Abbotsford Judo Club

From Abbotsford to Switzerland! 🇨🇦➡️🇨🇭🥋

We are so proud to see our very own Leo Ji taking his judo to the international stage! After spending last week grinding at the Dojo Béglais training camp in France 🇫🇷 with Team BC, Leo and the team is in Switzerland this week for the prestigious NATSU Training Camp—an elite camp packed with international delegations and world-class coaches, Olympic medallists, and World Champions! 🏔️🔥

The best part? Leo isn’t the only AJC representation on the mats over there!
AJC alumna, Isabelle Harris now calls Switzerland home, where she’s coaching at the Marly Judo Club. Isabelle integrated her Swiss athletes with the Judo BC squad for the camp and has even been stepping in to deliver some high-level technical coaching for Team BC between sessions. 💡🥋

Seeing a current AJC athlete and an AJC alum connecting over 8,000 km away from our home dojo is what the judo family is all about. Once an AJC judoka, always an AJC judoka! 💙💛

Keep pushing, Leo, and great work, Isabelle! Representing Abbotsford and BC with pride on the world stage! 🇨🇦✨

Happy Canada Day 🇨🇦
from all of us at the AJC🥋

That’s a wrap on our regular kids’ classes for the summer break! ☀️🥋

This has been an incredibly special year as we celebrated 45 years of bringing Judo to Abbotsford. A massive THANK YOU to all of our amazing members, parents, and families for making our dojo community so vibrant, supportive, and energetic. We are so incredibly proud of all the hard work, learning, and accomplishments our students achieved this season!

While the school year is ending, the dojo is still open! Here is what’s happening at AJC over the break:

☀️ Kids Summer Camps: Our weekly themed camps run throughout July & August! Keep the kids active, building confidence, and having fun while school is out. Spots are filling fast—visit our website to grab a spot!
🥋 Adult Classes: Don’t forget, our adult classes run all summer long! Keep your routine strong with our morning (Mon/Wed @ 6am) or evening (Tues/Thurs @ 7pm) sessions.

Have a safe, fun, and wonderful summer, AJC Family! Enjoy the sunshine, and we can’t wait to welcome everyone back for the new season starting Tuesday, September 8. 🍂

🥋 60 YEARS OF JUDO: CONGRATULATIONS SENSEI AL VANESS! 🥋

While the Abbotsford Judo Club is proud to be celebrating our 45th anniversary, today we want to shine a massive spotlight on a truly monumental individual milestone.
Please join us in honoring Sensei Al Vaness, who is celebrating an incredible 60 years in Judo! 🤯

Six decades of dedication to the sport is an unbelievable achievement, but what makes Sensei Al so special to AJC is his heart for our community. He generously volunteers his time week after week to assist with our kids’ classes—passing down his wealth of knowledge, patience, and love for judo to our youngest athletes.

Thank you, Sensei Al, for your endless dedication, your mentorship, and for being the ultimate role model on and off the mats. We are incredibly lucky to have you.

🇩🇪🥋 Auf Wiedersehen, Lena!

This past Wednesday marked Lena’s final training session with us at Abbotsford Judo Club.

Since arriving in Abbotsford from Germany on a school exchange in January, Lena has become a valued part of our dojo family. She embraced every practice with enthusiasm, worked hard on the mats, and shared her positive spirit with teammates and coaches alike.

While we are sad to see her return home, we are incredibly grateful for the time we had together. The friendships and memories made through judo remind us that our sport connects people from all over the world.

Thank you, Lena, for being part of AJC. We wish you safe travels back to Germany and all the best in your future adventures—both on and off the tatami. You’ll always have a place to train if you find yourself back in Abbotsford.

You will be missed. ❤️🥋

Celebrating 45 years of the Abbotsford Judo Club

Last weekend’s summer judo festival was a massive success thanks to an incredible turnout from our AJC members and the awesome visiting clubs in our area. The energy on the mats was awesome!

A huge thank you to:

The Kids: Who left it all on the mat, showed amazing spirit, and gained invaluable tournament experience. You made us proud!

Our Incredible Volunteers & Coaches: A event this smooth doesn’t happen by accident. From setting up the mats and running the tables, to refereeing, coaching, and keeping everything on schedule—your endless energy, time, and dedication made the whole day a flawless success. We truly couldn’t do this without our amazing AJC team! 🙌❤️

The Supporters: Everyone who came out to cheer, celebrate, and make our 45th anniversary unforgettable.

Thank you all for being part of the AJC legacy!

AJC’s newest black belt🥋
Congratulations to Jackson Hillman on receiving his Shodan (first degree). Years of practice, hard work, and determination went into this achievement. Well done Jackson!

Congratulations to Sensei Payton on his win last weekend at the Throne II. Always awesome to see him out there doing his thing. Well done!

NEXT WAVE 🌊🥋

This past weekend, Abbotsford Judo Club was proud to host the pilot session for the brand-new Judo BC Next Wave program. The energy in the dojo was through the roof, and the turnout completely blew past our expectations—we had over 60 young U12 & U14 athletes from all over the Lower Mainland join us!

Our young Judoka worked incredibly hard throughout the entire day. From testing their agility and balance during the morning gymnastics and movement games, to sharpening their kuzushi and uchikomi during the afternoon technical sessions, every single athlete gave it 100%. They earned every bit of that Summer BBQ.

A massive THANK YOU to: 🙌 Judo BC for developing this fantastic new program and giving our athletes a glimpse into the Provincial Team pathway. 👏 Our Coaches for sharing their expertise and keeping the energy high all day long. ❤️ Our Parent Volunteers who worked tirelessly behind the scenes (and at the grill!) to keep the day running smoothly.

We are so proud of all the participants who stepped onto the mat to try something new, make new friends, and push their skills to the next level. The future of BC Judo is looking incredibly bright!