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On the Monday the 2nd
June 2008 six members of the Army Judo Team (Capt Phil McGregor
(APTC) Team Manager, SSgt Seam Smithson (RE), Sgt Bob Challis
Team Coach, Cpl Stephaney Hart (RLC), Cpl Abus Salihu (RLC) and
LCpl Simon Marshall (RS)) assembled at 21 Signals Regiment just
outside Bath for an intense two week judo training camp being
held with Team Bath Judo at the university of Bath in preparation
for the Judo National Team Championship being held 2 weeks later
in Kendal. Full of enthusiasm along with a few nerves at the thought
of training at one of the country’s premier judo facilities with
some of the world’s best judo coaches the team met with Mike Cullan
head of the Elite Coaching and Development Department for Judo
at Team Bath. After the initial tour and explanations on what
Team Bath is and what they have to offer young athletes of a variety
of sports not just Judo it left us all feeling rather overwhelmed
and just looking forward to getting on with some judo; to put
it into a context most may understand, the judo team training
at Team Bath is equivalent the Army football team training at
Manchester United for two weeks so we needed to make the most
of the opportunity.
The first session was
a 45 minute endurance run which being young (well some of the
team) fit soldiers this should have been a breeze, however after
the team was joined by Tpr Emmanuel Nartey (1 RTR) who trains
at Bath University full time this turned into a hills session,
and as he got us lost in an area he runs regularly it left the
rest of the team thinking he may need to brush up on his map reading
skills. This then left us with a two hour gap for lunch until
the start of the next session which Phil as team manager and an
Army Physical Training Corps bloke thought we may be able to fill
this time with a little potted sports, thankfully he took the
advice of the Team Bath coaches and used the time for rest and
recovery as unbeknown to us we would defiantly need this time
latter into the training programme.
1400 hours brought us
to the first judo session and an introduction to the Judo coaches
who’s names we all knew due to their fame in the Judo world, the
two coaches who would lead the session whilst we where there were
Frenchman Patrick Roix 6th Dan and former World and Olympic athlete
(widely regarded as one of the best ground fighters in the business)
and Jane Bridge 6th Dan and the first ever female World Champion
who had spent a vast number of years honing hers skills in France
as well as working as a bodyguard for some of Hollywood’s most
famous, Stallone to name just one. The session started with a
20 minute warm up which to say we got a bit of a sweat on would
be an understatement followed by 40 minutes of movement and technique
work which tested coordination in ways we thought were not possible;
this lead to 50 minutes of Randori or fight practise which involved
4 minutes of fighting followed by 1 minute of throwing practise
and 1 minutes of rest and water break taking a different practise
partner each time considering some members of our team had not
been on the mat for a few months there was more than just cob
webs being blown out. We had a gentle warm done and stretch before
we look forward to the 2 hour open Randori session in the evening;
at this part of the day we needed the full 4 hours to recharge
the batteries however it was noticed that the team manager had
conveniently arranged a meeting to discuss more Army players attending
Team Bath although this work is vital as the 2 weeks progressed
he had a handy knack of arranging meetings during the hardest
session which we all thought funny with him being a PTI after
all. The evening session was as hard as we thought it would be,
being open to visiting players to come and practise meant over
50 players on the mat and after 40 minutes of ground fighting
we undertook 9 five minute fight practises with 1 minutes rest
and anybody that thinks judo is people messing around in pyjamas
have got it wrong, I invite you to join us the next time we train
at Bath for this session as it was a mean test to undertake the
full session. The team manager enjoyed the privilege of standing
back and watching parts of the session, he said it was to have
a good looking at the Army fighters and how they were coping,
we say he was hanging out. After a quick stretch we were invited
to join the coaches for a quick drink in the University bar before
back to bed to do it all again the next day.
As we woke for the second
day there were a few stiff bones well more than a few but with
only 2 sessions planned for the second day and one of them being
a strength session we thought things could not be as tiring as
day 1 but we had not met Kate the strength coach or Patricks ‘Japanese
test’ . The strength session went well with explanations
of the full strength programme the full time athletes use and
the cycles they undertake to be in peak condition for key events
which was a very good insight to us as soldiers as we can not
always get mat time in due to operations and the locations we
find ourselves in. We were shown what we could do to maximise
the exercises we can do to prepare ourselves better for judo.
However seeing athletes weighing nearly 20 kgs less than you,
benching more than you could was demoralising; however we were
comparing ourselves to full time athletes and the coaches noticed
it during the second week how our base fitness gained through
the Armed Forces lifestyle that was to our credit. The judo session
in the afternoon was an introduction to the Japanese test by Patrick
which involved a series of movement exercises with a partner for
30 seconds, after the first round we were blowing a little after
the fourth round we were blowing a lot, this was then followed
by another hour of ground and standing randori including technique
exercises. After a meal that evening in Bath we were all ready
for bed and some well earned rest.
