IJF Academy Results

On January 25, 2019, thirteen USA Judo members, coaches, and referees travelled to the Dominican Republic to complete IJF Academy courses.

We would like to congratulate all thirteen U.S. participants who have passed!

LEVEL 1: Instructor

The Level 1 Instructor course is intended to train coaches for effective work with youth and beginner athletes. The Instructor syllabus emphasizes theoretical subjects and the practical skills of coaching. At the same time, the Instructor course provides a theoretical base which is sufficient to allow Instructors to continue learning, either through their own efforts or within the structure of the Academy. To make the most efficient use of resources, the Instructor Theoretical Courses will be conducted online over a period of 11 weeks. The 1 week practical will be held at various locations using IJF tutors and standard course materials.

The following USA Judo Coaches passed the IJF Academy Level 1 Instructor Course:

• Rajesh Karmacharya
• Tracy Crawford
• Jayson Oldfather
• Alaa El Idrissi

"Prior to attending the IJF Level 1 course, I was not sure what to expect - having to read about nutrition, injury prevention, and the history of judo as a pre-requisite,” explained Alaa Idrissi, Head Coach at El Idrissi Judo Academy. “I shared the mat with Olympic winners, instructors of Kata from the Kodokan, referees, and coaches from all over the world; who shared insights and ideas around coaching, business and growing judo with one another. Together we reviewed fundamentals, ensuring we were all capable of demonstrating, breaking down and showcasing every technique with our students. I am really looking forward to Level 2 course so I can gain a better understanding of how to plan periodization, better ways to optimize training sessions, and can take advantage of learning how to break down specific techniques that I am most interested in teaching.  Any coach interested in coaching an international team will be eventually required to take these courses - but I would recommend it to any coach wanting to stretch themselves and interested in being comfortable teaching more techniques, including kata and ne-waza, with their students. It is my goal to share my love for judo with more people and this course has given me more tools to do just that!"

LEVEL 2: Coach

In addition to elements specific to the age groups, the Level II syllabus contains core elements which are common to all sectors. On completion of a Level II course a coach will be expected to be able to identify and coach the basic competition model for National and Regional level. The coach will also be expected to be able to plan and implement a series of appropriate training sessions within the context of an annual training plan.

The following USA Judo Coaches passed the IJF Academy Level 2 Coach Course:

• Grace Jividen
• Victoria Daniels
• Michael Miller
• William Stevens
• Grace Talusan
• Arthur Wright
• Oswaldo Viloria
• Gerardo Padilla

IJF Nage-waza and Katame-waza

The Nage-Waza/Katame-Waza course was created by the Executive Committee of the IJF, to provide maximum support for Refereeing teamwork through standardization.  The IJF Referee Commission continuing with the “Tokyo 2020” project has collaborated with the IJF Academy to provide this educational course.

The following USA Judo Referee has passed the IJF Nage-waza and Katame Waza Course:

• Robert Donaldson

Bobby Donaldson became the second U.S. Referee to complete the International Judo Federation’s Nage-Waza and Katame-Waza certification joining Mrs. Sharon Landstreet as the only U.S. Referee(s).  

Bobby Donaldson was also selected to referee the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru and the 2019 World University Games. Congratulations Bobby!

If you are interested in learning more about the IJF Academy, please contact Corinne Shigemoto at Corinne.shigemoto@usajudo.us.

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