Greg Humphries held a 2 day judo clinic from August 9-11, 2011. This clinic consisted of Sensei Humphries unique blend of Russian European judo. Sensei Humphries recently finished training in the Ukraine in the spring. His instruction has influenced judokas, jiujitsukas and sambo practioners nationwide. It is always a treat to have him join our judo practice. We look foward to seeing Sensei Humphries in the near future.

AAU Grand Judo Nationals to place in Kearney, Missouri. Anna Feygina represented White Dragon Judo Club. The international phenom took the tournament by storm. Anna won all of her matches by ippon on her way to the gold medal in the 57kg women’s division and the open women’s division. Look to see big things from this female judoka in the fall.

White Dragon Judo Club hosted a Judo summer camp for kids in July. The camps purpose was get kids out of the house to exercise. The camp lasted 6 weeks with the kids getting a certificate at end of the camp. There was a wide turn out of children for this event. The future judokas were introduced to the basics of Judo. The youngsters were learning throws, holds, and just having fun. The kids were excited to learn a new skill and will have something to tell their friends and fellow students what they did this summer.

On June 25 and 26 White Dragon Judo Club held a judo clinic featuring two time Olympian Leo White. Leo White is one of the winningest judokas in US Judo history. He is currently on the coaching staff for the US Judo national team.

This event was one most technical and exciting events of the year. There was a wide turnout of judokas and jiujitsukas from all over the midwestern region. The clinic was long, highly technical and worth it. “Have an open mind.” as Sensei White would often say. Sensei White showed techniques that are not usually practiced at the local judoka level but used at the world class judoka level. The techniques that he demonstrated were the ones that made him the best American judoka in his era. At first the techniques seem difficult to master but with practice and repetition his concepts became easier to understand. Throughout the whole clinic judokas young and old fed on the charisma and down to earth simplistic nature of this world class judoka.

Day 1 Sensei White showed a series of kumi kata and tachi waza. These series of techniques showed his theory of control of his oppenent. He demonstrated his theory of off balance through his tachi waza. Day 2 was the ne waza portion of the clinic. He showed simplistic turnovers and pins. The highlight of this technical session was his display of submission grappling. Overall, this was a clinic of a lifetime. It is not often that you get a world class Olympic judoka to come and teach in this region. Stay tuned to the website for there will be more events like this one posted.

White Dragon Judo Club held their 3rd annual Friendship Tournament. This tournament was set out to promote friendship and goodwill. Many spectators who never seen a judo tournament actually got see how one is conducted.

This year more judo clubs from around the state of Missouri and Illinois were invited to this exciting event. This tournament saw the rising stars of the junior division display skills that can not be taught by a judo coach. The youngsters got an opportunity to test their technical skills against judo players they don’t usually see at every practice. For some young judokas it was the first of many judo tournaments of their young judo careers.

For others it was another tournament to grow from. The seniors and master’s judo divisions saw the emergence of new rivalries and technical development. These judokas set the standard on how hard work and preserverance produces victories and an increased technical competence of the sport of Judo.

Lastly, this tournament displayed the exhibition of goodwill and good sportsmanship which will have an impact on our judokas not just on the mat but off the mat. Next year we hope the tournament will be even bigger and better. Thank you to our supporters who help make this event possible.

One of the most competitive judo tournaments in the Midwest Region is the Tohkon Classic. White Dragon Judo Club represented well at this tournament having six senior and two junior judokas compete in this year’s competition. Tara Kuhne brought two of her best junior competitors to this tournament. Ian Kuhne fought up a division and encountered very tough opposition. After winning his opening match, the young superstar was unable to advance to the medal round. Julia Greene represented the junior girls in this tournament. She performed better than expected winning her opening match. Though the young prodigy fought hard and showed vast improvement she was eliminated from medal contention losing by yuko score in her final match. It was a tough day for the juniors but I am sure these players will be more poised next year as they chalked up some valuable tournament experience.

The talented senior team, led by Tom Kuhne, came into this tournament with some positive momentum. The team scored four medals on the day with Tara Kuhne and Anna Feygina taking silver in their selected divisions. Eugene Hamilton had a rough day as he was eliminated in the preliminaries. The up and coming Scott Frick got off to a strong start but did not advance. Derek Wellman narrowly missed medaling for the tournament in his division. The MVP of the day was Demonn Smith. He went 3-2 on the day taking silver in the Master’s heavyweight division. He also took silver in the Open Division scoring victories against nationally ranked opponents. White Dragon Judo Club will be looking to improve upon its performance next year. A good number of these judokas will be returning seeking to win gold.