The Kodokwai judo club has been training people since 1948 and has now moved into a purpose built gym. Their new premises in Commercial Road in South Shields (South Tyneside) is ready to promote the sport. They have also trained Sarah Clark, the Olympic Judo competitor, born in South Shields. The club is keen to promote the martial art and likes to encourage others to ry it out. The new premises has been put up with help of members mainly through self-funding. The club currently has the only permanent spring floor in the area. The club is used for the Northern Area Judo Squad and runs grading for the Northern Area.
Instructor Sid Muktar of the club, pointed to the benefits, from fitness to self defence, of judo. They have a lot of students become successful and have a number of world champions. The club is highly regarded in the judo world and in the past the RAF team had come to train, he said. He said there is a great family atmosphere with the youngest student around 3 years old, while the oldest competitor is 70 years. The gym offers classes in Brazilian Ju Jitsu and yoga. The instructor said anyone can come along to watch and there are free taster sessions. They have judo suits for people to wear during a session. More details are on the Kodokwai Judo Club page on Facebook.
