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Jason Smith (18) from High Wycombe in Buckinghamshire is committed to his chosen sport Judo. Having been ranked No 1 in Great Britain in the 50kg weight group (where he achieved five National Medals), he has now moved up to the 60kg group. Jason has just returned from a Tokio University where he has been training with some of the best judo players in the world.
For the past five years, Jason has competed in the international arena as a member of the Great Britain Judo Squad, achieving a medal at every one of the 50 International competitions he has entered.
Jason has been a Young Blade since the initiative was established in 2004. He was presented with a cheque for £1000 by Colin Jackson and Will King at the Jubilee Gym, Covent Garden, London.
Please scroll down to read the latest updates and news from Jason.
Update: 20 November 2006 from Jason
Well I got into Bath University on the course I wanted to do, which was the Sports Performance Degree leading onto the Sports & Exercise Science or Physiotherapy degrees.
I find this degree amazing as I can do full-time judo and concentrate on my education as well so i have something to fall back on later on in life. I am currently training 6 times a week now, so its pretty intense as before I was only doing 2-4 times a week with 1 session a day, now I'm doing 3 a day.
The 3 sessions consist of weight training (Olympic lifting and specific workouts to enhance my judo performance), Randori (Fighting) and Technic. These sessions are taken by a German coach called Jurgen Klinger and he is one of the best coaches around, also sessions are taken by Norito Kanabuchi and Hidemi who are top judo performers in Japan.
I've only been Bath two weeks but I'm noticing such a big improvement with my judo. About 2 weeks ago I received enough points in a dan grading to receive my 2nd dan which is quite an achievement.
The competitions i have coming up are U.S Open In Florida and the British Open. Also in January TeamBath (me and many other judo players) are going to Tokio University in Japan for 2 weeks to train with the very best judo players there are on the scene at the moment which will be a massive experience and will bring my Judo on immensely.
Update: 24 April 2005 from Jason
Just to let you know i got a silver in the 60kg on the weekend at the Willesdon age banded.
Update: 29 March 2005 from Jason
Just to let you know i had to fight up a weight group in Bremen, Germany i weighed 56kg and i had to fight 60kg players. Fought well but unfortunately didnt get a medal due to a boy i lost to not pulling me through to the next round. I have now decided to fight within this weight group, so my main priority now is to train more at the gym to increase my body composition. Looking forward to my next major competition in the UK in May. (Willesdon International)
Update: 9 November 2004 from Jason
At the Heart of England Championships I got silver, losing by only a koka in golden score.
Update: September 2004 from Jason
I have just been to the Europeans in Rotterdam, Holland. This was an excellent experience for the future, I fought really well considering I was very nervous and I beat my first opponent who was number one in my weight group from Austria. My second opponent was the number one Dutch champion and I was very unlucky to lose to him by only a yuko in the last minute. Unfortunately the Dutch boy lost his next fight, which meant he had knocked me out of the competition.
Since the Europeans I have continued to train hard and I have moved up a weight group from being under 50 kilos to the under 55 kilo category and I have won my first gold in this weight group. My next competition will be the Heart of England in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham on the 12th of September, I am hoping to move up from the Cadet Squad to the Junior Squad in December of this year and to receive another opportunity to fight in the Junior Europeans of 2005 taking with me the experience of this year's Cadet Europeans.