Day 3 brought 2 two
hour sessions, with the morning session being a Judo session similar
to Monday afternoon’s session with some of us struggling with
the demands of a full time programme, we welcomed the afternoon
session of 60 minutes endurance training which for us involved
a gentle recovery run or CV work in the gym. After another hearty
meal we decided to make the most of the facilities of the camp
we were staying at and went for a relaxing swim and stretch in
the evening to set us up for the next day’s training.
Day 4 brought us a technique
session working on movement and coordination and the term ‘efficient
judo’ to make the most of yours and your opponents’ movement
this was taking it back to basics but as mat time can be limited
due to the Armed Forces lifestyle it was felt we gained a lot
from these sessions as small changes can make a huge difference;
especially if energy is not wasted by getting ‘jigy with it’
as Jayne would so frequently put it. That evening brought
another randori session although lighter than Mondays session
we were still very much put through our paces, a lighter days
training than earlier in the week but we were later told that
this was to aid recovery as Team Bath were still in a preparation
phase of their training.
Day 5 Brought again
2 a two-hour session with the first being judo movement, technique
and randori session similar to Monday and Wednesday but with the
team a little wiser in how to pace themselves to last the full
session without looking completely exhausted. After a short rest
we were back in the gym for another whole pyramid weights session
with instruction on how to dead lift, squat and clean correctly
as there had been some questionable techniques used on the weeks
earlier weights session, with the Army PT instructors picking
up some valuable training advice. This brought the end to the
first weeks training and a well earned weekend brake with some
members of the team disappearing for the weekend and some sampling
the delights of Bath hosted very kindly by members of Team Bath.
The second week brought
a similar programme to the first week with the Combined Service
Team easing off towards the end of the week to be fully prepared
for the National Team Championships. Monday was very similar in
training to the first week only our team was boosted by a number
of extra players by the evening’s randori session (Lt Mark Shaw,
Royal Navy Cpl Fred Harris, Royal Air Force (after a brief appearance
in the first week), LCpl John Morris, Army (1 DLR), Cpl Amy Garcia,
Royal Air Force and SAC Emma Hopkinson, Royal Air Force) the evenings
session was equally as good as the first weeks with the chance
to try and put into practise the lessons learnt from the first
week or for the new arrivals to brush off a few cobwebs!
The rest of the week
was spent trying to gain as much as we could from the Team Bath
coaches and trying to hone these skills during randori with our
last session on Thursday morning or so we thought. The team manager
in his infinite wisdom had booked us all in for a recovery session
in the hydrotherapy pool this involved 30 minutes of 3 minutes
in a nice relaxing hot pool followed by 30 – 60 seconds in a freezing
one, this was a new experience for most of us and although we
felt the benefits afterwards not an experience I think a lot of
us will be rushing to try again.
Friday so the team leave
the accommodation in Bath for our new base in Lancaster with some
team members opting for a night a home and some for a day out
in Blackpool, we all met again at 1700 hrs on Saturday for the
weigh in.
With the addition of
all but one of the team he now the reaming members had been picked
up during the last two days (Capt Simon Childs (Rifles, Team Coach),
Capt John Morton (APTC), LBdr Sarah White (RA), Pte Francesca
Sieloff (AFC Harrogate) and including Flt Sam Smithson, Royal
Air Force who had been allowed to leave Iraq 3 days early for
RnR to fight for the Combined Services as she is currently on
a 4 month detachment) we all prepared for the weigh in, in various
ways. Most notably where the members of the team that had to sweat
off, John Morton who had to lose 0.8 kg which some members of
the team enjoyed after he has spent years as the team coach making
players sweat off in true PT Corps style, Simon Marshall must
have overdone it on his trip to Blackpool as he had just over
2 kg to lose but 2 hours later he had managed it even if he did
look a little pale then there was Sami who had been working out
hard in Iraq to make under 57 kg but on the day still had 0.4
kg to go but managed that in no time. With the team weighed in
we all departed for pizza express and a table for 18 as we invited
Mike Liptrot to join us.
Sunday morning brought
the arrival of the final peace of the jigsaw Marine Chris Sherrington
(after a little car trouble) and on paper the coach and the manager
both fancied our chances of both men and women’s teams winning
a medal with 6 men’s teams entered and 5 women teams, so it was
time to commence the competition with the men’s team first on
against the North.
