30 judoka between the ages of 12 and 68 took part in the weekend, which was held for the first time in this form, including ten athletes with visual impairments and seven judoka with a mental disability. There were five coaches there and one who won bronze at the Paralympic Games in Paris in the summer: Lennart Sass.
Lennart Sass has been blind since tendinitis at the age of 16. Fighting with him is a special highlight of the weekend, especially for the younger judoka like Sven Kilper from SV Brakel. Sven Kilper has a learning disability and trains children as helpers in his own club. He says: “If I take something with me here, I can show the children something at home.” But the experienced judokas from Wiesloch would also like to take a photo with Lennart Sass. As a northern light, he has already trained himself in the hall at the competitive sports center in Hamburg. For the Paralympics participant and bronze medalist, the inclusive judo weekend represents a challenge that he has never experienced before.
Para-Judo and ID-Judo – intellectual disability, i.e. judo for people with mental disabilities – have hardly been in action together so far. “The weekend is completely new territory,” says Cornelia Claßen, DJB disability sports representative ID Judo.
Something completely new is happening at the Judo Performance Center in Hamburg this weekend. Sebastian Junk, event inclusion manager and DJB disabled sports representative para-judo at the German Judo Federation, organized the meeting, which is supported by Aktion Mensch. It’s about promoting commonalities and living the values of judo. Respect, honesty, politeness, willingness to help – all of this plays an important role in judo and is also lived here.
Some couples found each other on the first day simply because of their stature. It is striking that they often consist of a partner with visual impairment and a partner with an intellectual disability. There are also misunderstandings, for example when a young man with mental disabilities repeatedly bows to a blind boy and then complains loudly that he doesn’t respond. Events like this, where people learn from and with each other and gain experience, are particularly important for this understanding.
It is important to Sebastian Junk to promote the topic of inclusion within the association and to raise awareness. “Let people run into the wall, it’s better than wrapping them in cotton wool,” he says very pragmatically and with his own experience. As a visually impaired judoka, he has gained a lot of experience himself and, among other things, won Paralympic bronze in Athens 2004.
The experiment of a joint Para and ID judo weekend was a success. More events like this are needed to ensure inclusion.
