The Japanese Festival was held at the Saint Louis Botanical Gardens from September 2-5, 2011. Every year White Dragon Judo Club has a judo demonstration during festival. The intent is to expose the martial art of Judo to the Saint Louis Community. Many people came to this event to see the throws, pins and armbars which is involved in this Olympic sport. Kids from all over the Saint Louis area wanted to see what Judo was all about. It was a fun festival. If you missed the Judo demonstration, don’t worry, Judo will be apart of the festivities next year.

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.

The 27th Annual North/South Tournament was nothing short of spectacular. White Dragon Judo Club represented in a huge way. The dojo by far had the largest number of competitors in this tournament. The club won 19 medals in this tournament and was represented well in the team competition.

The South judo squad fell short again in the team competition and looked to next year to bring home the coveted North South team trophy that has eluded the team for years.

The dynamic duo of Tiffany Polk and Derick Wellman dominated the kata competition again on their way to a gold medal finish. This team looks very promising and continues to improve in each tournament they compete in.

The Juniors, coached by Tracy Hangley and current Masters champion Tara Kuhne, fought exceptionally well. There were a number of juniors who were competing for the first time. Though most of the newcomers were nervous and excited, they exceeded a lot of their coach’s expectations. Riley Singleton fought with great ferocity and determination. She got silver in her division but I would not be surprised if she wins gold in her next competition. Alivia Kirk and Issac Valdez-Soto won silver in their perspective divisions. These 3rd generation judokas displayed natural skill and athletic ability. Alivia Kirk was selected to this year’s South judo squad in the team competition. Alex Johnson lost to golden score but manage to take bronze in his division. Ian Kuhne won most of his matches via pin but fell short in the gold medal match and had to settle for silver. Anthony Darevesky would not be denied in this tournament. After a startling upset at the Konjo Championships, Darevesky came to this tournament hungry for gold and with that the gold was his for the taking. Julia Greene was by far the most improved judoka of the tournament. She showed more control, desire, and technical competence. Her division was not easy, however she seem to handle the tough competition very well. She won her gold medal match by yuko score.

Tom Kuhne saw vast improvement from his senior team. Eugene Hamilton went undefeated and was awarded the gold medal in his division. Tiffany Polk also competed in shiai. She did well going 3-0 on the day for a gold medal finish. Anna Feyina lost in the gold medal round and had to settle for silver. Larry Louis returned to the mat after a long hiatus. He fought in a different and a much lighter weight division and took bronze. Scott Frick scored a bronze on the day as well. One of the bright stars of the day went to Jon Jones. In his first competition, Jon had to compete against judokas who were much wittier and highly skilled than himself. Jon’s heart and desire compensate for his lack of skill. He rose to the challenge and stole the gold from his much highly favored opponents.

In the Masters Division, the current Master’s champ, Tara Kuhne fought to a 3-2 record on the day. Good enough to take silver. Tracy Hangley followed with a bronze medal finish. Matt Davis pulled in a silver medal in his weight class. After a disappointing bronze medal finish, Demonn Smith reeled off 3 consecutive victories by ippon in the open division to become this year’s Open Champion.

Yes this year’s North South tournament was one for the ages. Next years tournament looks to be even better as there will be more competitors and more excitement. One thing is for sure, White Dragon Judo club will be in great attendance for this event.

Tom Kuhne brought a team of judokas who had nothing on their mind but gold. In the Kata competition, Derick Wellman and Tiffany Polk showed off exceptional precision and promise for next year. They engineered a fourth place finish amongst a large number of competitors. In Shiai, Anna Feygina  lost her first match but managed to win in the repchage for fifth place. Eugene Hamilton lost a hard fought match in the preliminaries. Ryan Massey fought some tough competition on his way to bronze medal finish. The star of the day was Tara Kuhne. She went undefeated in her division to win the gold medal. It was a tournament filled with high level competition. Our White Dragon competitors rose to the occasion and delivered an impressive performance.

White Dragon Judo Club performed very well at this tournament. Our members showed great skill in Kata, Shiai, and officiating. Derek Wellman and Tiffany Polk displayed the Nage no Kata to perfection as they won the gold medal in the Kata competition. The dynamic duo looked solid as they are preparing for US Senior Nationals in Orlando, Florida. Tara Kuhne, coach of the junior judo team, brought out an impressive class of judokas. Ian Kuhne was undefeated on the the day, scoring gold as he won all his matches by ippon. Anthony Dravesky took silver in his division. Dravesky continues to get better with each tournament he competes in. He will be a force to be dealt with. In the girls division, Julia Green fought some tough competition in her first tournament. The rookie stayed focus to win a silver medal.

The Seniors, coached by Tom Kuhne, showed a lot of improvement from the last tournament. The Senior team featured Anna Feygina. She breezed through her division in route to a gold medal finish. Feygina just could not be stopped. She won all of her matches by ippon. Gene Hamilton showed significant improvement as he took gold in his division. Despite losing his first match to golden score, Demonn Smith rallied to win silver in the heavyweight division. Smith also won two of three exhibition matches against Bianca Luckett, another 2011 Senior National competitor. The competition also saw great officiating from Dan Rainy.