Durham University Judo Club caters for all abilities: whether you are simply trying something new or whether you want to represent the University at competition level. Everyone is welcome and will enjoy being part of a club where competitive and relaxed attitudes are embraced in equal measure.

The Coach

Our Coach is former UK Heavyweight Champion, 4^th Dan Eddie Ferrie.  In the past he has coached Olympic medallists and has ghost written a number of Judo books as well as producing the photography for them.

Guest Coaches

We also have two local coaches who hold one or two sessions a term with us, often technical sessions. Ronnie Scott is the Chairman of the Northern Area for the British Judo Association, and has coached international squads. Chloe O’Gorman is an international competitor, fighting at the Sidney Olympics and the European Games. She was also Commonwealth Champion.

Because both of these coaches have links with the local areas, DUJC has many opportunities to train with local clubs and compete in North area competitions.

Training

We train with Eddie twice a week: Wednesday and Sunday evenings, 7-10pm (approx) at Hild & Bede West Gym. Initially these sessions will be divided into novice (7-8.15pm) and experienced judokas (people who do Judo) for the rest of the sessions. You can choose which one you’d like to come to, or can even come to both, but after three sessions the whole of training will be open to everyone. Training with more advanced judokas is actually more beneficial, as you will develop skills quicker with a partner who can assist you.

Recreational and Competitive Judokas

Both Novices and Experienced can be either of the above.  Recreational members of DUJC will train and probably grade, but there is no pressure to do the latter.  Competitive members of DUJC will train, grade and compete at the various individual competitions throughout the year.  They may also be in the High Performance Team that competes at BUSA.

DUJC enters many competitions over the course of the year, including BUSA, Carlisle and Sheffield. We also host two competitions a year: one in December, to which all Northern universities are invited; and one in February, which is between DUJC itself and its alumni members. These competitions are a lot of fun and give you the opportunity to put your judo skills to the test. Members of the club are encouraged to enter these competitions; although it is understood that competitive fighting is not to everyone’s taste and thus it is completely up to you whether you enter.

Additional Training

DUJC also holds classes on Wednesday and Saturday afternoons, which are run by Glen (our training co-ordinator: see ‘The Exec’).

The Wednesday sessions will run from 2-4pm in Maiden Castle and are open to all members of DUJC, although their content is aimed more at beginners and those preparing for gradings. The classes run through the techniques from the syllabus at a slower pace than regular training sessions, allowing you to perfect anything you aren’t sure about. There are often a number of experienced judokas at these classes and so help is often given on a one-to-one basis.

The Saturday classes, 12-2pm at Hild & Bede West Gym, are more physically challenging as they transfer techniques learnt during training/Wednesday technique classes into fighting situations. They will be invaluable in preparing for competitions, and as before judokas of all abilities are welcome to attend.

High Performance Team

For the more competitive judoka, joining DUJC gives you the chance to join our High Performance Team. Members of the HPT sign up for additional training and commit to compete for the men’s or women’s team at BUSA and other regional competitions. DUJC will also help you to devise a personal training programme to aid your progress in Judo. As part of Team Durham, in return you will receive fitness advice, discounted physio and access to the MC gym.

If you are interested in joining the High Performance Team, speak to Glen.  You can join even if you are a novice - all we require is your commitment to achieve the correct grade to compete. This is generally not too difficult: last year, all our novices had achieved the required level within five months and so all were able to fight at BUSA.

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The Exec is elected to maintain and develop the club.  Each member is in charge of certain areas of the club and can be contacted at the addresses below.

Elections for the Exec take place at the end of the Epiphany Term (just before the Easter holidays) during the club’s Annual General Meeting (AGM). Later in the year you may want to consider standing for one of next year’s exec positions.  You can stand whether you are novice or 4^th Dan; all you really need is commitment to the club.  But don’t worry about that now, we will be sending out more information next term.

Current Exec

Captain

Nina Daniels                                      This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

07853 992 397

Nina began Judo last October, at the start of her second year and is now a green belt. Nina deals with the general running and organisation of the club. Feel free to contact her with any questions or concerned not related specifically to any other area of the Exec. Nina hails from Aidan’s & spends over twice as much time on Judo as she does studying for her English degree.

Secretary, Media Officer and Sponsorship Officer

John Holland                                   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Another exec member who began Judo recently, John started in January of this year. As his lengthy job title may suggest, John is very committed to the Club. He assists Nina with the general running and organisation of the club, as well as designing and maintaining the Club website. He is also in charge of raising sponsorship in order to subsidise coaching, grading and competition costs. If you have any friends or family contacts in any firms that could give us sponsorship then John wants to speak to you! John will be organizing fundraising events throughout the year.

Treasurer

Matt Holmes                                  This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Matt is an experienced Judoka and a geographer from Hatfield. When he isn’t colouring in pretty maps, he’s concerned with the club’s money matters. His weekly role will entail collecting mat fees from you, so if you would like to avoid this experience I suggest you pay termly!

Training Co-ordinator

Glen Collins                                           This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

Glen, a third year maths student, fought successfully for his black belt over summer and so you can be sure he really knows his stuff. Which is great considering his role is to help you grade and compete at your best: Glen runs the technical sessions every Wednesday and Saturday afternoons mentioned under ‘Additional Training’. This allows you progress at your own pace in smaller groups than the main training sessions, and to practise what you need before gradings. As you will see later in this booklet, grading in Judo is largely technical and so these classes are invaluable. And if twice weekly extra training isn’t enough for you, Glen also organizes weekly gym sessions at Maiden Castle to help build up strength and stamina for competitions.

