Congratulations to Robert Tanaka
Robert recently competed on Tuesday at the IBSA (International Blind Sport Federation) Grand Prix in Baku, Azerbaijan. He was in a tough 66 kg bracket fighting three matches and finishing 7th. He was one of four Americans to gain valuable Paralympic qualifier points. He competes again on 19 June in the IBSA Judo Grand Prix in Warwick, England right before the Tokyo Paralympics. Judo competition will be held on 27-29 September. You may be able to view the Judo competition livestream on YouTube or Ippon.TV.

His home Dojo is Ju Shin Kan Judo Club in Colorado Springs, CO. While going to school at USC, he trains at Sawtelle in his free time.

Congratulations to Kohtaroh Uchida
Now a Shodan and @ a larger 220 lbs., Kohtaroh recently competed in the Open Division, losing in the first round at the USA Judo Senior Nationals in Reno, Nevada on 14 May. He returned to Hawaii in 2019 to become a doctor now studying at the University of Hawaii Manoa.

Memorial Day Weekend
We are off on Monday 31 May in observance of Memorial Day Weekend.

ZOOM classes will resume on Wednesday 3 June.

Sawtelle Judo Dojo’s newest members
Please welcome our newest members to our Seniors’ class, Scott Maccarone and Jennifer Ly.

Beach Run
Our beach runs continue at Tower 24, Santa Monica Beach from 10:00-11:30 am. Bring water and be on time. We will warm up with a long, slow distance jog. Then, perform sprint intervals with a series of calisthenics each time through the soft sand for the next hour.

From now on, we will alternate the beach run days for Saturday and Sunday mornings from 10:00-11:30 am, a full 90-minute, high heart rate, HIIT workout. Here is the beach run/hike schedule for through the end of June.

Saturday/Sunday 29/30 May NO beach run
Sunday 7 June @ 10:00 am Mesa Peak hike
Saturday 13 June @ 12:00 am
Sunday 21 June @ 10:00 am
Saturday 27 June @ 10:00 am

Bring your own water, and snacks. If it is hot, bring your swimwear and take a dip in the ocean for a cooldown. Be advised that the parking lot will fill quicker as the weather and water gets warmer. There is street parking, some metered and some not. You can walk 10-15 minutes into the neighborhood to park above Main St. for free on the busy, summer weekends. GoogleMap “Perry’s Café and Beach Rentals 2600.”

Hikes
We will return to Mesa Peak on Sunday 7 June. We had a good turnout last month with eleven making out to Malibu on a nice day. The starting point would be Castro Crest Trailhead off Corral Canyon Rd. Meet us there by 10:00 am Sunday morning. Bring water, food and snack for the 6.5 mile hike on a gentle rolling fire road in the Santa Monica overlooking Malibu and the Pacific Ocean.

Upcoming tournaments
International Judo Federation (IJF) World Judo Championships Seniors-6-13 June, Budapest, Hungary
This will be the penultimate tune-up before the Summer Games in Tokyo, Japan in late July as the World’s best Judokas vie for a Gold medal in the Worlds. This will set the stage and give the victors momentum into the Games.
This is livestreamed on Ippon.TV or on YouTube.

USA Inclusive Online Judo Trainings
Please join us again as the United States Judo Association (USJA) will be offering Special Needs (SN) trainings this Saturday 29 May @ 10:00-11:15 am PDT.

This Special Needs (SN) Online Judo Training is open to all USJA, USJF, USA Judo, and our International Judo friends.

They have opened the USA Inclusive Judo Online Training session up for any/all that would like to join. We had a lot of fun this past Saturday with Sensei James from Ireland and Sensei Cilia from Switzerland!!!!

This is especially beneficial for our SN students and kids up to about 12 years old who have not been able to participate in judo for the past year. Also, any coaches who are interested in working with SN Judo!!!

You will be sent the online link (BlueJeans) upon registering at https://forms.gle/wBnZxfoNPFizq2Ei8

They introduce our two amazing Judo Instructors who will teach our SN/All Inclusive sanctioned training beginning Saturday 05-15-21 at 10AM (PST) until 11:15AM.

We will have six online classes on consecutive Saturdays, from 15 May through 19 June. These classes are FREE to attend!!!

USJA Sanction #21-004. Please read up on our generous and talented International Judo Instructors. Let’s welcome Sensei James Mulroy from Ireland and Sensei Cilia Evenblij from Switzerland!!! Sensei Ricardo Lucio with his SN Brazil team will also join us!!!!

You may contact Brian Money, Riverside Youth Judo Club at Bmoney@riversideca.gov if you have any questions.

Stay tuned on our plans on re-opening our Dojo. It will come soon.

"If you realize how powerful your thoughts are, you would never think a negative thought."