A few weeks ago, the emblematic professor of Budosport80 received the big gold medal from the Ligue des Hauts-de-France and the FFJDA.
He is today the 420ème judoka to receive this coveted award. But then what is the big gold medal? This distinction is intended for all black belt license holders, whether they are managers or technicians, carrying out activities related to the practice for more than 25 ans without interruption with at least 30 years license.
The criteria for this prestigious award are as follows: they must demonstrate exceptional actions and activities for the development of judo and associated disciplines and their behavior and notoriety must be recognized by all within the Federation.
We went to meet him Frederic Bourgoin and we questioned him on the impressions he had at the time of receiving this high judo distinction and gave an update on the development of judo in competition, as well as in technique.
What were your impressions following this award?
It is a recognition of the Federation with which I am rather satisfied. With all the technical courses that I have been able to supervise, all the actions that I have been able to carry out for the development of judo. I was a demonstrator for more than two years for the FFJDA in various martial arts festivals. To my credit, I have approximately 300 supervised internships in all four corners of the country. I’m happy to have been able to train a lot of professors, senior officers. Currently, I have trained more than 250 new black belts. It’s already a very nice recognition from the FFJDA and the Ligue des Hauts de France but even more to be able to say today that we have trained a large number of black belts.
To whom do you owe all this career in judo?
All this recognition, I owe it to my father Michel Bourgoin (Editor’s note: eighth dan, is one of the great French judokas who contributed to the expansion of judo in the region. He is also the founder of Picardie Judo, formerly Budosport80). He always showed me the way and thanks to him, I initially discovered judo even if I was able to rub shoulders with other figures in the field.
We must ensure that future teachers are better trained.
Frederic Bourgoin
What do you think of the development of judo in the metropolis in recent years?
It’s a good thing but it is imperative that future teachers be better trained and that’s what we try to do with the technical and responsible staff of the BPJEPS Lilian Barreyre. The goal is to offer interested people quality training so that we can have quality teachers in a few years to finally have quality students and even champions. Without these parameters, it is very difficult to complete this mission.
We have had some concern about our fighters and future French fighters for a few years because they have not received the same training as we have had in the past and it is probably due to the fact that the new teachers are less well trained than the previous ones. By modifying these parameters, I am convinced that we will soon be able to find real champions again, as we saw some twenty years ago.
Interview by Mathieu Tourbier
Photo credits: Mathieu Tourbier – Gazette Sports
