Six talented students from Kokoro Judo in Penrith will come up against the best Australia has to offer when they compete at the Judo National Championships on the Gold Coast in June.
Brothers Bruno and William Waters, Alex Bestuzher, Lewis Hinchliffe, Jacob Raphael and Byron McIntosh will soon ramp up their training ahead of the King’s Birthday long weekend contest.
The group qualified for the prestigious tournament after medalling at the Judo NSW State Championships, which was held at Stanhope Gardens last month.
11-year-old Bruno from Jordan Springs placed third while his nine-year-old brother William was crowned NSW State Champion.
11-year-old Alex from Mt Riverview also became State Champion as did 13-year-old Jacob from Orchard Hills.
After only taking up judo two years ago, 13-year-old Lapstone resident Lewis placed second in his first State Title tournament, while McIntosh – the oldest of the group – took home a silver medal for his efforts on the mat.
Head coach at Kokoro Judo Jean-Claude Raphael said he was incredibly proud of his hardworking group.
“It’s a big achievement,” he said.
“You plant the seeds and you wait for the seeds to grow, you have to be patient.”
A 5th dan black belt and internationally respected athlete, Raphael competed at two Olympic Games and is a Commonwealth Games gold medallist. He said all six have bright futures in the sport if they continue to work hard and persevere.
“They all want to go the Olympics one day, I’m not sure how many are going to make it, but they all have that dream,” Raphael said.
“I focus on building basics. If they have a good base, you can grow them – even in life. Waking up on time, going to school on time, you achieve something – that’s the way I look at it.”
Raphael’s students train at their top floor High Street studio four times a week, so when all six qualified for Nationals, it did not surprise him.
“It wasn’t a surprise because we’ve been doing the work,” he said.
“My son Jacob works every day and is going to Japan in a couple of weeks to train.
“We don’t have any tournaments coming up, so over the next couple of months we’ll be focusing on endurance, technique, strategy, and the mind.
“We could have three national champions coming from this group.”
Hoping to become a national champion is Year 6 Blaxland East Public School student Alex Bestuzher, who took up the sport thanks to his dad.
“I’ve been doing judo for seven years now and I enjoy it a lot,” he said.
“I’ve been to Nationals before – the fights are hard. The tournaments run the same way, but they are even bigger.
“I have to train hard to get ready.”
“I focus on building basics. If they have a good base, you can grow them – even in life. Waking up on time, going to school on time, you achieve something – that’s the way I look at it.”
Raphael’s students train at their top floor High Street studio four times a week, so when all six qualified for Nationals, it did not surprise him.
“It wasn’t a surprise because we’ve been doing the work,” he said.
“My son Jacob works every day and is going to Japan soon to train.
“We don’t have any tournaments coming up, so over the next couple of months we’ll be focusing on endurance, technique, strategy, and the mind.”
Hoping to become a national champion is Year 6 Blaxland East Public School student Alex Bestuzher, who took up the sport thanks to his dad.
“I’ve been doing judo for seven years now and I enjoy it a lot,” he said.
“I’ve been to Nationals before – the fights are hard. The tournament runs the same way, but it’s even bigger.”
Nathan Taylor is the Weekender’s Deputy Editor and Senior Sports Writer. He also compiles the weekly Chatter on the Box TV column. Nathan is an award-winning journalist, who has worked at the Weekender for a decade.
