Thanks to all for A Great 20 Years

This is a celebration for Hailsham Judo Club who, although they have disbanded, it can be said that they have become a victim of their own success.

H J C members started a number of clubs in the area :- Seaford, Lewes Bridge View, Heathfield and most schools in Hailsham had their own school clubs started and some still run by ex H J C members.

Our grateful thanks to all the members, helpers, coaches and visitors that have made our 20 years so enjoyable.

The club was started in 1982 by three friends and ex members of Eastbourne Judo Academy, run by Captain Cruse: -

David Walker , 1 st Dan, who worked in the town but left to join the police and get married. He and his sons still support Seaford.

Fred Muddle , 1 st Kyu, from Little London, a garage equipment engineer who left when he was promoted to chief engineer for the country. Fred was large and strong and had perfected his own dubious use of his beard, which ground into tender skin in ‘ground’ work. He had a habit of laughing gleefully when he had you in armlocks, strangles, or especially holdowns. Sadly he died four years ago aged 69, but his grin lives on.

Peter Thorp , 1 st Kyu and coach, from Hailsham but worked in Tonbridge that year, then teacher training in London. Third child born that year and all living on a grant. Starting a club was not the most sensible thing to do but who would think it would last 20 years.

H.J.C. taught from the beginner stage (70 on opening night) and encouraged many adults and children to be qualified holders of all grades including the famous Black Belt.

H.J.C. also helped members to qualify as referees, coaches and examiners for the British Judo Association, in this area. At one time we had four referees that helped at all the gradings etc. in the county, our members complained they didn’t get proper coaching support because of it.

We borrowed the mats from Heathfield Youth Club and then fund raised for our own mats. We built a mat store with press gang labour, concrete crews and bricklaying classes. We fund raised and changed our 2x1 mats for 1x1 mats.

We did all the things that clubs do, coach trips, visits, video technical support library, competition medals, displays at schools and local fairs. We had our own achievement shields and cups and even teeshirts.

We had a very successful Chinese type dragon in the Hailsham carnival, with the children in their judo suits providing the legs. It was rather like a centipede, but the cover was useful when it rained, even if some of the suits got stained green.

On another occasion Sue Carter and family helped us by getting the kids to demonstrate throws on the back of a truck in the carnival procession. I don’t think that would be allowed with all the safety regulations of today.

When Mick Mc Dermot and David Fielding left to start Lewes Bridge View, they took their families with them. We lost four out of our five top juniors and fathers were 1 st Dan & 1 st Kyu respectively. The club suffered quite a set back, but we lent them our mats until they could get their own.   But didn’t they do well.

John Macklin and Tim Peacock took over helping with training. Both of them fathers of child members, girls, who we roped in first of all to help their children. Both became referees, John got his brown and Tim his black and coaching award. Steve Seager came to us as a 1 st Dan and raised our technical knowledge and competition standard then left us as 2nd Dan to start Heathfield. Ken Johnson another father who became a beginner because he had sons, got his 1 st Kyu and then joined Steve to start Heathfield. Paul Leaney another father with boys became involved and got his brown, then moved to Bridge View with his family, now doing great things at Hailsham School & Sussex Schools.

Our connections with Seaford go back a long way as Peter Thorp started teaching judo at the youth club before it moved and became Mercread J. C. When Peter left, Mark Denny took over, met and married a member and Beth Jaques another original member is still one of it’s main supporters. Many thanks for our two way visits over the years.

Haven’t they done well.

The greatest achievement of any club is to give people of all ages the opportunity to try the activity and of those who staid a little time, the beginnings of self confidence. There have been hundreds of people, mainly children, through the doors in the last 20 years.

Our thanks to you all.

HAILSHAM JUDO CLUB

ROLL OF ACHIEVEMENT

FOUNDING MEMBERS

• DAVID WALKER
• FRED MUDDLE
• PETER THORP