My Project

Judo, which in Japanese means “the gentle way”, is also a combat sport and athletes increasingly have to fight off the mat for funding and other support.

The path to sporting glory involves blood, sweat and tears, which I gladly provide in copious amounts. However the movies don’t tell us about another significant ingredient… money!

The judo circuit is truly international and over the coming months I will be training at camps in Belgium, France and Germany, and competing in Bulgaria, Argentina, Peru, Georgia and Turkey. However, in many cases, the cost of travelling to competitions and qualifying is transferred onto athletes, which is prohibitive.

This is where you can help and become part of my journey. This campaign is aimed at raising funds for me to take part in training camps and Olympic qualification tournaments for Rio 2016.

For any support towards realising my life’s dream I will be extremely grateful. It would be a culmination of 20 years of hard work. Let’s get the truly Hollywood style happy ending we all love.

To follow my progress, watch this space and follow me on social media.

About Me

My adventure with judo started when I was six years old. I was a real troublemaker at school, and my P.E. teacher who also was a judo coach, invited me to one of his classes. The competitiveness and physicality of sport meant I immediately took to it. At the start it was mainly fun and games, but soon it turned to the undisputed priority in my life.

I enjoyed some success competing as a child, but didn’t win my first national medal until I was a teenager. I also competed internationally as a junior, but have been most successful in seniors in the under 73 kilogram category (see Achievements section).

What I’m most grateful for from judo is the relationships I have made and the person it has made me. I strongly believe that the discipline and mental resilience learned through sport helped me excel in other areas in life, such as academia.

I am part of the British national squad and currently training judo full time at the University of Bath; where I am also studying towards a PhD in Orthopaedic Biomechanics.

It’s tough combining both but I feel that there are areas in which the two complement each other and add perspective. With plans of wining a medal at the Olympic Games in Rio and submitting my thesis in December, 2016 is going to be a crucial year for me!

Thank you for reading about my project, now please support by donating and spreading the word!