Social Secretary

Jonno “Missionary” Lawrence        This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

For all your party needs speak to Jonno, who is in charge of organising all the off-mat contact such as socials.  Jonno is a black belt, but that doesn’t mean he takes Judo entirely seriously: his way of ending last year was to take the whole Club over to Yorkshire for a crazy day at Go Ape!, climbing trees and flying across zipwires. Jonno has spent his summer thinking up more exciting events for this year, but if you think of anything let him know.

Alumni Officer

John Holland                                   This e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

The judo club doesn’t let you go even when you have graduated: yet another of John’s roles is to stay in touch with graduates and invite them along to socials and twice-yearly competitions.

Non-Exec Officers: Men and Women’s Captains.

If you are interested in grading or competing at any events or would like to get involved in further training please contact the relevant captain(s).

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Club Membership

We are affiliated to the BJA and so benefit from insurance, technical information updates and various services.  For details of this cover please see the BJA Website: http://www.britishjudo.org.uk/membership/club.php

Individual Membership

Also most of the DUJC members are registered as individual members of the BJA.  This provides further insurance cover and other benefits.  (See BJA website for further details.)

Individual Membership can be registered in 3 forms:*

·         Senior (Competitive) at a cost of £32 (renewal £31) per year. The most popular choice, this licence covers you for competitions and gradings in addition to normal training.

·         Introductory at a cost of £6.00 (3 months membership).

·         Recreational at a cost of £18.00 per year. This licence enables you to train with DUJC, but does not allow you to grade (or, therefore, compete).

The DUJC strongly recommends that you register as one of the above if you intend to train with us regularly.

*Some benefits may not apply to Introductory and Recreational please see BJA website for more details.

Please note each membership registered or renewed before the end of October will give the club a 50p discount off the BJA affiliation price of £50.00.

To register please visit the following page and scroll to the bottom:

http://www.britishjudo.org.uk/membership/individual.php

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Basics

There are six “kyu” (coloured) grades in Judo, indicated by the colour of the judoka’s belt. Novices begin ungraded, and work their way up the grades from sixth to first kyu.

The kyu grades are:

Once you have completed the kyu grades, the next step is the famous black belt. The black belts themselves are also graded – the levels are called ‘dan’ grades and begin at one and go up to ten, although this is very rare! All dan grades belts look the same, except for the very high levels where a red and white belt is worn.

How to Grade

The Grading system for Judo changed on April 1 2008 from a competitive syllabus to a technical one. The current members of the Club had to fight for their belts as well as completing a practical test demonstrating knowledge of a number of techniques: under the new system, the fighting element has been removed.

The new syllabus is ideal for novices as there is no pressure to fight in order to grade, and the number of competitions that DUJC attends will allow ample competitive experience to complement the technical side of the grading system.

The New Syllabus.

The new syllabus can be downloaded from the BJA website, or ask one of the exec if you can see their copy. In order to grade you have to demonstrate a number of techniques, which you will have practised and perfected under Glen’s watchful eye beforehand!

Novices can do their first three gradings (to 4^th kyu) at the Club with Eddie, but gradings above this will take part at local clubs under different Examiners. The club will organize regular gradings throughout the year, as well as transport. The technique sessions held by Glen and attended by other black belts, all willing to help, will provide support and an opportunity to go over anything you feel needs work.

So when will I get my black belt?!

As with most sports, to a large extent your progress in Judo will be proportional to your own involvement. One member of DUJC who graduated this June began Judo as a complete novice but achieved black belt status within two years. This was, however, under the old system where grading centred around your ability to fight.  The new syllabus enables complete novices to achieve brown belt in about three years, and “the keen judoka may attain the grade of 1^st Kyu after two years of diligent study” (quote from BJA Senior Grading Syllabus). This is not a standard rate of promotion, but an example of what is possible with dedication. At dan level gradings, there is a choice to either continue with the technical grading or to enter a competitive system.

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The Suit

The Judo suit is known as a Gi (pronounced Gee).  It includes a thick jacket and leggings. Gis are available in a wide range of colours - Nina is currently campaigning (somewhat unsuccessfully) make the colour of DUJC’s gis pink. It seems, though, that the rest of the Club are less than enthusiastic about this idea: perhaps because only white and blue gis are acceptable for competitions and grading, and therefore the only colours that tend to be seen at training. You will be able purchase your own gi through the club towards the end of October.

When grading or competing, men cannot wear anything under their jackets but ladies must wear a t-shirt! This is also compulsory during training, as it is common for jackets to be completely loosened during randori.

The Footwear

Footwear MUST be worn when you are off the mat to keep the mats clean of anything your bare feet will carry on to it. Flip flops are ideal for slipping on and off quickly when you just want to grab a drink at the side of the mat.

The Stash

Get the BEST stash in Durham!!!

You will shortly be able to purchase a black Judo hoodie or polo shirt (or both!) to show that you are a member of the best sport in Durham. Members of the High Performance Team will also be able to get the blue and purple ‘Team Durham’ stash. Also if you wear stash into Walkabout on a Wednesday night (obviously after Judo training) Walkabout will give the club money for each member who enters.

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You MUST fill out a Health Declaration Form before you start training. One of the exec members will ask you do this at your first training session. All information provided will be kept strictly confidential, and will only be used in the event of an injury where it is necessary to pass on the information to the appropriate people.

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Team Durham (aka DUAU) should have sent you an email explaining the blanket cover offered by the University. For this to apply you MUST pay your sports levy at the start of the year. DUAU also advise you to take out personal cover for high-risk sports, and although DUAU doesn’t consider Judo a high-risk sport, like any physical contact sport there is a risk and you must make the decision whether you take out your own insurance. Your BJA licence also offers you protection, as does our status as a BJA affiliated club. See also the BJA section and visit the website:

http://www.britishjudo.org.uk/membership/insurance.php

If you are still unsure about anything, speak to the exec.