Women-only judo class gaining a foothold

Watching their kids compete in judo has prompted two local women to take up the martial art themselves. Kaz Corcoran is right at home in the mountains but couldn’t wait to get to grips with a new challenge.

“It looked so much fun that I just had to have a go. It is quite addictive, and I love it,” declares the Wakefield ski guide and leathersmith. So, after just over a year in the sport, Kaz is now  encouraging other women to join her in a weekly, all-female class at the Nelson Judo Club.

“I am helping instruct the juniors and the beginners. We tend to get a new person turning up each week. Everyone comes for their own reasons,” says Kaz, before taking to the mat alongside fellow instructor Sarah Rose at the club’s Jubilee Park base.

“The first thing you are taught is how to fall. I have had a few bumps and bruises, but it is not a vicious sport.” It also appealed to Richmond’s Gabrielle Pooley after seeing three of her four daughters take it up this year.

“It is very inclusive. It could have been pretty intimidating to be learning next to advanced players as the majority of the senior class are large adult men,” says Gabrielle, who used to play football. “That meant a lot of running whereas judo is short, sharp, requires strength, co-ordination and thinking,” enthuses the 44-year-old beginner as she prepares for her fourth class.

Gabrielle and Kaz are both inspired by Japanese second dan black dan Yui Sakamoto who has been in Nelson since September. “Yui is amazing,” says Kaz.
“She gives you hints and just makes it such a positive experience. “She is exact, precise and graceful,” she adds.

“It is lovely watching Yui and then trying to copy her. She explains everything so well,” says Gabrielle. Yui is impressed with her students, insisting they are picking up judo moves quickly.

Locals will get to see Yui in action at the South Island Judo Championships in Motueka in August and Kaz hopes to be ready to compete there too. The weekly Richmond training class runs between 1-2.30pm on Fridays and is one of eight held by the club which is going through a rebuilding phase.