White Dragon Judo Club conducted the 2015 Friendship Tournament on July 11, 2015. This event is a part of the Friendship Tournament Series. Each neighboring dojo in the Saint Louis area hosts this event from time to time. This tournament is designed for novice junior and senior judokas and referees. The tournament is opportunity to learn what tournament judo is really like. All in all everyone learns something and has a good time. When are you going to get on the mat? Judo is a great physical exercise regimen that is good for you. Children will learn the concept of hard work and working together for the welfare of all. The next Friendship Tournament is in August. Don’t hesitate to join in on the fun.

The 20th Tohkon Classic took place at Nile West High School in Skokie, Illinois on June 13, 2015. Team White Dragon was coached by Andrew Lazarz. For the second consecutive year Team White Dragon could only produce one person on the medal stand. Marissa Ardnt fought strong but was eliminated early from medal contention. Anna Feygina moved up in weight class, fought well, but did not make it to the podium. Adnan Gutic had a busy day and manage to capture gold in the Veteran’s division. This is Gutic’s third consecutive gold medal at the veteran’s level.

Members of White Dragon Judo Club conducted a judo self defence demonstration with the Mighty Kids Ministry of Peoples Community Christian Church on May 18, 2015. Sempai Demonn Smith was joined by Matt Davis and Robert Handshy in a demonstration of practical judo techniques for self defence. The 40 minute demonstration consisted of defending against strangulation, kidnapping, and sexual assault. After the demonstration, Sempai Smith answered various questions from the parents and the youth group. Sempai Smith stressed that the techniques shown are simple and with practice could save a person’s life one day. If you would like to know more about judo and self defense classes at White Dragon Judo Club, feel free to checkout our website and Facebook pages. We look forward to hearing from you and we will see you on the mat.

The 31th annual North/South Judo Tournament took place at the Family Sportplex in Belleville, Illinois on Saturday, May 16, 2015. Sensei Derek Wellman officiated the event. The coaching staff for Team White Dragon was Demonn Smith, Andrew Lazarz, Jay Baker, and Anthony Weeks. Demonn Smith was the lone representative for South judo team in the team competition. The North narrowly defeated a game on South judo squad 6-5. The North retain the rights to the North South trophy. Anthony Darevsky took silver in his weight category. Reisin Riley made her tournament debut a memorable one. Her superior athleticism got her a hard earned silver medal. Devin Busch took gold. Issac Valdez de Soto showed no signs of mat rust after his brief hiatus on his way to a gold medal finish. In the senior division, Sam Coln fought extremely well but failed to reach the medal stand. Anthony Weeks got a bronze. Bat Unur “The Batman” Erdenebayer played in the most exciting and talented division of 66kg. It was never a dull moment with this judo player as he earned a well deserved silver. Demonn Smith rounded out the team with a silver medal showing in the super heavyweight weight category.

The 2015 ISBA World Games took place in Seoul, South Korea on May 16-17, 2015. Adnan Gutic and Marissa Ardnt represented White Dragon Judo Club in individual and team competition. Both judokas did not place in their individual weight classes but were pivotal in the team competition. Ardnt competed well for Lady Team USA in route to a 5th place finish. Adnan Gutic and Team USA yielded better results as Team USA took bronze. Photo courtesy of USA Judo

It is that time of year again where the best judokas in the nation make the pilgrimage to Irving, Texas to make their dreams a reality. The Irving Convention Center was the site of the 2015 USA Judo Senior National Championships on May 2-3, 2015. A trio of judokas from White Dragon Judo Club represented the dojo well with two making their USA Judo National Championship debut. Andrew Lazarz and Blair Watts took the honor of being the designated coaches for this tournament. Lou Paez rounded out a brown belt division filled with up and coming talent. Paez made the best of his debut with a 5th place finish. Anna Feygina reeled off one of the best performances of her decorated judo career. Feygina went 3-3 on the day, good enough for a 5th place finish. Dan Raney was the only judoka to crack the medal stand. Raney showed off his superb newaza in a very experienced and well skilled Master’s 100kg class. The bronze medal was placed around his neck after posting a 2-1 record for the day.

