper operating procedures of the member Federations and Unions to lead and organize judo activities throughout the world.
  • To protect the interests of judo throughout the world.
  • To organize IJF events, to supervise events organized by its members and to participate in the organization of Olympic events. 
  • To develop the practice of judo throughout the world for all categories of the population.
  • To establish rules for practicing judo and the rules applicable to International competitions organized or recognized by the IJF.
  • To improve the quality of judo training. 
  • To supervise the awarding of grades, including “dan” ranks, and their compliance with IJF rules.
  • To promote the ideals and objectives behind the Olympic movement.




 
October 28th is Jigoro Kano's Birthday

Preamble

Judo is a sport of tradition based on a moral code that is not just a concept. This moral code is even the spine of our activity. The notion of respect, which was the theme of the first edition of the World Judo Day, is perhaps the strongest one for any judoka. Without respect, nothing is possible! The peaceful confrontation that is judo cannot take place without mutual respect. One of the symbols and a perfect concrete application of that respect is the bow. It opens a judo session, it closes it and between the two, "mutual aid and prosperity" and the "optimal use of energy" become possible. And that's why we have chosen the bow as the logo of the World Judo Day.

Judo also helps to convey the values of the moral code outside the tatami and to implement them in everyday life.


The World Judo Day initiated by the International Judo Federation aims to promote the values of our sport as they have been designed from its inception. With this event, the IJF also wants to eventually come closer to the people who make judo alive on a daily basis in all the dojo around the world.

Objectives

To promote a global awareness on the values of judo and its education system to all judo clubs and all judoka, through the Member Federations and with the help of the modern communication tools (website of the IFJ, social networks...). This year's theme: "JUDO FOR ALL". Judo clubs will be asked to take action "in" and "outside" of their club.

 
Feel Free and Communicate

The World Judo Day is a special day dedicated to Judo all over the world. 

Thus, if you represent a continental union, a federation, a club or if you are a coach, an educator or a judoka and a judo lover, if you are a judo fan or/and if somebody from your relatives practices judo, you can gather together and participate to the World Judo Day and emphasize the theme of this third edition: Perseverance.

We have chosen October 28th for many reasons, the main one being that it is the birthday of the founder of Judo: Jigoro Kano. Today, more than 20 million people practice judo around the world on a daily basis. The IJF counts 200 national federations and five continental Unions. There is not a single spot on earth where judo is not practiced. The IJF wanted to dedicate a day to our sport in order to promote our values and our spirit. Judo is more than a sport; it is an educational tool that can help people to live together and to respect one another. Our objective is the increase the number of judo players around the World. You are the actors and the makers of the objective!

Feel free, to organize an event related to the World Judo Day.

Communicate

The World Judo Day must help you to communicate, to share experiences, to attract to your federation, regional league or club, people who have no idea about judo. It must be a powerfull tool of communication towards the public, the local, regional and national authorities and the Media.

 
Contest is a vitally important aspect of judo. Early examples include the Kodokan Monthly Tournament and the biannual Red and White Tournament, both of which started in 1884 and continue to the present day.

In 1899, Kano was asked to chair a committee of the Dai Nippon Butoku Kai to draw up the first formal set of contest rules for jujutsu. These rules were intended to cover contests between different various traditional schools of jujutsu as well as practitioners of Kodokan judo. Contests were 15 minutes long and were judged on the basis of nage waza and katame waza, excluding atemi waza. Wins were by two ippons, awarded for throwing that were the opponent's back strikes flat onto the mat or by pinning them on their back for a "sufficient" amount of time or by submission. Submissions could be achieved via shime-waza or kansetsu-waza. Finger, toe and ankle locks were prohibited. In 1900, these rules were adopted by the Kodokan with amendments made to prohibit all joint locks for kyu grades and added wrist locks to the prohibited kansetsu-waza for dan grades. It was also stated that the ratio of tachi-waza to ne-waza should be between 70% to 80% for kyu grades and 60% to 70% for dan grades.

In 1916, additional rulings were brought in to further limit kansetsu waza with the prohibition of ashi garami and neck locks, as well as does jime. These were further added to in 1925, in response to Kosen judo, which concentrated on ne waza at the expense of tachi waza. The new rules banned all remaining joint locks except those applied to the elbow and prohibited the dragging down of an opponent to enter ne waza.

The All-Japan Judo Championships were first held in 1930 and have been held every year, with the exception of the wartime period between 1941 and 1948, and continue to be the highest profile tournament in Japan.

Judo's international profile was boosted by the introduction of the World Judo Championships in 1956. The championships were initially a fairly small affair, with 31 athletes attending from 21 countries in the first year. Competitors were exclusively male until the introduction of the Women's Championships in 1980, which took place on alternate years to the Men's Championships. The championships were combined in 1987 to create an event that takes place annually, except for the years in which Olympic games are held. Participation has steadily increased such that, in the most recent championships in 2011, 871 competitors from 132 countries took part.

