Judo Back In Schools

Return of REAL school sports: Tories to revive competitive games in bid to turn nation back into champions

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1289658/Return-REAL-school-sports-Tories-bring-competitive-games-bid-turn-nation-sporting-champions.html#ixzz0rwlOw7Kt

One of the Sports is Judo, for some of you who have long memories you will remember my parents Nobby and Margret teaching in School in Kent and Bexley from the 1960's through to 1980, I also taught in Kent Schools from 1971 till 1980. This was the hey day of Judo with my own Club in Sittingbourne having in access of 500 members and there were rival clubs in the Town as well, my father organised many Judo Tournament through GB but the biggest was at The Stour Centre Ashford where he had a 1000 Junior competitors. In 1980 due to Government cut backs Judo was ousted and the slow decline until today started.

The BJA to their credit has been promoting Judo in Schools by giving a Coach mats and a vehicle where there they can introduce Judo to Schools but paying a Coach £12000 a year is not going to get you the best Coaches.
If we are to get Judo to become viable again we need to get Individual Schools to hire Coaches from all organisations to teach Judo on a term to term basis and produce youngsters of good quality. The BJA system in Kent has been a dismal failure
For the following reasons:
1) You need charismatic coaches who have experience in all aspects of Judo. Judo is not a Martial Art which can be taught to teachers in a 12 hour course
2) At present the Coach will only recommend Club Mark Clubs this is ridiculous as the great majority of Clubs have no interest in the scheme a scheme I might add is bureaucratic nightmare. Plus the coach sometimes recommends a club in another town that’s not a way to encourage kids
3) A short course is not enough for youngsters to understand Judo
In Sittingbourne we have forged links with schools like Sittingbourne Community College, my son John works there, Westland’s School where Dave Boulding a coach of 30 years experience is a caretaker he will be starting an after school club in September hopefully this may expand to the school have Judo on the curriculum
Will this happen I hope so but I doubt it with no money to back it up it will go down as a good idea and something else to blame Labour for the ruination of British Sport