Our location and session times:
We meet at The Ridings International Academy Sports Hall, High Street, Winterbourne Bristol BS36 1JL on Friday evenings (entry off Flaxpitts Lane).
- 6.30 pm to 7.30 pm - 8 to 13 year olds
- 7.30 pm to 8.30 pm - Advanced Juniors, 14-18 year olds and adults
New Judo Classes for Beginners
Blackhorse Judo Club starts a new beginners
series of judo classes at regular intervals. For further details, or to reserve a place
on the next course, please phone 0117-3305813 and ask to speak to Penny or Daniel.
The cost per session at Blackhorse Judo Club
is currently £4.00 or there is a discount for paying quarterly (which reserves a place for you for each session). We have international standard geemats
available to practice on, thanks to grants from Sport Relief, S.
Gloucestershire Council and National Lottery Funding provided by Awards 4 All.
To start just come along in a soft t-shirt
and tracksuit bottoms, as we have a selection of second hand jackets in various sizes you can borrow for the session.
If you take up Judo on a regular basis, you will need a judo suit. We occasionally have some second-hand suits, for around £10. Otherwise we have brand new suits from about £20.
Please be careful when buying a judo suit elsewhere - make sure it is suitable for judo! Other martial arts often use lighter weight suits, suitable for dealing with kicks and punches at a distance. Many of these suits will not be able to cope for long with the throws and grappling techniques used in judo.
As well as the judo suit, we ask that you
wear something on your feet to the edge of the mat. The custom is to wear a
pair of zori (Japanese "slippers"), which should be considered part
of your judo "uniform". A cheap, acceptable, alternative is to buy
a pair of flip-flops as these are easy to slip on and off if you need to leave
the mat for any reason.
Girls will also need to wear a plain white T-shirt under their jackets
to take part in competitions, courses and gradings - make sure these T-shirts
do not have any buttons or other fastenings that
might cause injury either to yourself or
other judoka.
It is a requirement that anyone practicing judo in the UK must hold a licence from a recognised judo organisation. The British Judo Council have a 3 month provisional licence, which costs £10.00 for both juniors (under 16s) and seniors (over 16s). This licence provides insurance cover and BJC membership whilst you decide whether you want to keep going, and can be arranged so that you are covered from your first session.
After three months you can pay the difference
and take out a full licence. Currently (July 2020) The British Judo Council's
full licence costs £28 for juniors, £34 for seniors for the first twelve
months. Annual renewal fees (from 1 Sep 2019) are: £24 for juniors, £30 for
seniors. Part of the annual membership fee
goes towards insurance (£6.50), the rest is BJC membership fees. This membership provides you
with a BJC licence which becomes a record of everything you achieve on the
judo mat.
Competition and Grading Fees
These fees will vary, depending on the nature of the event. Expect to pay from £15 to £18 for juniors, more for seniors, for competitions. Grading fees, if not run as part of a weekend or national course, tend to be around £8 for juniors, and take place every few months - speak to one of your instructors for more information, or keep an eye out on the "Forthcoming Events" diary.