Northampton Judo Club

We can proudly say that Brian is one of the founders of Northampton Judo Club, established in 1982, and remains an active member to this date.
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He was a British Masters Champion multiple times who took part in the only World Masters Championships to be held at Kodokan, Tokyo, Japan in 2003 - the home of Judo.  

Brian currently occupies a renowned role as a Chairman of the Club, but don’t get tricked by the seriously sounding title! Brian is a real fun guy.

Brian doesn’t have much spare time, probably because of his many interests. Outside of Judo he loves to sail, read a good book or go for a country walk with his wife. Brian is currently learning how to paint and a second language - Italian.

Irene with over 45 years of experience has won multiple National and International Events.

Irene is not only a black belt in Judo, but also in Karate. When Irene started Karate in 2008, she went to the National Championships and after only 3 months of training won the competition! Irene says that it was all because of Judo which gave her so much confidence in fighting, that she could defeat her opponents, even in a totally new to her martial art.

She started Judo when she was 6 years old, because of bullying at school. “After a month of doing judo I was able to defend myself and bullying stopped.”, Irene says. 
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Irene as one of the Junior Coaching Team is bringing value to young players development during each class, while being so energetic that kids often cannot keep up with her.
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Irene is a family-oriented person who spends her spare time with her kids and looking after her 6 grand kids.

Matt, originally from Poland, has a strong Under 18 and Under 21 International and National Competition Record.

With over 18 years of experience, Matt is fascinated with Judo Philosophy, living and breathing the maxim of high efficiency and minimum effort. Matt passes on his knowledge in a fun way during every class he runs, both for Juniors and Seniors.
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Matt always wanted to train martial arts as a kid. He did Karate for a few months, but as he described “Hitting the air for an hour wasn’t much fun for a 6 year old”. Then, with an idea of being able to do high kicks, he want to Taekwondo class. Matt’s Dad, a high level judoka, after seeing how this class was run, suggested Judo, saying - "on the mat there will be a lot more to learn". Matt had so much fun during the first judo class, that he has stuck with it and never let go.
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In his spare time, Matt enjoys a good book, but more than anything traveling with his significant other. Either taking a nice long walk in the countryside or going away for a few days to places not necessarily visited by tourists.