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!

If you are over 18, and have never done Judo before (or are returning after a long break), we will be running our next Adult Beginners Course on Thursday 26th September at 8pm.

Age is no barrier, our September ’23 course had a 50 year age span between oldest & youngest! The 12 week course is also an excellent refresher for people who did judo in the past and would like to get back into it.

If you’re interested in finding out more about this course, complete our expression of interest form and we will get in touch with more details.

Upcoming Event – NEIL ADAMS MBE OLY 9th Dan

We are delighted to be welcoming the IJF Voice of Judo, Neil Adams, back to the club in November 2024. He will be delivering a day of training for our members on Saturday 23rd, and then on the Sunday we have an open event for experienced Judoka over 14, where he will be reflecting on the Paris 2024 Olympics, including plenty of mat time with a mix of Tachi- & Ne-waza practice.

Sign up for the Neil Adams Post Olympic Seminar Sunday 24th November 10am-3pm
(Licenced BJA Coach Revalidation Event)

Interested in a Trial?

NOTE: WE ARE CURRENTLY OPERATING A WAITING LIST SYSTEM.

Please note we organise our U19s classes by School Year rather than exact age.

Primary School Sections:
Monkeys – For those who will be starting Reception in Sept 2024 or 2025, minimum age 3years & 6months (Pre-registration for Sept 2024 is open)
Dragons – Years 1-3 / Tigers – Years 4-6

Secondary School Sections:
Wolves – Years 7-9 / Cranes – Years 10-13 (or college equivalent)

For Adults Aged 18+ (Tortoises)

In the first instance, for all ages, please complete our short expression of interest form and we will get in touch.

For more information & prices see the How to Join section & check our Class Timetable

Visitors welcome

PAYG Session passes for Visitors can be purchased from our club shop – https://st-albans-judo-club-shop.mymawebsite.com/product/payg-session-pass/

Our Visitors fees are £5 for 18s & under and £7 for Over 19s

See our Class Timetable for available sessions.

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.

We are proud to have met the requirements to be awarded the Safeguarding Code in Martial Arts for a 3rd Year For more information on this scheme: www.safeguardingcode.com/parents

SAJC Hosts GB Olympian Nekoda Davis
Session video available

St. Albans Judo Club2 days ago

✨ Well Done Everyone ✨

What a fantastic day at our Annual Championships yesterday.

Brilliant efforts and some great judo on display across all age groups, from our smallest Dragons 🐉, to our somewhat more mature Tortoises 🐢 Fabulous to see you all in action, particularly those who only joined us this September .

Thanks to John for adding an extra challenge in the adult pool, and to George R for stepping in to give some extra contests to two groups of our Tigers.

Big shout-out to the Volunteers & Coaching Team for their work on the tables, refereeing, corner judging & on refreshment duty! Thank you, Elinore, Kim, Martin, Steve, Samuel & Liz.

Also, a particular mention to Max & Jake who stepped up to put their Kanji Referee & Officials training into practice.

Trying to organise the championships can feel a a bit like wrestling a basket of kittens, (particularly when the IT doesn't want to play) but watching the judo on the day makes it so worth it all. 🥇🥈🥉

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St. Albans Judo Club2 weeks ago

Fantastic Club Training day with Neil Adams Effective Fighting Ltd!
Huge thanks to Neil & Niki for 3 fun & instructional sessions. ⭐
Well done to everyone who came along. 👍

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St. Albans Judo Club2 weeks ago

🥋Getting Excited for our Weekend with Neil Adams Effective Fighting Ltd 🥋

Saturday 23rd - Club Members Only sessions
10:00-11:30am - Coaching Team, Experienced Cranes & Tortoises (Technical Session)
11:45-1:15pm - Dragons, Tigers & Wolves (Technical Session)
1:30-3:00pm - Contest Tigers, Wolves, Cranes & Tortoises (Randori & Competitive Skills Session)
Don't forget to get Signed Up via the shop - Links in the email from last week.

