Bradley Stoke Judo Club has grown significantly over the past couple of years and is proud to boast members who attend from as far afield as Wales, Swindon, Bath, Weston, Cirencester and Cheddar. However, nothing pleases the club coaches more than when locally based members achieve success and reach new levels of excellence.
The latest club member to achieve this is 15-year-old Bradley Stoke resident Eleanor Young who obtained her 1st Dan black belt at a recent national competitive grading in High Wycombe. In Judo you are only able to obtain your black belt once you reach 15 years of age and it is one of the few martial arts where you have to competitively fight to achieve the required level.
On the day, Eleanor was one of the youngest girls with many of the other competitors being in their 20s and 30s, so she had a tough task ahead of her. At a competitive grading, a fighter needs to successfully complete a two stage trial before they can claim their black belt.
In the first stage, Eleanor was required to beat two opponents by the maximum ippon score to qualify for the 2nd stage 3 fight line up. In the 2nd stage she was required to fight three competitors in quick succession with no rest and defeat them all by the maximum ippon score. Any failure to obtain a win by ippon would have meant instant elimination, but thankfully Eleanor’s skill meant she achieved a fantastic result.
Eleanor started her Judo career at the age of 9 at Baileys Court Primary as part of the club’s school programme. From there she moved up to main club and has gone from strength to strength, winning many medals at home and abroad. She is currently a member of the England Under-18 Squad and recently competed at the European Cadet Cup in Berlin.
Photo: Eleanor Young (2nd from left) is presented with her black belt.
This article originally appeared in the May 2015 edition of the Bradley Stoke Journal news magazine, delivered FREE, EVERY MONTH, to 9,500 homes in Bradley Stoke, Little Stoke and Stoke Lodge. Phone 01454 300 400 to enquire about advertising or leaflet insertion.
