We meet every Friday at

Ronindo Judo Kai

Totnes Pavilions

Junior class: Ages 5yrs  to 12yrs 6:30pm - 7:30pm (Beginners welcome)

Youth class Ages 12yrs to 16yrs 7:45pm - 8:45pm (Beginners welcome)

Seniors Ages 16 yrs to any 7:45pm - 9:30pm (Beginners welcome)

History of Judo in Totnes

Dave Follows and Sam Asplin firstfounded Totnes Judo Club in 1986. The dojo was at the Mansion in Fore Street.Nigel Ohlsen took over the club in 1987 and gave the club its name Ronindo JudoKai (the name means the way of the masterless samurai warrior). In 1988 Nigel had to move away, so Jackie Horswill whose children were doing judo at the time stepped in to take over the coaching. Jackie kept the club going, and the memberships began to increase.

 In 1991 Simon Ward joined the club and started to help with the coaching. In 1995 Simon took over the main coaching at Totnes and in 1997 we moved the dojo to the newly built Totnes Pavilions sports centre.  Jackie moved away and Ray Brown took overthe running of the junior class. The club continued to do well for a while until in early 2004 the club had a bit of a crisis when the numbers crashed and Simon left.

Ray was now the only qualified coach and was faced with the task of rebuilding the club, he worked really hard to do this but despite his and the committee's efforts the club continued to struggle and closure was looking likely. In August 2005 Ray took the brave step of  leaving his well-paid job and took up teaching Judo full time. This meant that he could devote all of his time to building up the failing club. Aided and abetted by his Aikido coach and mentor Danny DaCosta, Ray began relentlessly putting on demonstrations and running courses in South Devon schools and sports centres. Not only was Ronindo saved by the drive, but also   Shinji Budo Kai, was born. It was then that Ronindo became part of Shinji  Budo Kai, but it was decided not to change the name to preserve the history of theclub.

For a number of years now Ray has been studying Aikido & Shinjido with Danny da Costa and became a British Aikido Board Instructor in August 2005, the club therefore has taken on a more martial aspect and Ray promotes learning techniques from the Martial Arts roots of  Judo. The club has attracted students who are Dan grades from other martial art disciplines such as Aikido, Karate and Kick Boxing, who bring with them their skills to share.

In early 2006 Steve Squire a former Ronindo student who is now a qualified British Judo Association Club Coach started assisting Ray with the coaching at the club and has since joined Ray in Shinji Budo Kai. Ronindo is now doing so well that there is currently a waiting list for places.

We are a  friendly club and all are welcome, whether you are new to the sport, experienced or want to return after time out, whether you wish to train for recreation or competition, you will be made very welcome.

Our logo was designed and drawn by Sarah Brown. Sarah is Rays Daughter and has a degree in art, the drawing was based on an old photo of Ray when he was much younger and was active in the competition circuit.

The kanji was brushed by gentleman from Japan who's name was Hitoshi, unfortunately we have lost contact with him so cannot thank him for his help.