Nestor Figueroa was the special guest instructor for Monday Night Judo on April 20, 2015. Sensei Figueroa was a former judo instructor at White Dragon Judo Club during its infancy. The native Peruvian was also the head judo instructor at the Sinchijudokan Institute in Saint Louis, Missouri. Sensei Figueroa has been studying judo for more than 50 years. Sensei Figueroa theme for Monday’s practice was BASICS. During the practice, Sensei Figueroa stated that today’s judo was getting away from the traditional Kodokan Judo that has been practiced for generations. He stated that most judokas are about winning and not concentrating on doing the techniques correctly to get to that point. During the practice, Sensei Figueroa helped fine tune and made all of our judo students aware of the little things that yield big results. Our judokas left this practice knowing that a quality practice is composed of working on the BASICS.

It was a great day for judo on April 18, 2015. Judan Judo sponsored the 2015 Indiana State and Vigil Bowles Kata and Judo Championships at Jay County High School in Portland, Indiana. Team White Dragon was ready to make its’ mark under player coach Glen Trotter. Marissa Arndt got silver in the senior female light weight division. Glen Trotter also took silver in the Master’s light weight division. Adnan Gutic was the most active of the team competing in 3 different divisions. Gutic captured gold in the Master’s middle weight and newaza  categories and silver in the senior 90kg weight class. Photo courtesy of Felix Lanier

The 2015 Missouri State Judo Championships got underway at the Kansas City North Community Center in Kansas City, Missouri on March 21, 2015. The contest was sponsored by Missouri Judo Inc. Andrew Lazarz and Eugene Hamilton coached a White Dragon Judo team balanced on experience and athleticism. In the seniors division, Matt Davis showed steady improvement to take bronze. The Batman, Bat Unur Erdenebayar had his gold medal streak broken in this tournament but won silver. Anna Feygina steamrolled through a talented senior female division and won her first Missouri State Judo Championship. Adnan Gutic is on a gold medal rampage. His splendid technique won him a gold medal in the seniors and masters weight classes and a silver in the open division.

The James J. Eagan Center in Florissant, Missouri witness the return of the KitoKan Judo Tournament on March 7, 2015. This event, ran by judo legend Eiko Shepherd, went on a brief hiatus before returning to the Missouri Judo tournament circuit. Team White Dragon entered the tournament with 10 competitors, 3 who were making there tournament debut. Sensei Derick Wellman and Randy Pierce were a part of the officiating team for this tournament. The coaching staff had 5 members, the largest to date. Dan Dillon, Eugene Hamilton, Jay Baker, Anthony Weeks and Demonn Smith all were designated coaches (DC) for Team White Dragon. The junior division featured the tournament debut of Sam and Lilly Coln. The teens have been practicing and refining their skills for months and were so excited to put them to the test. In the female 13 and up novice category, Lilly showed great poise and determination on her way to a silver medal finish. Sam Coln faced tough opposition but showed great potential. He did not medal in this tournament. Anthony Darevesky fought an excellent tournament but also fell short of the medal stand. In the senior division, it was the Batman Returns as the Mongolian phenom Bat Unur Erdenebayar earn his third consecutive gold medal in a 10 month span. Judo veteran, Glen Trotter earned a gold medal in Master’s and silver in the senior division. Matt Davis took a bronze in his tournament debut. Marissa Arndt showed off her tournament form with a hard fought silver medal in her category. Dan Raney represented with a silver medal finish in the Master’s heavyweight division. School was in session when the teacher, 2 time visually impaired national champion Adnan Gutic stepped on to the mat. It seemed like no opponent had an answer to Gutic’s ground fighting skill. Gutic was the MVP of the tournament as he performed a gold medal sweep. Adnan competed in three division, seniors, master’s and open, and walked away with three gold medals. In the medal count, Team White Dragon came out on top with 10 medals in this tournament. On this day, White Dragon Judo Club did not fall short of excellence.