Hackney Judo Club

23/10/2026

Well done the team who fought recently at the North West open! Great performances our athletes showing really nice judo and good development.

Thank you Beth O'Connor for coaching.

Results:
Kasjan 🥇
Sensei Calvin 🥇
Jordan 🥈
Mario 🥈

20/10/2026

We are super excited to announce our upcoming red belt rumble on Sat 21st November at All Saints Judo Academy 😊

This will be a great opportunity for development and some local competition experience for all involved. Please see entry information below and send us an email with the completed form.

All entries must be in by Friday 13th November. All players must have in date BJA licence and have graded within the last 9 months. White judo gi only

15/10/2026

Great work from the team at the recent High Wycombe red and yellow belt event.

There were some fantastic results and individual performances including from Connie who stepped up to a new weight group and fought bravely to earn a well deserved silver medal for her efforts 🥈Scarlett showed us what she is capable of yesterday winning all fights by ippon with big forward throws to win gold 🥇both Inaiya and Sarah were on top form and backed up their gold medals from last weekend with gold again in their respective weight groups! 🥇

Don’t worry it wasn’t just our girls that were performing excellently Xavier utilised his left hip technique to almost perfection as he earned himself a silver medal 🥈teammate Husain went one step further than his silver last time out earning himself a well deserved gold this time out 🥇

I could write about you all as you ALL did yourselves proud so keep up the great work.

Great job to Sensei Beth officiating at the event and Ellie being amazing working as a medic at the event. Thanks to Dean for doing some photography for us while Sensei Calvin was busy coaching. Huge thanks to our supportive parents and teammates for their help we appreciate you all! 🤗❤️

Results:

Inaiya 🥇
Scarlett 🥇
Hamza 🥇
Huseyin 🥇
Sarah 🥇
Mustafa 🥈
Xavier 🥈
Alexander 🥈
Layla 🥈
Connie 🥈

15/10/2026

Well done the the team who competed at the Alex Jackson red belt rumble at Bishops Stortford a few weeks go. Solid effort from all. Keep it up! 😊

Results

Gold:
Inaiya 🥇
Sarah 🥇

Silver:
Huseyin 🥈

Bronze:
Scarlett 🥉
Zayneb 🥉
Xavier 🥉
Hamza 🥉
Mustafa 🥉

12/10/2026

Massive well done to Kasjan who recently travelled to Poland to compete in the regional qualifying event for the Polish National championships where he fought brilliantly earning himself a fantastic silver medal and qualification for the main event this weekend when he travels back Poland 🥈

20/09/2026

Solid work last weekend for Sensei Calvin winning silver at the Heart of England Championship in Walsall where he fought up in the u73kg category losing narrowly in the final on a contentious yuko 🥈

Dom showed excellent Judo taking gold in the veterans u100kg category 🥇

Great example of resilience, perseverance and hardwork as they continue their journey towards their goals.

If you are interested in joining our veterans competition team and train with like minded veterans players of all levels at our various East London venues don’t hesitate to contact us 😊

08/09/2026

Huge well done to all who competed at weekend in the English closed championships at UEL. This was a tough event as expected but we are extremely proud of you all including those who stepped up to this level of competition for the first time or have just moved up to a new age band. You should all be proud of yourselves. Team support and bonding was great as usual which we love to see. Some nice first wins at this level and most importantly lots of high quality competition experience gained!

Huge congratulations to Kasjan who showed excellent Judo winning all his contests by ippon to take Gold in the boys u60kg pre cadet category. His hardwork and consistency training and competing both here and abroad at events and camps is making a difference 🥇

Big shout out to both Iris and Annabelle who picked up wins finishing 7th in their respective cadet u70 and O70 cadet groups.

There was lots of nice judo from members across the weekend and also lots to take away and work on in preparation of events in October and the run up to the British championships in December.

Well done to Sensei Beth, Finley and Ryan who did a great job officiating across the weekend and to Ellie who worked hard all weekend as a medic at the event.

We are proud of you all, keep up the great work!

17/08/2026

A massive well done to our four female judoka who attended the first ever female only judo festival in London on Saturday.
Our players represented the club with positive energy throughout and competed to a brilliant level. Our Juniors; Scarlett, Shai & Sarah worked really hard in their groups demonstrating some of the technical elements that we have been working on at training! Then we have Leigh who competed in her first ever judo competition with us. She worked extremely hard, having a number of extra fights to give others girls some matches. Leigh pulled off an exceptional Ko Uchi Gari and managed to execute Juji Gatame on three different occasions showing her strength on the ground.
Leigh was also awarded a judo gi for her support of other judoka and excellent performance on the day.

Well done everyone. We are extremely proud of you all!!!

Thank you A1 Judo Club for hosting the event. Thank you Sensei Beth for coaching.

London Area Judo

08/08/2026

29/07/2026

THE PHENOMENON OF NAOHISA TAKATO 🇯🇵

At just 1.60 metres tall, Naohisa Takato proved that greatness in judo is not measured in centimetres.

His record is extraordinary:

🥇 Olympic champion — Tokyo 2020
🥉 Olympic bronze medallist — Rio 2016
🌍 Four-time world champion — 2013, 2017, 2018 and 2022
🏆 11 Grand Slam gold medals
🥇 World junior champion — 2011
🥇 World cadet champion — 2009

But numbers explain only part of his phenomenon.

Takato was one of the most creative and unpredictable judoka of his generation. His tomoe-nage, ko-uchi-gari, kata-guruma and lightning-fast transitions into ne-waza could come from almost any angle.

He did not simply perform techniques. He found new solutions during every fight.

His road to Olympic gold made his legacy even more special. After winning bronze in Rio, he returned at his home Olympics under enormous pressure.

In the Tokyo semi-final, Takato survived an epic contest lasting more than eleven minutes against Kazakhstan’s Yeldos Smetov. He then defeated Yang Yung-wei in the final and delivered Japan’s first gold medal of Tokyo 2020.

In 2022, at the age of 29, he became world champion for the fourth time — nine years after winning his first world title. Such longevity in the incredibly fast and competitive -60 kg division is exceptional.

In March 2026, Naohisa Takato announced his retirement from competitive judo. The athlete has left the tatami, but his ideas and influence will remain.

Small in stature. Enormous in judo.

That is the phenomenon of Naohisa Takato.

Where do you rank him among the greatest -60 kg judoka of all time?