ABOUT AUSTRALIAN JUDO
History of Judo in AUS (We wish to express our appreciation to Mr Peter Herrmann, the Coaching Director of the Judo Federation of Australia Inc., for the following information.)
Mr Cecil Elliott - The founder of Ju-jitsu and Judo in Australia.
The first ju-jitsu demonstration in Australia was performed by Mr Cecil Elliott and Mr T. Young (ably assisted by a young lady who later married Elliott) in Sydney in 1906. Among the guests was the NSW Commissioner of Police, Mr Mackay (Ref: Sydney Morning Herald, 1906). Elliott was born in the village of Hackelton, North Hamptonshire, England on 20 May 1875. At the age of 16, he went to sea as an Apprentice Seaman under a training scheme introduced by Lord Brassey. Later on, he became an Officer in the Royal Navy. His duties took him to Japan, where he became interested in ju-jitsu. He obtained his 1st Dan in ju-jitsu at Yokohama in 1904, and commenced teaching the martial art in Sydney in 1905. He brought two Japanese - Mr Fushishima and Mr Okura - to Sydney to assist him with the ju-jitsu classes. Mr Fushishima went on to become the Australian Lightweight Wrestling Champion. Later, Elliott moved to Atherton in Queensland, where he started ju-jitsu and judo classes in his back yard. Elliott was recognised as a 2nd Dan in 1962, when he was 87 years old. Elliott passed away in 1963.
Dr A Ross – Early Pioneer of Judo in Australia
Dr Ross wrote the first book about judo in Australia in 1949. He learned judo the hard way, at the Kodokan in Tokyo. After obtaining his 1st Dan in under two years, a phenomenal performance in those days, he became Chief Instructor at the Brisbane Judo Club, which was founded in 1928.
Judo Federation of Australia (JFA)
The inaugural meeting of the Judo Federation of Australia was held in Sydney in 1952. Queensland was represented by Messrs V G Allen and Cliff Duncan; NSW was represented by Mr Ernest Chambers; Victoria was represented by Mr Ivan Zavetchanos; Western Australia was represented by Mr Andy Fleming; and South Australia was represented by Mr Moss Hollis. The inaugural meeting elected Mr Allen (Queensland) as the President and Mr Duncan (Queensland) as the Secretary.
The JFA's "National Judo Coaching Scheme" and "National Training Camps"
In 1979, the Australian Coaching Council (ACC) was established as an initiative of the Sport and Recreation Minister's Council. In 1980, the ACC asked the Judo Federation of Australia (JFA) to develop a National Judo Coaching Scheme. This task fell initially to Mr Ivan Zavetchanos (Victoria), then technical Director of the JFA. In 1981, the Black Belt Register (New South Wales) - BBR (NSW) – assumed responsibility for the National Judo Coaching Scheme. BBR (NSW) established a Committee comprising Mr Jim Sheedy, Mr John Buckley, Mr Peter Page and Mr Glen Lewis which, with financial assistance from the Federal Government, conducted workshops and involved other qualified specialists to develop the Level 1, 2 and 3 Judo Coaching Scheme. In 1982, Jim Sheedy became the first JFA National Coaching Director. This was a part-time position for which the Federal Government provided financial assistance. Following Jim Sheedy's resignation in 1983, Mr Peter Herrmann was appointed to the position. From 1984, the position became full-time. During the period 1982-88, the JFA developed 550 Level 1 coaches, 120 Level 2 coaches and 9 Level 3 coaches. In 1984, the JFA established National Training Camps to prepare players for competition at the Olympics Games and World Titles, and to develop talented young players. During the period 1984-88, six National Training Camps were conducted at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. With financial support from the Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian Sports Commission, approximately 180 players and coaches from around Australia and from overseas participated in the camps.
Austalian Olympic medalist:
Theodore Boronovskis (AUS) Bronze Judo at the 1964 Japan Summer Olympics – Men's open category.
Sue Williams (AUS) Gold Judo at the 1984 Seou Summer Olympics Test Event - Women's Under 56 kg Maria Pekli (AUS) Bronze Judo at the 2000 Sydney Summer Olympics Women's Under 57 kg