Sunday 24th 10am-3pm - Open invite to experienced judoka over 14, and suitable as a BJA Coach Revalidation event. Cost £25, sign up online: https://shop.stalbansjudo.org.uk/neil-adams-post-olympic-seminar/
(Members pricing available for Sunday, check your emails for details)

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St. Albans Judo Club2 weeks ago

Results from the BJC Closed Nationals on Sunday

Max D 🥈
Isla G 🥉
David M 🥉
Stuart C 🥉
Freya R 🥈
Natasha C 🥉
George H 🥉

Well done everyone!

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St. Albans Judo Club2 weeks ago

Good luck to everyone taking part in the BJC Closed Nationals in Kettering today 👍🫰

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St. Albans Judo Club4 weeks ago

⭐Huge Congratulations to the *96* Judoka who graded today ⭐👏

From white tabs for Dragons through to a raft of new Orange belts, including a number of the graduates of our first 2 Adult beginners courses.

We also awarded 2 Green belts today - These are a milestone achievement and it was a great pleasure to present the first to Stefan, who received his BJC Junior 3rd Kyu, and the second to Stratty, who received his BJC Senior 3rd Kyu. (For me, this was an added joy - as a tiny 5-year-old, Stratty was in one of my earliest groups of students, and has recently returned to the club as an adult.) 👏

Fantastic efforts from everyone, and some excellent judo being demonstrated.
Really looking forward to seeing all your new belts & tabs in the coming weeks.

As always, my great thanks to Elinore & Nikki for all the admin work, it wouldn't work without you both, and to Liz for her management of the kitchen & tuck shop (in particular the flow of tea & sandwiches) 😀
Thanks also to today's Coaching Team - Steve, Martin, Kim, Samuel, Bill & John. ⭐

Well done all
Jad

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Technical & Development Classes

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 Jan 2025 start.
Wednesdays – 5-5:45pm
*For those who will start Reception in Sept ’24 or Sept ’25

Dragons – Years 1, 2 & 3 – WAITING LIST IN OPERATION
Wednesday – 6-7pm / Friday – 6-7pm

Tigers – Years 4, 5 & 6 – WAITING LIST IN OPERATION
Wednesday – 7:15pm / Thursday – 6:45-7:45pm / Friday – 6-7pm

Wolves – Years 7, 8 & 9 – WAITING LIST IN OPERATION
Wednesday 7:15pm / Thursday 6:45-7:45pm / Friday – 7:15-8:15pm

Cranes – Years 10, 11, 12 & 13 – Subject to availability, contact for more info.
Wednesday 8:30-9:30pm / Friday 7:15-8:15pm
Over 16s can also join Adults classes.

Adults – Available for all ages from 16 onwards
Technical Tuesday 7:30-9:30pm / Open Mat Thursday 8-9:30pm
(Not suitable for new starters)

Adult Beginners Course – Starts THURSDAY 26th SEPTEMBER
Thursday 8-9:30pm – Fixed course dates from September to December 2024

Monday Night – Fighting Fitness Sessions

Fortnightly at 6:45pm-7:45pm or 6:45pm-8:30pm
Upcoming Dates – 16^th & 30^th September / 14^th & 28^th October /
11^th & 25^th November / 9^th December
Then we’ll take a break until 13^th January

Section A: 6:45pm-7:45pm

Dragons (age 7&8 by invitation only)
Tigers (minimum grade BJC 2 Green Tabs / BJC 6^th Kyu San / BJA 3^rd Mon, or by invitation)
Wolves (BJC 6^th Kyu San to 5^th Kyu San / BJA grade 3^rd to 6^th Mon, or by invitation)

Section B: 6:45pm-8:15pm

Wolves (BJC 4th Kyu, or BJA 7^th Mon, or by invitation)
Cranes (minimum grade BJC or BJA 5^th Kyu, or by invitation)
Adults (minimum grade BJC or BJA 5^th 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.

For further information please email info@stalbansjudo.org.uk

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 1^st 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 2^nd 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.

Our governing bodies are:
British Judo Council and British Judo Association.

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.

PAYG Session passes for Visitors must be purchased in advance from our club shop – https://st-albans-judo-club-shop.mymawebsite.com/product/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.

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.