Page 78 - RADC 2017

SPORT
Army Judo Championships September 2017
A/LCpl Emily Patron, RADC
On the 20th October 2017 I competed at the Army judo championships with only 6 months of training and managed to walk away with two silver medals.
This came about as Major Mclean and I were talking to one of our patients, and it came up in conversation how he had been doing judo since he was 11 years old. He mentioned that he would love to start up judo lessons at ATR Winchester. As I had done judo as a child I thought it would be fun to give it a go.
Once the lessons had started the Master at Arms (Captain Pierce), who is also a brown belt in judo and regularly competes at the Army judo championships, was very eager to put me on
a week’s intensive judo course held in Aldershot with the aim of me gaining a yellow belt.
I must say that
this was one of the
hardest weeks of
my life! It was very
intense and very
brutal to my body, getting thrown around for 7 hours a day over 5 days! On the Friday it was the grading: I was very nervous as we had to demonstrate we were capable
of throwing our component and having an understanding of all of the Japanese words. Being awarded the yellow belt was a proud moment! Not long after this I was selected to compete as part of the ATR Winchester team.
On the count down to the Army judo championships I was very nervous, as I had
never done anything like this before, and on the day of the competition itself the presence of 8 judges, a referee and a fully
decked out gym did nothing to calm my nerves!
As it happens I was one of the first females to compete but my opponent was a lot more aggressive than me so, unfortunately, I lost against her in the first couple fights. A few of the black belts who were coaching me at the time kept telling me how I needed to get aggressive and
to think of something that I truly hated!
So I did, and by the time I had to fight my second opponent I was fairly wound up and
I managed to get her to the floor and hold her for a full 20 seconds. By the time it got to the third opponent I was very pumped-up and managed to get a hold of her around her waist and do a hip throw, this was
an instant win as I managed to throw her directly on her back.
At the end of the day, when medals were being announced, I was shocked to know
I had won two silver medals at my first
ever judo competition! I really enjoyed my experience and cannot wait to further my experience in judo, and to gain higher belts.
I’d like to thank the SDO, and the MAA and his team for encouraging me to attend and to train. I’d encourage anyone who hasn’t tried a new sport in the Army to give it a go.
76 RADC BULLETIN 2017
I must say that
this was one of the hardest weeks of my life!