Judo

Judo, the gentle way. A Japanese martial art and sport. Consisting of throwing and ground fighting, Judo is a dynamic exciting sport that also provides a unique self defense training. Most of all it improves those involved creating better people in virtually every country of the world.

My Judo Background:

I started Judo at the age of ten in Auckland, New Zealand. At the Massey dojo of the Rendokan Judo club, run by Ray Roberts.

Since then Judo has taken me all over the world first as a young fighter representing New Zealand.

I have been fortunate to have traveled and learnt from every Judoka I have trained with. I have tried to share this knowledge both in my own coaching and via this website that has been in existence since the early 1990's

I am presently expanding my knowledge through study. I am studying for a Judo specific degree in Sports Performance at the University of Bath.

Research

I am interested and involved in research for performance and participation Judo. My area of study has been performance primarily, looking at the possible relationships between attack rates and victory in Judo.

This research started in 2006 with a Pilot study at the 2006 Commonwealth Judo Tornament (available here 2006 Commonwealth Judo Tournament Statistics). In 2008/2009 I expanded on this by examining the 2008 Beijing Olympic Judo Tournament. This work formed the basis of my BSC dissertation. It also was the genesis of the creation of some software written specifically to assist in the notation of Judo fights, this I made open source and is available at: Github.com.

My studies at the University of Bath also prompted my involvement with Mr. Stanislaw Sterkowicz and his Special Judo Fitness Test. This is the defacto standard for testing fitness in Judo athletes and I have had the great honour of recording a podcast with Mr. Sterkowics about the test and also created a video showing how to conduct the test, that has now been published in the Archives of Budo online journal; as well as below.

My current area of investigation is into internet technology and sport (Judo) and how social media tools such as YouTube, FaceBook, Twitter, Blogs, etc can be used to enhance participation and performance sport.

My involvement in Bath has also allowed me to be bring to the internet the University of Bath Judo Debates, where contemporary Judo issues are debated in a parliamentary style.

Special Judo Fitness test - The Sterkowicz test.

The special judo fitness test is a Judo specific fitness test devised by Stanislaw Sterkowicz. It has had considerable testing and use in all levels of Judo. There is much information on the test, here are a few: