A Busy July for Shinken Shobu Ryu Judo Club

On Saturday 6 July Paul McConville and Dermot McCaul from Shinken Shobu Ryu Judo club Warrenpoint attended the British masters in Walsall.  Both men competed in the M7 category with Dermot in the under 90kg and Paul in the under 81kg category.

The British Masters is one of the largest competitions in the UK with competitors traveling from across Europe for an opportunity to compete against others in their age bracket.

Paul who is the current British open Gold medallist, was first to step to the mats winning his first 3 matches securing him a place in the final. The final was a hard-fought affair with both competitors attacking back and forward.  Paul was just piped at the post and secured the silver to add to his vast collection.

The 90KG category is often known as the toughest group, due to the high amount of number entering it. Dermot who we can only describe as a technical wonder had 5 hard fights and was unsuccessful in reaching the medal brackets.  

The club has also held a grading where our senior members James White and Gerard Moore and moving up. James who is a level 1 coach for the club secured his first Kyu (Brown belt). Gerard who already holds dan grades in traditional Ju jitsu, has moved up to third kyu (green belt). Both James and Gerard hold roles within our committee and help with the continued running and growth of our club.

It has also been great to grade the kids from both the Warrenpoint and Mayobridge kids clubs.  The kids have shown tremendous growth within their judo and we can clearly see that the club has some future champions in the making.

A club spokesperson spoke of their appreciation of sponsorship from WBR Credit Union "We would like to take this opportunity to thank WBR Credit Union for their continued support. This year again they have provided a cheque to the club. This helps help our teams train to the highest levels."

Next up for the club we have the British Kata Open Championships in September.  We have two teams entering at the moment, Dermot and Paul and the second team will be Nigel O’Neil and Damian O’Hare.

Shinken Shobu Ryu is one of the only Judo clubs in the country that teaches Judo with all of its elements.  We teach competitive Judo, Kata, the Judo Martial art and the self-defence aspects.