To get things started off I would like to thank Dave H., Strings, and KJC youth program member Jared for helping out with today's Demo for the University City H.S. Japanese Class.  This event has been a bigger and bigger every year, and the kids really appreciate seeing the combination of American life as influenced by Japanese culture.

Don't forget, Yes there will be an open workout this Friday night at the Kirkwood Judo Club. The schedule is the same as it is on most Friday nights: We get there at 7:30 pm., Dress Out, Warm up and party to the wee hours of the night.  With the North/South tournament only about 3 weeks away this is a great opportunity to step up your Randori to put the finishing touches on your readiness.

The Kirkwood Judo Club will also play host to a beginners and kids open workout on Saturday May 13th at 10:30 am. The purpose of the workout is of course to meet your family members from other area Dojo's as well as getting students who have not yet had a chance to compete ready for the next weekend's North South tournament. Students and instructors from the KJC, the Bellville Judo Club, and the Wellman/White Dragon Judo club are planning to attend, but we would love for  anyone else interested in this great training opportunity to let us know, and plan to attend.  If anyone is interested we may even stop at a local Pizza place for a little social training after the event.

The Saturday the 13th Open workout at the KJC will get started at 10:30 am and probably go till 12:30 or 1:00 pm depending on how everyone feels.

Finally don't forget that the North/South tournament is only about three weeks away, May 20th. I have already been in touch with members of the Tohkon Judo Club in Chicago, and the guys up there are all ready talking about coming to St. Louis to get back their trophy. Details for the event can be found below. In fact the word is that Fernado Saz of Tohkon is making it his business to come down and take another shot at Scott McCann who took the Bronze Medal out of his hands at last weekends 2006 Masters Championships held in conjunction with the Senior Nationals. I SMELL A REMATCH!!!

Well that's all today, or almost anyway. For anyone out there who would like to join us, Jana and I are hosting an informal party at our house starting at 3:00 pm. on Saturday May 6th (the Saturday after this one coming up). The event will be a pot luck event, so please bring some food and drink that you would like to share, and other than that simply come ready to have a good time.  If you are interested in attending please email me directly at webmaster@kirkwoodjudo.com, and I will send you a message that will contain my address and directions.

Have a great weekend, and I hope to see you all on the mat very soon.

Sincerely,

Russ Little
Gateway Judo Association www.gatewayjudo.org
Kirkwood Judo Club www.kirkwoodjudo.com
The JudoGi Store www.judogis.com
USJA Regional Coordinator

Tournaments

Well the boys had a much better day today in the Master's competition at the 2006 Senior Nationals in Houston.

Scott McCann finished the day with a Bronze, defeating Tohkon Judo's Fernando Saz in the third place finals to secure the Medal, in his Masters 81 Kg division.

Congratulations to Scott on his Bronze Medal finish, in his first ever Senior National Championships.

Demonn Smith finshed off of the medal stand but fought well in his Under 100 Kg. Masters division. Demonn look good today, with a good win in the second round.

Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

-Sempai Russ

Well it wasn't a great day for our two lads competing in the US Senior Nationals, in Houston.

Both Scott McCann, and Demonn Smith lost in the first round in their respective Seniors Divisions, and though both had tough competitors that went on to win their next matches, neither did well enough to advance the boys to the next round.

Both men will get a second chance to get in the win column when their Master division matches are contested.

-Sempai Russ

Girl, 9, Uses Judo To Fight Attacker

Man Broke Into Girl's Home

CLEVELAND -- A man suspected of attacking a 9-year-old girl is in jail Friday morning, NewsChannel5 reported.Cleveland police plan to charge Michael Goza, 30, with aggravated burglary and attempted rape of a child.Officers said Goza broke into the girl’s West 179th Street home in the middle of the night on March 26.The police said he tried to rape her in her bedroom, but the girl knew Judo and fought him off.

http://www.newsnet5.com/news/8691327/detail.html

The US Senior Nationals & Kata and International Masters Championships will be contested this coming weekend in Houston Texas.

A small contingent from the St. Louis area consisting of three instructors, and two competitors will be there, and we should have an update of their progress later this weekend.

The competitors are: Scott Mc Cann of Rolla, representing the Kirkwood Judo Club, and Demonn Smith of St. Louis, representing the Wellman/White Dragon Judo Club.  Both competitors have trained hard, and both are entered in the Senior Shiahi, and Masters competition in their divisions.  I will update the blog on their progress, as I get more information.

Instructors in support of these competitors are: Tom Kuhne Senior Instructor of the Kirkwood Judo Club, Dave Hertweck Assistant Instructor at the Kirkwood Judo Club, and Derick Wellman KJC Student and Cheif Instructor of the Wellmand/White Dragon Judo Club.

More information as it develops...

Rousey Wins Gold at Birmingham World Cup

Ronda Rousey (Buffalo, Grove, Ill./NYAC/Cohen�s Judo/63kg) became the first U.S. woman to win a European A-Level tournament in nearly a decade when she won gold at the Birmingham World Cup in Great Britain on Saturday. Rousey went undefeated in five matches to claim her second senior European gold medal, following a win at the B-Level Belgian Open in Arlon in February. The 19-year-old ousted her first two opponents by ippon (instant win, similar to a knockout in boxing). In the quarter-finals, Rousey had another meeting with Christina Marzok, the German she defeated in the semi-finals in Belgium. Rousey scored throughout the match with two kokas (smallest points) and a yuko (quarter-point) before ultimately winning by waza-ari (half-point). Next up for the Athens Olympian was Sara Alvarez (ESP), a three-time World Championship medalist who won her first senior European event when Rousey was just 7-years-old and has claimed nine A-Level titles since then. Rousey defeated Alvarez in two and a half minutes with her third ippon of the day to advance to gold medal match. In the final, Rousey threw Fanny Riaboff (FRA), a 2005 World Cup Champion at 57kg, for ippon with o uchi gari (major inner reaping, circling leg throw) to become the first U.S. woman to win an A-Level event since three-time Olympian Sandra Bacher won the Budapest Bank Cup in 1997. Rousey's win also makes her one of only two U.S. athletes to achieve A-Level status in 2006 and is expected to move up to a top-six World Ranking next week.