Participants at the Edwin Takemori Referee Clinic, held June 24, 2017 at College Park Judo Club
From Karl Tamai, IJF-A Referee and Head Sensei, College Park Judo Club
Thanks to all for participating in Takemori Sensei’s Referee Clinic on Saturday. It is great to see a strong interest in refereeing from our judoka.
21 people participated in the clinic, provided by clinician Edwin Takemori. Edwin covered many topics including: the new changes to the rules, appreciation for positive scores in tachi waza and ne waza, proper application of matte, hand signals used by the referee, and general advice on administering a match. The clinic concluded with practice for both the referee and judges during live competition.
Felicien Bidzimou, a sensei at College Park, adds, “It was a very instructive session. I have learned a lot and I am seizing this opportunity to say thank you to you all for sharing your knowledge.”
I will try to let you know when there will be a certification in the area. I am guessing there will be a local competition in the fall at which you will have the opportunity to either referee in preparation for certification, or to test certification as a local referee. If a tournament is coming up and you do not hear from me want to referee or to test, just send me an email (karl.tamai@gmail.com). Until then, continue to study the rules and practice in your dojo.
Thanks to the international and national referees who provided additional perspectives to the participants: Karl Tamai (IJF-A), Edmund Nsheuko (national), Carl Wilson (national), Robert Hunt (national), and Diane Jackson (national).