With the men’s team
unable to field an under 60 kg fighter (not through the lack of
trying to find one) we started every match 1-0 down but after
some hard fights we were poised at 3-3 going into the last fight
which so some questionable refereeing decisions deny Chris Sherrington
victory and we lost the match 4-3 but with positives to take forward
for the rest of the competition. The second match so us drawn
against a very strong North West side and losing 6-1 with heads
starting to drop a little with the chances of medalling slipping
away. The third match so us face Scotland needing a win, the team
was 2-0 down after the under 66 kg bout then up stepped Emmanuel
Nartey and Johnny Morris to pull right back into it, with Fred
Harris narrowly losing the next bout it was left to the two bigger
guys to pull is through and they delivered with both Mark Shaw
and Chris Sherrington producing victories to place us 4-3 up and
match victors. The forth bout against the South was just as tight
poised at 3-3 with one bout left so up stepped Chris Sherrington
for a very hard fight which saw him denied victory firstly by
the judges disagreeing on his first Ippon being in the mat area,
however within the last 30 seconds he left them with no decision
to make with an excellent throw for Ippon, and the team with another
4-3 victory. This left the team needing victory against the police
to secure a bronze medal but with an injury to Mark Shaw under
100 kg weight who had been excellent to that point in the decision
was made to bring in the reserve Sean Smithson to fight what could
be the crucial fight for victory. At 3-2 down with Chris Sherrington
extremely confident he could win the over 100 kg fight it was
down to the under 100 kg with the police also bringing in a reserve
for the fight, with the match poised on a knife edge some excellent
work by Sean Smithson soon saw the police down by a waza-ari on
penalties before a throw which secured a second waza-ari and victory.
Chris Sherrington dully obliged with victory to secure the bronze
medal for the Combined Services.
The women’s team were
left at even greater disadvantage than the men’s team as they
were 2 weights down effectively starting each match 2-0 down before
they started. Their first match saw them lose 3-4 narrowly to
the North West how managed to field younger women at the lower
weights an option not open to service teams and one that left
both teams thinking what could have been with a full team. The
women’s second match against Scotland was again lost 4-3 but with
extremely strong performances from Sam Smithson, Amy Garcia, Sarah
White and Stephaney Hart left the team still optimistic of their
medal prospects. Their third match against the North West saw
another round of excellent performances and a 4-3 victory to leave
them in with a real medal shout. Their last match against an extremely
strong South team lead to a 6-1 defeat, but on count back of victories
and scores so them equal third and winning an extremely well deserved
bronze medal.
It is the first time
that both the men’s and women’s Combined Services team have medalled
in the same year at the National teams and a result we feel justly
proud of given the current level of operational commitments. With
the 2 weeks training with Team Bath having seemed to work for
us after some extremely hard work by the team Manager and Secretary
to secure it, it is hoped we can now move Armed Forces judo forward
and secure more of our athletes into full time training and various
centres across the country and then continue to push Armed Forces
judo forward with Emmanuel Nartey still waiting to see if he has
qualified for this year’s Olympics, if not then on to London 2012.
Written By SSgt Sean Smithson
(Royal Engineers)
ARMY AND COMBINED
SERVICE TEAM
Team Manager:
Capt Phil McGregor, Army (APTC)
Team Secretary: Capt
John Morton, Army (APTC)
Team Coaches: Maj/Capt
Simon Childs, Army (Rifles)
Flt
Sam Smithson, Royal Air Force
Sgt
Bob Challis, Army (TA RAMC)
Men’s Team
Team Capt:
Cpl Fred Harris, Royal Air Force
Over 100 kg:
Mne Chris Sherrington, Royal Marines
Res:
Capt Phil McGregor, Army (APTC)
Under 100 kg:
Lt Mark Shaw, Royal Navy
Res: SSgt
Seam Smithson, Army (RE)
Under 90 Kg:
Cpl Fred Harris, Royal Air Force
Res: SSgt
Sean Smithson, Army (RE)
Under 81 kg:
LCpl John Morris, Army (1 DLR)
Res: Cpl
Abbas Salihu, Army RLC
Under 73 kg:
Tpr Emmanuel Nartey, Army (1 RTR)
Res: LCpl
Simon Marshall, Army (RS)
Under 66 kg:
Capt John Morton, Army (APTC)
Women’s Team
Team Capt:
Cpl Stephany Hart, Army (RLC)
Over 78 kg:
SAC Emma Hopkinson, Royal Air Force
Under 78 kg:
Cpl Stephany Hart, Army (RLC)
Under 70 kg:
LBdr Sarah White, Army (RA)
Under 63 kg:
Cpl Amy Garcia, Royal Air Force
Under 57 kg:
Flt Sam Smithson, Royal Air Force
Res: Pte
Francesca Sieloff, Army (Junior Solider) (AFC Harrogate)
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