Fighting for the future When Diss Judo Club looked like it might
Judo Club when the existing Diss coach
have to close 16 years ago, Howard Oates
retired. Diss Judo Club has a long history.
came to the rescue. Merging the club with
And when we absorbed it some 16 years
his own Kumo Judo Club it soon became
ago, we decided we wouldn’t rename it as it
one of the major powerhouses of the
deserved its own identity.
eastern region. The club has since raised a double Olympian and a Paralympian and currently has three members training with the England Development Squads. Howard shares some of his story here. Like a snowball down a mountain “I’m often asked why I got involved in the sport of judo. Frankly I can’t be entirely sure. I certainly liked the idea of a fighting sport that didn’t involve inflicting physical damage on an opponent. “My sons Colin and David became involved in judo through friends who were attending a local club at Hornchurch Leisure Centre back in 1989. At this time, I was travelling a lot
Like a bobsleigh from Jamaica
through work, so had all but given up
“Inspired by the film ‘Cool Runnings’ about
myself. Like a snowball rolling down the
the Jamaican bobsleigh team that trained in
mountain, my daughters Charlotte and
Jamaica for the Winter Olympics, I decided
Vicky started doing judo. So did my wife
to write a book about our own unusual
Denise who went on to be the chairman of
journey. Norfolk wasn’t known for being a
the Eastern Area region. I suppose Reece,
martial arts hub, so we felt very much
my grandson, had little option in taking up
aligned to the Jamaican story.
the sport as his mum, Vicky, also
“The book ‘Accidental Olympian: Colin
represented Great Britain as a cadet player.
Oates, a judo journey’ covers everything
“Our judo journey really picked up speed in
from my son Colin competing in the 2012
1991 when we moved to the beautiful
London Olympics Games and being
village of North Lopham and joined Diss
appointed as a Great Britain Coach to the
Judo Club run by wonderful coach, Chris
emergence of new talent and future medal-
Clancy. We set up Kumo Judo Club in 1994
winners, Niamh and Eden Southgate and
and years later amalgamated it with Diss
my grandson, Reece.
18 Diss Matters Winter 2021
