GOOD RESULTS FOR JUDO FOR CHILDREN IN ITALY

As a the first of a two-year project experimentation, the Judo For Children project is successfully going on in 10 schools selected in Italy for the school year 2015/2016.   The activities, distributed all along Italy, are featuring Judo as a tool that helps children in their cognitive and motor development as well as in their socializing skills. Teachers, school directors and parents positive perception of Judo as an ideal discipline for physical, cognitive and especially social development during childhood was immediate.   The Projects consist of 6-hour-a-week lessons and involves the 5 classes of primary school. Lessons are organized during the curricular time and more than 2.000 children are involved, a very high number due to the high density population areas where the projects are held.   Over this first part of the testing period, it was possible to draw some first conclusions. For instance: the request to continue the activities in the future, the enthusiasm and participation of pupils and teachers and the good acceptance of School Directors. It was actually observed a great enthusiasm by the school directors and teachers in including the Judo For Children projects. Some issues still need to be solved like the difficulty sometimes of finding school gyms that can accommodate all the participating children, the difficult social reality of disadvantaged children or the heterogeneity of some groups. But step by steps all issues are being solved.     The provision of technical material donated by IJF, from Trocellen and Green Hill, was essential to give support and quality to the Judo For Children project, and schools very much appreciated it and the children were very enthusiastic about the Judogi.   In all project the level of difficulties was regularly increased, the exercises being adapted by age, according to the feedback of the pupils. During the first months, the judo teachers mainly focused on general coordination, balance and rhythm, using interactive exercises with equipment, games and speed power exercises. The children learned the bow, the break-falls and started to discover some Judo technics. Individual and social skills were also developed.   Taking into consideration the local situations, the Judo For Children projects are already recording good results, achieving the objectives that the International Federation was expecting to reach with a Project aimed at bringing judo in the urban and social environments of the most complex areas of the Italian territory.   The purpose of the Italian Federation is to organize the “Judo For Children Week” in Spring, compatibly with the organizational availabilities of Schools, bringing Judo champions, international level athletes or ex-Olympic medals winners in the schools of all Regions involved in the Project, to experience with children will be a day full of emotions. Back