Judo & Disabilities
Judo Assist - Ireland is the name we have given to the program of introducing Judo to people with extra support needs. The name of the program will be used for the initial setup of the project in order to make the program instantly recognizable to people with extra support needs. However we do not wish to place a label on people with extra support needs, so once the program is up and running the program name used for judo players with extra support needs in Ireland will be MA Judo (mixed ability). In Germany and the Netherlands their program is called G Judo and in the UK its refer to as SN Judo. The main reason a distinction has to be made is for the health and safety of these players when they go training in other clubs. Also MA Judo Players are divisioned within their own competitive tournaments so as to ensure fairness and sportsmanship.
It is the intention and aim of the program to have fully inclusive clubs for weekly training & development and in the future have monthly training sessions for MA Judo players only, in order to develop individual skills.
Social Disabilites - Aspergers, Autism, ADHD
Intellectual Disabilities:
An individual is considered to have an intellectual disability based on the follow three criteria:
1. Intellectual functioning level (IQ) is below 70-75
2. Significant limitations exist in two or more adaptive skills
3. This condition is present from chilhood (-18yrs)
Physical Disabilities: Spinal Injury, Amputee, Poliomyelitus
Sensory Disabilities: Visually Impaired, Hearing Impaired
eg. Downs Syndrome
Motorial Disabilities: Dyspraxia, Cerebral Palsy, Muscle Diseases, Nervous Diseases
Our friends in The Netherlands have collated a lot of information on the adaptation of Judo for Special Needs students and I would invite you to visit their website in particular the the sections which explain in more details the different disabilities that judo caters for.
Training practices and coaching techniques are modified and adjusted individually to suit all judo students with extra support needs.
The whole ethos of Mixed Ability Judo is to concentrate on what you can do and not on what you can't
Learning Disabilities: Dyslexia
Our support partners at the Laoise Sports Partnership and the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Sports Partnership have kindly supplied us with and have given permission for us use their SportsABILITY Guildlines which gives a breif overview of some of the extra support needs listed above. Just click on the learn more links
FREE
Come & Try
Sessions
As part of our national rollout of our Judo Assist program we will be hosting a number of FREE Come & Try Sessions around the country.
The first of these sessions has been confirmed for Tipperary, Cavan, Dublin and Kilkenny.
These sessions are open to anyone with a disability who would like to try judo for the first time, and because they are totally FREE you have nothing to lose.
Visit our Events page for full details including Venue, Times and how to book.
Judo Assist New Sponsor
Hampshire Sports Equipment Ltd trading as Black Eagle is one of the largest Martial Arts Equipment suppliers in Britain, Ireland and beyond.
Irish International Open 2012
dates announced
check out events page
