Though we are in the midst of the U23 European Championships in Pila, Poland, we are also looking forward to a brand new prime event in the European Judo Union calendar, the European Championships for Intellectually Impaired. Next week in Venray, where the Get Together events began for adapted judoka, it will come full circle as the championships will be held in the same place.
EJU and IJF Commentator, Loretta CUSACK DOYLE interviewed EJU Sport Commissioner, Alessandro COMI, who is the commissioner assigned to the adapted judo events.
Adapted Judo is still something new for the EJU, we started this in 2024, collecting experiences. Already across Europe, a lot of agencies work with adapted sport but the EJU have arrived now. We wanted to have these Get Together events to collect these experiences to develop something new for the judo family. A lot of this has stemmed from Marina DRASKOVIC in Croatia, with her club, with her great experience, and she is in charge of this great project.
Then we started to think about a tour for these adapted judoka, we started in the last months and held these events in Velika Gorica in Croatia, Swansea in Great Britain and in Gdansk, Poland. We are now going to the first ever European Championships for Intellectually Impaired next week in Venray.
Loretta asked what the differences are in the approach to education with adapted judoka, who have the ability to do judo.
This is the point, we speak about abilities, and this is the approach. You spoke about having a common language and that is the job of the EJU, to change the point of view from ‘disability’ to ‘ability’. We focus on the skills of the athlete. The programme is designed with different levels, but levels of what? So we have athletes from level one to five, depending on their abilities, what they can do on the mat. We start from main stream judo, then go for some adaptation to allow them to perform on the mat. Of course there are some differences, maybe they need longer time to react, or start in a different position to mainstream, but what you see is the essence of judo. Judo is adaptability. Adaptive judo is about kuzushi, it’s about kumi kata, it’s about throwing, and you only need to adapt a little bit. Everyone has their own judo within the bigger frame.
Loretta continued to explain that not so many sports can boast of their inclusion and have a sport that is adaptable in so many ways, how encouraging it is to see the development and integration. This supports the EJU ethos that judo is in fact for all. Medical research is naturally an element of adapted judo, to arrive to the conclusion of how we adapt to accommodate all abilities,
On the medical side, there is still work to be done, but around a year ago there was a meeting held, where rules were created for adapted judoka and there was special care to address the health and wellbeing support, by those who are already working with adapted judoka. Now that more and more people around Europe are discovering what the European Judo Union are doing with this project, more are asking questions, and more are interested and want to join these Get Together events.
Through Kerry TANSEY in Great Britain, Loretta has experience with adapted judo and addressed a common topic she picking up on, the lack of knowledge, which is an issue for coaches,
This is normal, the EJU are also taking care to develop educational programmes for coaches, because this is something that needs work. For those that are worried, I encourage them to speak to the coaches involved, watch the videos. During these events I’ve met coaches who are also involved in main stream international competition, and that in their clubs they have adapted judo and almost nothing changes. The experience is the same, if anything, they may get something more. An educational programme is in the pipeline, an ongoing development to have everything ready in 2025.
For most, adapted judo is something completely new, and for experienced and successful international judoka Loretta, she felt blinkered after she saw what various abilities were capable of. Her life’s work had been in competitive main stream judo, it was an awakening. Comi agreed entirely,
I was blind before this! I thought how is it possible to have been missing this, and I spoke with my colleagues, my club, how have we been missing this?!
The situation is now changing, what was once seen as a disability or disadvantage, was simply a lack of access, activities that were only accessible to main stream practitioners, and not all abilities. Now the tides are changing. The EJU strives to stand by their promise of judo for all, all ages and all abilities. Through the Get Togethers, and constant development, the goal is to be able to drop ‘adapted’, all of it is judo, all of the people are judoka, it is simply divided by category.
Author: Thea Cowen