Offering Judo Classes in St Albans 5 nights a week, with a range of classes available for all ages.
St Albans Judo Club has been providing over 70 years of service to judo & the community. The club is a thriving community of junior and senior members, parents, and volunteers who all come together to enjoy judo.
Expert tuition caters for all levels from beginner to black belt and beyond!
Interested in a Trial?
NOTE: WE ARE CURRENTLY OPERATING A WAITING LIST SYSTEM FOR ALL UNDER 14s .
Please note we organise our U19s classes by School Year rather than exact age. Monkeys – For those who will be starting Reception in Sept 2023 or 2024 (Pre-registration for Sept 2023 is open)
Dragons – Years 1-3 / Tigers – Years 4-6 / Wolves – Years 7-9 / Cranes – Years 10-13
If you are over 18, and have never done Judo before, we are launching our new Adult Beginners Course on Thursday 14th September at 8pm
In the first instance, for all ages, please complete our short expression of interest form and we will get in touch with more details.
For more information & prices see the How to Join section.
From 1st September 2023 our Visitors fees are £5 for 18s & under and £7 for Over 19s
You MUST bring your current, in date, BJC, BJA or AJA licence with you.
Session PAYG Passes are valid for one training session, they are not tied to a specific date and can be used up to 1 month after purchase.Please note we can not accept cash or card payments on the door.
News
We are proud to have met the requirements to be awarded the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts for a 3rd Year
🥋 Congratulations to our new 5th Kyu (Yellow Belt) Seniors 🥋
Last night we were delighted to present Yellow Belts to the first six of those who joined our Adult Beginners Course back in September, who have now successfully completed their training program.
💥 Great work - Chris, Tommy, Kristian, Gabriel, Mark & Richard
👉 With an age range from 17 to 53, this group have followed our intensive introductory course, covering Theory, Technical and Randori Skills training. Their development over the weeks has been fantastic, and their confidence, determination and commitment have made them a delight to train with. Very much looking forward to continuing ahead on the road towards those Orange Belts!
👏 Speaking of which, Congratulations to also go to Chris W who successfully graded for his 4th Kyu (Orange Belt) last night.
We have a few more gradings to finish up next week for those who couldn't make it last night, and then it's on to planning for the next course which starts ❗️22nd February 2024❗️
(BTW, there's still space available and it's open to all adults, no experience necessary!)
💥FANTASTIC EFFORTS EVERYONE!💥
Absolutely brilliant day at our Annual Club Championships!
✔️ 68 Competitors
✔️19 Pools
✔️ 92 Matches
All Competitors gave their all - from the Youngest (5y) to the Oldest (53y) with great judo on display from everyone!
Whilst it's always wonderful to see our youngsters having ago, this year was made even better with the entries from the white belts who've been on our Adult Beginners Course, taking the skills they've been learning over the last 3 months and putting them into effective use. Absolutely BRILLIANT to see this progress!
👉Extra thanks to John, Martin & Vince who joined in to give the Seniors some extra mat time, it was hugely appreciated.
Also delighted to award Freya with her ✨BJC Coaching Assistant Award✨, after many years as one of the club's young helpers it is wonderful to see her take this first formal step on her Coaching Journey.
👏As always, massive thanks to everyone who helped out to make it another successful event. Whether in the Kitchen, at the Desk, working the Table or Refereeing & Corner Judging, it doesn't work without you all.
👉Members - Don't forget to get your entries in for the Club Championships on Sunday, either see the desk to weigh in tonight or email details in (including weight please)
Hugest congratulations to all those who graded on Saturday! 👏
Looking forward to seeing all those new belts & tabs in class this week.
As always a massive *thank you* to the Admin team (Nikki, Elinore, Liz) for making the paperwork all seamlessly happen, (despite my apparent attempts to sabotage things!), and the tea magically appear! And to my coaching team for the day (Kim, Martin, Dave, John, Bill, Pete & Samuel).
I say it every time, but it never stops being true - this wouldn't work without all of you!
Sensei Jad
(Oh, and I promise not to turn the whole thing on its head again, for several years at least! 🙃)
Note: All classes at SAJC are organised by School Year Groups.
Mini Judo Monkeys* – Nursery & Reception (from 3years & 6 months) New Intakes in Sept & Jan Only – Register now for Sept 2023 or Jan 2024 start. Wednesdays – 5pm *For those who will start Reception in Sept ’23 or Sept ’24
Dragons – Years 1, 2 & 3 – WAITING LIST IN OPERATION Wednesday – 6pm / Friday – 6pm
Tigers – Years 4, 5 & 6 – WAITING LIST IN OPERATION Wednesday – 7:15pm / Thursday – 6:45pm / Friday – 6pm
Wolves – Years 7, 8 & 9 – WAITING LIST IN OPERATION Wednesday 7:15pm / Thursday 6:45pm / Friday – 7:15pm
Cranes – Years 10, 11, 12 & 13 – Subject to availability, contact for more info. Wednesday 8:30pm / Friday 7:15pm Over 16s can also join Adults classes.
