Of Northern Virginia
We have a mailing list for our members and interested judoka. It is a good way to stay in touch and to find out about upcoming competitions and other events. Unsolicited ads and spam are strictly prohibited.
Willie Inserra was one of only two US players to score during the competition in Russia. Read more here .
SportJudo player performs well in Russia
Willie Inserra returned from Russia recently as one of two US players who managed to score in the competition portion of the US Team's trip to St. Petersburg. He is certainly on his way to big things! Read the writeup on USJudo.org here.
A number of club members will be traveling to West Point, NY to compete in the NCJA Collegiate Nationals Friday through
Sunday. The rest of our guys and girls will probably be at the Beltsville Open Judo Championships in College Park, MD. If you are
in the area this Saturday, go support SportJudo at the tournament!
The address is as follows:
Beltsville Academic Center
4300 Wicomico Avenue,
Beltsville, MD
Both Juniors and Seniors take home team trophy at Virginia State Judo Open!
Both the junior and senior SportJudo teams put on a dominant showing at the Virginia State Judo Tournament this year. Both teams earned trophies for Outstanding Team in addition to many individual medals along the way. Next up are the NCJA Collegiate Nationals and Beltsville Judo Open the weekend of March 12th.
Matt Rothstein takes Gold in the novice division at Starett Cup
Matt earned a first place finish in the Novice division of Starett Cup this passed weekend, while finishing with one win and two losses in the Elite division.
Sport Judo takes Outstanding Team Trophy at Maryland Open Championships!
The Juniors took home 8 gold medals with Giuseppi Inserra earning 8 straight ippons. Jelena Veskov also won gold and is, like Giuseppi, currently ranked number 1 in the nation. Eden Gordon also brought home the Sportsmanship award for the Juniors, Saturday! Good job Juniors!
The seniors also brought home the team trophy, with Matt Rothstein winning a Gold in the novice division as well as the Outstanding Technique award. Earning another unique award was Steve Yokay of Sport Judo Gaithersburg who earned the outstanding competitor award for his performance. Great job to the Seniors as well!
Jeff Steel Wins 100Kg Division at Nationals!
Congratulations to Coach Jeff Steel for winning the 100Kg Masters division at the 2010 National Championships! Jeff was competing up a weight class and won a gold medal despite this. Great job, Jeff!
Sport Judo takes Outstanding Team Trophies at Virginia Open Championships!
Congratulations to both the Junior and Senior competitors! Their performances earned Sport Judo the Outstanding Team award in both the Junior and Senior divisions. Sport Judo blew passed Navy with a number of medal finishes late in the night to cinch the Senior prize, having already earned the Junior trophy earlier in the day.
Great job guys, and congratulations to all Sport Judo members!
Holiday Party on Saturday the 12th!
The Sport Judo Holiday Potluck will be held this saturday at the Alexandria One Spirit Gym from 10AM to 12PM. Bring some food to share and the Sport Judo holiday spirit! We'll be watching the new 101 Ippons by Fighting Films, too, so expect to be entertained!
New at One Spirit Martial Arts
One Spirit Martial Arts in Alexandria, VA is now holding Krav Maga, MMA and boxing classes in addition to Judo during the weeks. Krav Maga is being offered under the direction of Brad Burnett on Tues. and Thurs. afternoons, while Aaron Riley, UFC veteran, is teaching the MMA class on Tues. and Thurs. evenings. Boxing will be offered Wed. evening and Sat. morning.
In addition to the new classes, there is also a brand-new, full size boxing ring at the gym for use by gym members. Members of any martial arts class have access to the full service gym facilities at One Spirit Martial Arts.
Call One Spirit at (703) 941-4848 to sign up!
Willie and Giuseppi Inserra Ranked 1st By USA Judo
Willie has officially claimed the #1 Junior National Ranking for the 53Kg Juvenile A division for 2009, while retaining a tie for 3rd with points he had previously aquired in the 48Kg division. The official record is available at the USA Judo site Besides bragging rights, this means that if USA judo decides to assemble a junior (cadet) national team to compete abroad, Willie would be afforded the top slot at 53Kg.
If points were kept for Junior Bantam players, Giuseppi would also be ranked number one in the nation. Using the same point system he would actually have 24 points in the Bantam 3 - 31kg division for 2009 competitions.
Congrats to Willie and Giuseppi!
Blind Athletes Prove Victorious
(March 1, 2009, Colorado Springs, Colo) -- The United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) Judo Camp concluded triumphantly Saturday, February 28, with the Mid-Winter Classic in Westminster, Colo. Sixteen blind and visually impaired judo athletes competed in the tournament against sighted and blind athletes to prove victorious on the mat. "For someone with just six months judo experience, I felt welcomed, empowered and inspired to work hard in this sport and excel in my personal life," said Joe Orozco of Washington, D.C. Orozco was one of eleven judo athletes who are blind to medal in their division at the Mid-Winter Classic. With the 2009 IBSA Pan American Games months away, the athletes came to the U.S. Olympic Training Center with aspirations of fighting for their country this summer in the Pan American Games to be held in Colorado Springs, Colo. Several also attended with hopes of competing in the 2012 Paralympic Games three and a half years away to fight for gold in London. "I'm training and dreaming of London, but I know I have a lot of work to obtain that goal and this clinic was the next step," said Christella Garcia of Sacramento, Calif.
