Anna Feygina represented Team White Dragon at the 47th Dallas Invitational Judo Championships in Irving, Texas. Feygina performed well en route to a silver medal finish in the 57kg senior elite division. Anna scored key victories and showed vast improvement from last years tournament. The young shodan continues to solidfy her presence and move up in the national rankings for her weight class.

There was no room for the weary as Team White Dragon fought in their second judo tournamnent of the month. The national qualifier, the Saint Louis Open Judo Championships took place at Jefferson College in Hillboro, Missouri. Five judokas represented White Dragon Judo Club and medaled in impressive fashion. Dan Dillon was the designated coach for the junior team. Issac Valdez Soto represented the junior squad with a hard fought bronze medal finish. Andrew Lazarz took bronze in the Master’s heavyweight division. Dan Rainey scored gold in the open weight division. Derick Wellman scored gold for the second straight time this year at 81kg. Demonn Smith punched his ticket to Virginia Beach going 8-1 on the day. Smith was able to endure and outmanuever his opponents on his way to double gold. With that performance, the veteran judoka will represent White Dragon Judo Club at the 2013 US Judo Nationals.

The 2nd Annual Gateway Invitational got underway on October 6, 2012. The Overland Community Center in Overland, Missouri was once again the venue of where the largest tournament in the state of Missouri. With the Gateway Grand Championship at stake 112 competitors would be jockeying for position in order to get their hands on that coveted trophy. Derick Wellman and  White Dragon Judo Club hosted this tournament for a second consecutive year. The club received assistance from volunteers, parents, and sponsors to make this tournament possible.

Demonn Smith and Dan Dillon took there turns at the coach’s seat for the junior team. 2012 Junior National competitor Anthony Darevesky took another gold home for mom to display. Koreyon Harris scored gold with some thunderous throws for ippon. Devin Busch had his work cut out for him in a huge talented division. He scored an ippon with osoto gari in the semi final to put him in the gold medal match. Busch executed a beautiful kosoto gari for wazari late in the finals which was enough for the gold. Shawn Butler fought extremely well going 3-1 on the day for a silver medal. Eden “El Magnifico” Vasquez showed strong potential with a bronze medal finish. Issac Valdez Soto and Jeric Gymahin also scored bronze in their divisions. Mackenzie Baird ran the table for gold in the Junior Girls 9-10 years old division. She finished the day undefeated. Jocelyn Butler also gained her 2nd gold medal of the year. Lady Butler displayed beautiful judo winning her finals match with ippon seoi nage.

In the senior men’s division, Tae Young Choi went 3-1 on the day and took silver. The ladies lightweight division was the most competitive of the tournament. Tiffany Choi scored gold. The highly ranked Anna Feygina took bronze. Eugene Hamilton made his debut in the Master’s division a worthy one by taking gold in the lightweight division. Rob Handshy displayed some awesome ne waza but lost a heartbreaker in the final to take the silver. Jonathan Jones rebounded and fought hard to a bronze medal. Demonn Smith continued to impress his peers with a relentless offensive attack style. Smith’s technique proved to be unstoppable as he took his second consecutive Gateway Master’s gold.

This year’s tournament fell nothing short of AWESOME. The date for next year’s Gateway Invitational is already set. It is already predicted to be a very competitive tournament with judokas coming from all over the region. White Dragon Judo Club thanks you for your support and hopes to see you on the mat next year.

The weekend of September 22-23, 2012 was full of non stop judo action. The All Women’s Judo Championships took place at the Cloverleaf Recreation Center in Lodi, Ohio. Andrew Lazarz made his coaching debut at this tournament. Anna Feygina competed in 57kg division and took no prisoners. Anna won all of her matches by ippon on her way to the gold medal stand. Feygina also competed in open division where she placed third. In the 17th Annual Rock &Roll CAPITAL OF THE WORLD ” Judo Tournament, Derick Wellman won the masters division by yuko score. Anna Feygina stayed in the zone in a tough female lightweight divsion. She took gold finishing a busy weekend at 13-1. An extraordinary performance by Anna Feygina as she won a majority of her matches by ippon.

For the second consecutive year, White Dragon Judo Club has sent a team to Pendleton, Indiana for the America’s Cup Judo Championships. The judo tournament got underway at the Anderson YMCA on September 9, 2012. Andrew Lazarz made his return to the mat after a long layoff from an injury.  The judo veteran showed off some crafty moves on his way to bronze medal finish. Anna Feygina came up short in the semi finals and had to settle for bronze in her the division. The MVJ ( Most Valuable Judoka) of the day was Sensei Derick Wellman. Sensei Wellman fought at a lower weight class for the first time in his career. The weight loss did not diminish his skills. Derick won his championship match by wazari. No doubt about it White Dragon Judo Club represented well and did not fall short of success.

Wow!!! White Dragon Judo Club student attendance has tripled within the past year. On September 5, 2012 the judo club set a new junior student attendance record of 40 in one night. That’s right, the dojo has been averaging approximately 20 students per class. The martial art of Judo is spreading all over the Saint Louis area. White Dragon Judo Club is currently the largest club in Saint Louis. The club has affordable rates for adults and kids. Private class are available. Hustle!!!! Classes are filling up as this article is being written. Once again, Congratulations and thank you to all of parents, kids and adults who make White Dragon Judo Club the best dojo in Saint Louis, Missouri.

White Dragon Judo Club held a judo demonstration at the Missouri Botanical Gardens on September 3, 2012. The demonstration was one of the activities held at the Botanical Garden’s annual Japenese Festival. A group made up of junior, senior and masters judokas demonstrated the great martial art and sport of judo. This demonstration was different from the many demonstrations held in years past. This judo demonstration held a promotion ceremony for two of our outstanding junior judokas. Anthony Darevsky was promoted to green belt. Julia Greene was promoted to orange belt. Both judokas have practiced many hours and have performed well in tournament judo. Congratulations to our outstanding junior judokas.

White Dragon Judo Club had its annual Friendship Tournament on August 11, 2012. There were judokas representing three judo clubs at this tournament. The juniors got a lot matches and learned a lot about tournament play (shiai). This type of tournament will be one many tournaments held quarterly during the year. Our judokas will have an opportunity to compete against other judokas throughout the Saint Louis area. Check the website for dates and times of the next Friendship Tournament.

The 2012 US Junior Olympics got underway in Irving, Texas on July 21, 2012. Anthony Darevsky trained very hard for this tournament and it showed. After losing his first match by yuko score, Darevsky came back strong his second match, winning it by wazari. Though he was eliminated from medal contention in his third match, the prodigy had fun and looked at it as a learning experience for next year. Darevsky is already preparing for next year’s junior nationals, which will be in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. OPPONENTS BEWARE!!!

The 17th Annual Tohkon Classic took place on June 2, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois. There were judo clubs from all over the midwest region represented at this tournament. Tom Kuhne and Derick Wellman coached an eager Team White Dragon to excellence. Derick Wellman and Tiffany Choi followed up their performance at the US Nationals with a gold medal in the kata division. In the junior division, Julia Greene fought through a large division to a third place finish. Tiffany Choi added a silver medal in shiai to her medal count for this tournament. Tae Young Choi, Adnan Gutic, and Eugene Hamilton displayed impressive skill during their matches but were unable to crack the medal podium. Anna Feygina once again reigned supreme in the woman’s lightweight division. She dominated the division with an excellent osoto-gari in the gold medal round.