Adults – Available for all ages from 16 onwards Technical Tuesday 8pm / Open Mat Thursday 8pm (Not suitable for new starters)
NEW Adult Beginners Course – Starts THURSDAY 14th SEPTEMBER Thursday 8pm – Fixed course dates from September to December 2023
Monday Night – Fighting Fitness Sessions
Fortnightly at 6:45pm-7:45pm or 6:45pm-8:15pm Upcoming Dates – 11th & 25th September / 9th & 23rd October / 6th & 20th November 4th & 18th December
Section A: 6:45pm-7:45pm
Dragons (age 7&8 by invitation only) Tigers (minimum grade BJC 3 Orange Tabs / BJC 6th Kyu San / BJA 3rd Mon, or by invitation) Wolves (BJC 6th Kyu San to 5th Kyu San / BJA grade 3rd to 6th Mon, or by invitation)
Section B: 6:45pm-8:15pm
Wolves (by invitation only) Cranes (minimum grade BJC or BJA 5th Kyu, or by invitation) Adults (minimum grade BJC or BJA 5th Kyu, or by invitation)
If you are interested in the Fighting Fit Classes, but aren’t sure if you should be attending Section A or B, just get in touch and we can discuss.
NOTE: WE ARE CURRENTLY AT CAPACITY FOR UNDER 14s AND OPERATING A WAITING LIST SYSTEM.
In the first instance, for all ages, please complete our short expression of interest form and we will get in touch with more details..
If you are new to judo, your first session is free!! After your 1st session if you want to continue we will ask you to purchase a 3-month provisional judo licence, or one of the other licences available if you prefer.
Once you have a licence, there is no training fee for your 2nd session, but after that you will need to sign up to one of our membership options. Fees are paid monthly in advance by Direct Debit. SAJC offers training sessions for around 48 weeks of every year and our fees are spread equally across the months.
For the Ginmedaru options, you can attend additional sessions by purchasing a PAYG pass from our store.
We also have Annual Advance pricing rates if you would prefer to pay for a whole year upfront. These are available after 3 months of attendance, please speak to us if this is of interest.
Judo Licences
In order to take part in judo lessons, you much have a judo licence from one of our two governing bodies. This licence provides you with personal accident insurance, and full licences allow you to take part in gradings and competitions.
£30 (or £20 if upgrading from a provisional) and £24 to renew
Yes
BJA U18 – Annual
£31 and £28 to renew
Yes
BJC O18 – Annual
£35 (or £25 if upgrading from a provisional) and £30 to renew
Yes
BJA O18 – Annual
£42 and £39 to renew
Yes
There are other pricing options available for certain groups, please ask at the desk for more details.
* – Does not allow you to participate in gradings or competitions, but you can upgrade to the full membership at any time
Club Membership is £10 per year, and helps keep our training costs low. If you choose not to take membership, when upgrading from your 3 month provisional licence your monthly training fees will increase.
If you are visiting from another club
Just bring your current BJA or BJC licence with you and purchase a PAYG Session pass.
Session PAYG Passes are valid for one training session, they are not tied to a specific date and can be used up to 1 month after purchase.We also offer a monthly Direct Debit rate for Regular visitors.
What to wear
For the first few classes you can wear tracksuit bottoms without zips/ buttons/ anything hard that could injure yourself or others when breakfalling. Girls should also wear a plain white T-shirt. These items may get pulled/ stretched so don’t wear anything you can’t afford to write off! Please use an elastic hair band to tie any long hair back (no metal hair clips are allowed).
We have spare judo jackets that you can use – just ask someone for help if you’re stuck. You’ll be expected to buy your own gi (judo outfit) if you decide to join. These are available at the club shop.
Forms
The club asks you to fill out a membership form on your first visit.
Club shop
The club shop carries a stock of judo clothing and accessories for members, including judo suits, and club branded kit.
Contact Us
Email
info@stalbansjudo.org.uk
Phone
01727 869007
Weekday evenings only. Please leave a message at other times.
Directions
The dojo address is: St Albans Judo Club, Batchwood Golf and Sports Centre, Batchwood Drive, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL3 5XA.
The Dojo is within “Batchwood Golf and Sports Centre”. There is a large sign for this facility off the road “Batchwood Drive”.
Please be aware that the Dojo is on a section of one-way narrow country road, don’t go along this the wrong way. If you have a satnav then the following coordinates will lead you to the correct entrance to the one-way road N51.764848, W0.344282
Parking is on the right just before you reach the Sports Centre. Please observe the parking signs/ notices.