Athletes arrived at the OTC on Wednesday and participated in twice-daily training sessions on Thursday and Friday, first with a two-hour morning session and later working out with the USA Judo National Training Site at the Olympic Training Center Team in the evening. In addition to on-the-mat sessions, athletes also worked with the U.S. Olympic Committee Strength and Conditioning Staff in the weight room and were educated on anti-doping policies by the staff of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. "This was an incredible experience that enriched my judo skills. I am looking forward to future camps," said Muneer Tawam of Philadelphia, Pa who placed second in the Novice 198 lbs. division.
Released by Amanda Fasset, Media@usaba.org, 719-630-0422
USA Judo issued its 2009 junior rankings. Willy Inserra rose to #1 for Male 13-14 YOA under 44kg division. Congratulations to Willy. Keep it up and good luck with the winter wrestling season!
One Spirit hosts 2009 Erik Paulson MMA Seminar at Olympus Gym
One Spirit Martial Arts is hosting an MMA seminar by Japanese Shooto Champion, Erik Paulson. Erik is the only foreigner to win the Shooto Light Heavyweight Belt. He is a Machado BJJ Blackbelt and submission wrestling expert who has trained Ken Shamrock, Sean Sherk, Brock Lesnar, and Josh Barnett.
The dates are 10 and 11 January 2009. Training begins at 10AM and ends at 4pm. Arrive at least thirty minutes before the start time in order to sign in and change. There will be a one-hour break for lunch. The location is Sport Judo's Olympus Gym. Cost is $100 for one session and $150 for both days.
To pre-register, contact Dave Anderson at One Spirit. SportJudo members can also pre-register with Maurice. To find out more about Erik, visit scientificwrestling.com.
SportJudo's Joel Brutus leads Haitian Team in Olympic Opening Ceremony
SportJudo judoka, Joel Brutus, led the Haiti delegation in the Olympic Opening Ceremony. Looking at the schedule on nbcolympics.com, it looks like the heavyweight fights are on Day 7, Friday, August 15, 2008. Best wishes for Joel! Bring home a medal!
NBC is the official host for Olympic Judo news:
http://www.nbcolympics.com/judo/index.html
The results and scheduled matches are listed here.
2008 USA Judo Junior Olympic National Championships
Below are more results from the Jr. Olympics held at Coronado Springs Resort Disney, Orlando, FL on July 25-27, 2008:
Congratulations to our competitors! A job well done! For photos and results, click here.
Sport Judo Players place at Keystone State Games held in York, PA
Dethrell Garcia placed first in the Sankyuu 100kg male division and Jeff Steel reportedly placed second in both the Senior and Master 100kg black belt competitions on 27 July 2008. The hosts' website is here, but no results have been posted.
Mike Harrison wins third at Junior Olympics
Congratulations to Sportjudo's Mike Harrison. He placed third in his black belt weight class at the Junior Olympics held 25-27 July at Disney's Cornonado Springs Resort Convention in Kissimmee, FL.
Nearly 800 athletes were scheduled to compete at the USA Judo National Junior Olympic Championships beginning on Friday at Walt Disney World® Resort.
As the final qualifier for the 2008 Junior World Trials, athletes in the IJF-Junior (under-20) division all will be vying for one of four berths to the Trials where they will fight for the ability to represent Team USA at the Junior World Championships, Oct. 23-26 in Beijing.
Male IJF-Junior 90kg RESULTS
For more information on the Junior Olympics Competition, click here.
Sportjudo Youths place at Junior Nationals
Congratulations to our students who competed at the US Junior Open Judo Championships in Fort Lauderdale. The event ran 20-21 July and brought competitors from all over the country. Four of us placed:
This has been a great competitive season for the JudoKids and our teenage players.
Sportjudo Player goes to '08 Olympics
Sportjudo congratulates one of our own, Joe Brutus. Joe will be competing at the 2008 Beijing Olympic games in the Judo heavyweight division. Joe will be representing his home country of Haiti. Joe just got back from a tough training camp in Europe where he worked hard for the upcoming games. Best of luck! Heavyweight judo players are welcome to come train with us and give Joe partners to work with.
Congratulations to Jelena Veskov and Mike Harrison. Both competed at the USJA Jr. Nationals held in Chicago, Il on July 4-6, 2008. Nine-year-old Jelena placed first in the girl's 43KG and under Intermediate Class 1 event. This is Jelena's fourth national victory. Mike Harrison won second place in the Male IJF Junior 90Kg and under category. Mike starts as a freshman at William and Mary this fall. He did a great job this year with judo and school!
Click here for more info.
Congratulations to our own Giuseppe Inserra, who won first place at the USJA Junior Judo National Championships! Four of our competitors earned national rankings. Great Job! The tournament, hosted by Jimmy Pedro's judo and martial arts club, was held in Boston at the Hynes Veterans Memorial Convention Center on 27-29 June, 2008. Four of our students placed:
click here for the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star article on their wins.
Dave Anderson and One Spirit Martial Arts brought the reigning UFC Welterweight Champion, George St. Pierre, to Sport Judo for a 3-hour MMA Seminar. St. Pierre started off with a number of "clinch" moves to block a grappler and to take a grappler down. He added in a defense to the double leg to round out the standup grappling portion of the seminar. Next, he moved on to a number of kicking and punching combinations that he demonstrated with his Muay Thai trainer. The highlight was a demonstration for setting up the superman punch with low kicks. St. Pierre was gracious and energetic throughout the day, fielding questions, taking photos, and cracking jokes. It was a fun, informative day for everybody. Thanks to Dave Anderson for making it happen. Click here for St. Pierre's website.
Judoka Ervin Brandon won silver in the Men's 2008 Purple Belt Super Pesado (Heavy) Weight Division at the World Jiu-Jitsu Championships. Congratulations! Click here for complete results.
Team Results
As a team, Sport Judo scored 21 points, coming in ninth.
