Monthly Archives: January 2019

West Central Illinois Judo Invitational 2019

The West Central Illinois Judo Invitational (formerly the Hollis Park Judo Invitational) took place on January 6, 2019 at the Hollis Park Recreational Center in Mapleton, Illinois. Team White Dragon sent the young dragons in this tournament. Kartemis Heary made his shiai debut. Heary got off to tremendous start in the preliminaries with a thunderous osotogari. In the semifinal he showed off his exceptional newaza with a submission win. The rookie judoka ended the day 3-1 with a silver medal for his efforts. Phillip Vojta earned the MVP honors for second consecutive year in this event. The phenom rolled through his competition going an undefeated 6-0. He took gold in his weight class and the open division.

New Years Holiday Open Workout

White Dragon Judo Club co hosted the New Years Holiday Open Workout on Saturday, December 29, 2018. The workout had two sessions. The event featured some well known judokas in the state of Missouri. Some of the judo players have moved away but took the time out of their busy holiday schedule to share their judo knowledge and have fun. The workout involved a lot of randori and a select number of judokas got to show there favorite techniques. What is your New Year’s resolution? Why not start your JUDO journey. Come…the mat awaits you.

2018 ISBA World Judo Championships

Adnan Gutic

The 2018 ISBA World Judo Championships took place in Odivelas, Portugal on November 16, 2018. This is the world judo championships for the visually impaired judokas. Adnan Gutic represented the United States and White Dragon Judo Club. Adnan performed a personal best in this event. Though he did not medal, he placed ninth. The top ten finish has ranked him among the best in the world. If Adnan can place or win a few more international and national judo tournaments he will make the 2020 USA Paralympic Judo team. An awesome showing from a phenomenal judoka.

8th Annual Gateway Invitational Judo Tournament

The 8th Annual Gateway Invitational Judo Tournament got underway onĀ October 6, 2018 at the Overland Community Center in Overland, Missouri. This tournament has attracted judokas from all over the Midwest region. Tournament director Sensei Derick Wellman put together another competitive event. 7th dan Randy Pierce was the head officiator for this tournament. David Burke was the head coach of Team White Dragon for the second consecutive year. Burke got the best out of Team White Dragon as all team members medaled in tournament. Caleb Bass had his work cut out for him in his tournament debut talented stacked division. Caleb made the best of his opportunity and scored a bronze medal. Sean Eagan showed exceptional improvement in his debut. He impressed his peers and coaches with a bronze medal finish in the boys heavyweight division. Trevor Judge collected a silver medal in his third Gateway Invitational. Alex Halon went 3-1 on the day and won a silver medal. Avery and Cameron Duffield showed their dominance for a second consecutive year. Big brother Cameron went undefeated and took another gold. The competition had no answer for Avery’s newaza. He earned a gold medal as well. In the senior division, Byron Helmrich took bronze in the lightweight division. Josh Sisson won silver in his category. Ryan Morrow went 3-2 on the day and won bronze. Adnan Gutic scored a splendid ippon with tomonage in the semifinal. He took a silver medal home for the day. Justin Campos had an impressive debut scoring a silver medal for the tournament. White Dragon Judo standout Phillip Vojta won his third consecutive Gateway Invitational gold. The MVP of the tournament was Joe Judge. He made the best of his debut with some impressive ippons in the Veterans middleweight division.