The first time judo was seen in the Olympic Games was in an informal demonstration hosted by Kano at the 1932 Games. However, Kano was ambivalent about judo's potential inclusion as an Olympic sport:

 
The early history of judo is inseparable from its founder, Japanese polymath and educator Jigoro Kano (1860–1938), born Shinnosuke Kano Kano was born into a relatively affluent family. His father, Jirosaku, was the second son of the head priest of the Shinto Hiyoshi shrine in Shiga Prefecture. He married Sadako Kano, daughter of the owner of Kiku-Masamune sake brewing company and was adopted by the family, changing his name to Kano, and ultimately became an official in the Bakufu government.

Jigoro Kano had an academic upbringing and, from the age of seven, he studied English, Japanese calligraphy and the Four Confucian Texts under a number of tutors. When he was fourteen, Kano began boarding at an English-medium school, Ikuei-Gijuku in Shiba, Tokyo. The culture of bullying endemic at this school was the catalyst that caused Kano to seek out a Jujutsu dojo (training place) at which to train.

Early attempts to find a jujutsu teacher who was willing to take him on met with little success. With the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, jujutsu had become unfashionable in an increasingly westernised Japan. Many of those who had once taught the art had been forced out of teaching or become so disillusioned with it that they had simply given up. Nakai Umenari, an acquaintance of Kanō's father and a former soldier, agreed to show him kata, but not to teach him. The caretaker of his father's second house, Katagiri Ryuji, also knew jujutsu, but would not teach it as he believed it was no longer of practical use. Another frequent visitor to Kanō's father's house, Imai Genshiro of Kyūshin-ryū school of jujutsu, also refused. Several years passed before he finally found a willing teacher.

In 1877, as a student at the Tokyo-Kaisei school (soon to become part of the newly founded Tokyo Imperial University), Kano learned that many jujutsu teachers had been forced to pursue alternative careers, frequently opening Seikotsu-in, traditional osteopathy practices). After inquiring at a number of these, Kano was referred to Fukuda Hachinosuke (c.1828–1880), a teacher of the Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū  of jujutsu, who had a small nine mat dojo where he taught five students. Fukuda is said to have emphasized technique over formal exercise, sowing the seeds of Kano's emphasis on randori (free practice) in judo.

On Fukuda's death in 1880, Kano, who had become his keenest and most able student in both randori and kata ( pre-arranged forms), was given the densho (scrolls) of the Fukuda dojo. Kano chose to continue his studies at another Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū school, that of Iso Masatomo (c.1820–1881). Iso placed more emphasis on the practice of kata, and entrustedrandori instruction to assistants, increasingly to Kano. Iso died in June 1881 and Kano went on to study at the dojo of Iikubo Tsunetoshi (1835–1889) of Kitō-ryū . Like Fukuda, Iikubo placed much emphasis on randori, with Kitō-ryū having a greater focus on nage-waza (throwing techniques).

 

Classes are held at:

75 1st Street Orangeville

(Downstairs next to Mac's Milk.

Watch for the Millenium Door)


Teenagers & adults:​​

Tuesday & Thursday – 8:00 – 9:30 pm


Kids 7 - 14:​

Tuesday and Thursday 7:00 - 8:00 pm

Kids 4 - 6 years:​

​​Tuesday 6:00 - 6:50 pm​

 

Fred Dyke - 5th Degree Blackbelt (Godan)

Fred began Judo in 1968 while attending university. While he had not excelled in any sport, judo became a major part of his life as he progressed through the various junior ranks until he achieved the coveted level of Black Belt in just two and half years.

While receiving instruction from top Canadian and Japanese instructors, he competed provincially and nationally for 15 years during which time he won over 40 titles including 10 provincial championships and 3 Eastern Canadian championships. He placed as high as second in National Competition.

He has been an instructor of judo for almost his entire judo career, helping other clubs and running his own club.

Fred’s judo success has been helpful in his successful business career. As a management consultant he helps companies and individuals by providing training in many areas of business across North America and other parts of the world.

He has entertained audiences of 1500 or more using his judo demonstrations to teach valuable life lessons to high school students and company employees.

Fred is a certified instructor and Fifth degree Black Belt (Go-dan) operating under Judo Ontario and Judo Canada.


 

What is Judo?

- A great opportunity to enjoy an activity that will improve all areas of your life.

- Produces strong work ethic and values in kids by teaching respect, self-discipline and cooperation while building confidence.

- A great family activity.

- It burns more calories than watching TV

- Teaches amazing skills and values

Which is better Judo, karate etc?

Everybody wants to compare them. They are all good and have advantages and disadvantages depending on use and rules. It is like comparing hockey to baseball-which is better?

Is it a good thing for kids?

Yes-the best. Come try it.