As stated in the previous Judo Jottings, the last two weekends were very exciting for the Invermere Judo Club. Marcia Paget and Emma Norquay travelled, with coaches Karen Sharp and Hermann Mauthner as referees, to Abbotsford to compete at the BC Championships. Both athletes met strong opponents, which gave them both more experience. Emma, after some hard bouts, came home with a third place trophy.  Marcia received the second place trophy by only losing out against a brown belt. Marcia won all other bouts with ippon, one of them with a skillfully applied osae comi (arm lock hold down).

The following day, both athletes had the opportunity to train with a large group of B.C. judokas under the instruction of Peter Gardinger, a seventh dan( black belt) from Scotland.

On the weekend of October 25th and 26th, our club hosted a Kata clinic.

Mr. Art Nishi, the chairman of the B.C. grading board and also a seventh dan, was instructing and teaching nage no kata (standing judo technique) and katame no kata (groundwork technique). Participants came from all of the Kootenays’ judo clubs. It was a tremendous sight to see so many black belts on the mat.

Also many juniors learned along with the seniors.

The Debbie Seel Centre was filled on both days. The sessions were enjoyed by all and everyone gained more knowledge of the art of judo. The visitors and locals enjoyed the food and hospitality at the local restaurants. Thanks to Huckleberry’s to accommodate us with the space.

See you on the tatame.

To learn more about the Invermere Judo Club, visit invermerejudo.com or email invermerejudo@gmail.com

Judo Jottings

Herman Mauthner