On February 4, 2012 Kodokan Judo sent 23 competitors to The Florida Open Judo Championships, which is a class "E" Point Tournament.  The tournament was held at the Coral Springs Gymnasium in Coral Springs, FL.

Kodokan Judo proudly took home the 2nd Place Team Trophy.  Many of the judoka fought in multiple divisions.  Christina Paccione, age 9, was undefeated placing first in two divisions.  Gencarlo Montane, age 9, and Kaitlin Weigelt, age 11 also placed first in their two divisions.

Dylan More, age 17, fought in three IJF divisions, placing 1st, 2nd and 3rd.  Dylan chocked one of his opponents until he was unconscious and went toe to toe with several national competitors.

Gold Medal Winners:

 Jordan Bernaquer, Kyle Camara, Randy Gil, GenCarlo Montane x2, Dylan More, Jacob More, Christina Paccione x2, Avery Piatt*, Kaitlin Weigelt x2 

Silver Medal Winners:

 Jordan Bernaquer, Marcos Johnson, Dylan More, Mackenzie More x2, Gavin Perry*, Addison Piatt*, Solon Pinto, Jack Tellin, Keegan Weigelt

Bronze Medal Winners:

 Corey Bernaquer, Carlos Camara, Kyle Camara, Marcos Johnson, Dylan More, Jacob More, Mackenzie More, Erica Paccione, Joseph Russo, Rian Russo x2, Rodolfo Sosa

Participation:

 Alex Sacramento & Mark Tamulionis

CONGRATULATIONS TEAM KODOKAN!!!!!

Have you or your child ever competed in a judo tournament? There are many great benefits to competing in a judo tournament. Here are our top 5 favorite reasons to try it out:

1. Practice is over and it’s time to compete!

Each class you learn new techniques and you are able to sharpen your skills through drilling, rondori and newaza.  This is done so that you can perform well during competition.

2. To further improve your skills by going against new competitors

Chances are, you’ve spent so much time with your fellow judoka that you already know all their strengths and weaknesses: this person has a powerful grip but a tendency to go half-way in, another person has a great timing but are superior with counters.

You can only improve as much as the best person you compete against and by the knowledge of your instructor and for that in which they expose you to.  That is why competing in a judo tournament is such a powerful experience. It exposes you to other judoka you’ve never worked with before, which forces you to put into action the techniques and combinations that you’ve been practicing.

3. Watch & Learn

One of the most exciting aspects about going to a judo tournament is getting to watch performances from the best judoka from your local area — or in the case of national tournaments, from around the country.

You might also have the opportunity to attend a coaching clinic or a referee clinic or learn techniques from an Olympian or a National Champion. 

4. Individual and Team Sport

Even though judo is an individual sport, there is such a strong sense team.   The entire team encourages their fellow judoka while competing.  The feeling of unity and comrade is very evident by the passion and excitement of the crowd. The sense of accomplishment and victory brings the team together like one big family.

5. Whether you win or lose, it’ll make you a stronger judoka

While you should always go into a tournament with the goal of winning, you should understand that no matter what the eventual outcome, you will learn a great deal from the experience.

We’ve seen talented students lose matches and were so humbled by the experience that they intensified their training and took their skill level even higher. We’ve also seen students full of self-doubt give it 100% and walk away with trophies, which gave them the confidence boost they needed to keep improving.

Kodokan Judo of Cape Coral is hosting the next judo tournament in Cape Coral at Oasis High School on Saturday, March 10, 2012.  Come down and test your skills!  We encourage Judoka from all-over to test your skills and show us your abilities!

Contact John Paccione, 5^th Dan at (239) 699-2825 or go to www.CapeJudo.com for entry forms and information. 

Thank you to our current sponsors for affording our competitors the opportunity to compete in high level tournaments. 

George & Vicki Wirth 

Ten Judoka from Kodokan Judo traveled to California to compete in the 2011 USJA/USJF Winter Nationals hosted by Goltz Judo.

The trip was made possible by donations received by the Athletes Fund and The Kodokan Judo Booster Club. So we extend a HUGE thank you to all those that supported and continue to support our dojo.

Taking first place scoring a full point for each of his 4 matches was Rian Russo (10 year old Orange Belt). Also taking first in two divisions was Christina Paccione (9 year old Green Belt). She fought 7 matches only losing 1 and also fought up one division. Mackenzie More (13 year old Green Belt) took home the Gold in the Senior division winning all of her matches. She also fought in the Junior division taking 2nd Place.

Bob Gleason, a 59 year old black-belt came out of competitive retirement which lasted about 37 years and took 2nd place. Also taking 2nd was Dylan More (16 year old Green Belt) who had some tough matches. Erica Paccione fought in two divisions taking home the Silver and the Bronze and fought up one age/weight division. Alex Sacramento (10 year old orange belt) fought in a 9 man division with Joseph Russo (9 year old orange belt). Alex took the bronze and Joe came in 4th.

Mark Tamulionis and Rodolfo Sosa fought in a 13 man division in the Brown and Black belt senior category.

The team was excited and not only did they compete and medal, they received the club ranking of #13 out of 73 dojos, they also attended a clinic and were welcomed to a dojo workout at Goltz Judo where Rian Russo received his Green Belt and Mackenzie More received her Blue Belt. After all the hard work, the students were able to enjoy the sites in California. A trip to the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway afforded two of our students to see snow for the first time! Hollywood Bouleveard was also a treat.

The Judoka are looking forward to their next competition in February for the Florida Open and then Kodokan Judo will host the 2nd Annual Yoichiro Matsumura Judo Championships in Cape Coral at Oasis High School.

If you need more information, please e-mail us @ This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call (239) 699-2825.