We take on new students from the age of 10 years old. • Please read: Our induction is also used as an opportunity to assess whether or not a student is ready to participate in judo. In some rare cases, we may notice that a student is struggling to understand the how to do movements such as the safety falls (breakfalls). If this is the case, the instructor leading the session may ask the student to come back to try again in 1 years time, allowing for their concentration to develop. Judo is not like other martial arts, it is extremely high impact and can be very dangerous if instruction is not followed. It is our job to make sure that every student who comes through our dojo is safe, therefore it would be very irresponsible for us to allow someone to practice judo if we feel they are not ready to do so safely. For adults the age cap depends on the individual: • If a person does not have any experience in combat martial arts, or has not trained in combat martial arts since their childhood then we advise that after the age of 55 judo at the Sobell is not for them. This is because of the extremely high impact nature of judo which is very hard on the body. We have found that untrained older students often have an extremely hard time keeping up with the training and often withdraw from the class after a short period due to the stress it causes on the body. This is heightened by the fact that we have a very young and competitive senior class. In these cases, we advise that martial arts such as Karate or BJJ might be better suited as they require less impact on the body, or finding a judo club with a higher age demographic where things can be taken more slowly. • If an older student has previous experience in Judo, Wrestling, BJJ, Sambo or something similar and has trained this martial art throughout their adult life then we are happy to bring them in to the class.

As judo is a high contact martial art, it is vital that every person who practises it has a solid foundation to prevent themselves, or others getting injured. Our induction teaches each newcomer to judo fundamental skills that will ensure they can engage in judo in the safest possible way. It also gives newcomers a way to test our whether judo is for them or not.

At our beginners judo lessons you will learn a handful of basic skills to give you the best possible start in judo. You will learn: • How to break-fall (Ukemi) • How to take hold (Kumi Kata) • Principles of breaking the balance (Kuzushi) • A basic throw (Tachi Waza) • A basic hold down (Ne Waza) • The etiquette of judo (Do) • The rules & regulations of the club After a warm up with the main class, our instructor will take you to one side to start the beginners judo sessions. To begin, you will learn how to judo what is known as a 'breakfall'. A breakfall is a controlled form of falling whereby the impact of the fall is absorbed by the arms and legs - literally breaking the fall - to prevent injury to the body. As judo involves throwing one another, a breakfall is an essential skill to learn as it ensures that once thrown, a student will not get injured and can get up and continue practising. ​ Next, you will learn how to take hold of your opponent. As judo is a grappling martial art, it is essential you know how to hold on to your opponent before you learn how to throw them. Following this, you will learn the basic principles of breaking the balance. Judo is not a martial art of brute force, literally translated to 'The Gentle Way', judo is founded on the principle of 'Seiryoku Zenyo' - Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort. In simple terms, this means learning how to use skill and technique to defeat an opponent rather than strength alone. Our instructor will show you how to move your opponents body in such a way that they are weak, laying the foundation of every judo technique. Finally, you will put all of this into practice as you learn a basic judo throw, and a basic judo hold down technique. ​ Before you finish, our instructor will teach you the etiquette of judo, such as bowing to one another, before explaining the rules of the Sobell Judo Club. ​ In your following sessions you will re-cap what you have learnt to ensure that all principles are fully understood. ​ In the section below, you can get a head start and watch our head instructors tutorials on how to breakfall and how to break somebody's balance.

Please come in a long sleeve tracksuit top and long tracksuit bottoms. Ensure there are no zips on your clothing as these may damage the mats we practice on (tatami). Please wear clothes that you do not mind getting stretched or damaged as there is a small possibility that this may happen during the session. Please do not wear any piercings, please wear minimal makeup and we encourage all women to wear sports bras.

Three main things will happen after the induction: - You will be able to attend ANY of our classes for you age group - We will still keep an eye on you to ensure you are easing into judo safely - You will be required to obtain a judo licence Judo licences are available at our club under our national governing body, JFAUK. This also allows all students to participate in gradings, courses and competitions. The licence costs £45 for the first year and includes a judo record book and Judo theory book to assist your learning. Renewals cost £35 per year. After you induction, we can orgnise a JFAUK membership for you at the dojo. You are welcome to obtain a licence from another governing body if you wish to do so, however we will not be able to grade you. We are only authorised to grade under JFAUK. Therefore, if you plan on training at the Sobell regularly, it is more practical to obtain a JFAUK licence. ​ **Please note after the induction you will be required to pay per session. For prices please see our timetable. ​

To book an induction, please select a date below and follow the instructions. You will be required to pay a non-refundable fee in order to secure your place.

Yes, after the induction you can join in ANY of our classes for your age group. However, we will still keep a close eye on you to ensure you are getting along okay.