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There’s a new club in BC, located on Bowen Island — Bowen Judo Club, led by Head Instructor, Cohen Hocking and Dave Hocking, Instructor.
Fitness, fun, and judo for any experience level. Bowen Judo Club believes martial arts training should be challenging, empowering, fun, and a space where everyone feels encouraged to grow at their own pace.
For more information and registration: bowenjudo.ca
Article written by Alex Kurial in the Bowen Island Undercurrent:
Sports and life lessons await on the Judo mats
A local father and son team are bringing the sport they love to life on Bowen.
Cohen and Dave Hocking recently formed the new Bowen Island Judo Club, which will hold its first classes next week. The instructors have been busy setting up their new dojo – Collins Hall – to welcome both adults and youth to try out the ancient martial arts practice. It’s a labour of love for the pair, who both have an extensive history in the sport.
Judo is an unarmed grappling sport where opponents use their techniques in an attempt to flip, pin or force a submission from their opponent. It originated in Japan during the 1800s and has garnered a significant legacy since, including becoming an Olympic sport and inspiring several other martial arts forms including Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Cohen began his judo career at age 11 and quickly excelled, going on to win six provincial championships before capturing gold at the 2011 Canada Winter Games. He’s a black belt in the sport and has since trained with judo masters in Japan and Kazakhstan.
“When I first moved here I really wished there was a club, either Brazilian jiu-jitsu or judo, because they’re both very similar,” recalls Cohen on coming to the island. He would head to the mainland to practice but found the nighttime training sessions made for long days, especially with a young family.
Cohen also realized that with two kids – his son already throwing himself around the living room and attempting to wrestle his dad each night – he could help lay the groundwork for a club that island youth could take advantage of.
“The real catalyst was when my dad moved to Bowen,” says Cohen. Dave also has an extensive history in judo since beginning in the 1970s at the famed Steveston Judo Club in Richmond. While he’s been out of the sport for awhile, his recent move to Bowen provided the perfect chance to get back into it with his son.
The pair recently spent a Friday measuring and laying out judo mats at Collins Hall (in between bursts of flipping each other around) which will host the classes. Cohen acquired the mats from the New Westminster Judo Club when they were replacing their own. He explains he was aware of their availability (and the opportunity for a good deal) through his connections and friendships with instructors at the club over the years.
“The judo community is really close knit, and it’s wonderful to draw from those connections,” he says.
Initial classes will be on Friday nights, and are split between a teens and adults class for people age 14 and up, from 5:30 to 7 pm, and a junior class before that for ages 10 to 13 from 4:30 to 5:30 pm. Kids aged 7 to 9 can join the junior class if accompanied by an adult. Everyone is welcome.
“People who get into it really fall in love with it. There’s so much to learn and it becomes almost like playing chess with your body. You can choose to have nice hard rounds, or you can go loose and have a much more relaxed pace,” explains Cohen.
Many of the initial lessons will focus on proper falling techniques – primarily in a judo context, but which can also prove quite useful for unintended spills outside of the sport.
Cohen says many other lessons learned from judo apply far beyond the four corners of the mat. “There’s Japanese cultural aspects of respect, every match you have you bow on and you bow off… you’re not going to have a match with someone unless you bow on and you’re both consenting to it,” he explains.
“There’s aspects of respect when you bow at the end of the class, when we take care of the mats… respect for your partner, and then the confidence gained too. Over time you learn more skills.”
Dave lists that confidence and also humility as two of said skills. “Because you’re going to lose a lot of matches, you’re going to win some. And it’s all part of the game.”
“The feeling after judo class is one of the most positive atmospheres, because it’s both exciting as a workout – and very humbling. After you’ve been pinned or submitted or thrown – and everyone has been – there’s such a positive vibe,” says Cohen on the bond being flung to the mat creates with your fellow judo enthusiasts.
Full class details, registration, and more about the history of judo can be found on the club website at bowenjudo.ca
