The original Wolverhampton Judo Club was formed many years ago in Temple Street in Wolverhampton but, in 1966, the club ran into financial difficulties and was effectively closed. At that point the members banded together and formed the new Wolverhampton Judo Club operating from Heath Town Baths, which formed the club as we know it today.

The current senior coaches, Mac Abbotts and Dave Brooks, had joined the old club in 1965 just before the closure and were in fact the prime movers in setting up the new one. From that point on the club flourished and the membership steadily increased. In 1968 Mac and Dave assumed the roles of club coaches and immediately set out their strategy to go forward into the next decade.





Mac and Dave quickly realised that in order to ensure the club members could compete with players from other clubs and indeed from other countries, it would be necessary for them to attend as many competitions as they possibly could, simply to keep abreast with the current techniques, thus enabling their own players to work on and develop their own individual styles. This basic principle worked well and became a major element of the clubs strategy. Mac and Dave had begun to develop a strong personal relationship, understanding and rapport and this, allied to the training systems that they had developed began to produce a partnership and ultimately a club that was clearly going to achieve significant successes in the future.

In 1974 Mac commenced employment with Wolverhampton Education and Leisure Services as full time judo instructor in the Wolverhampton schools. This gave him a golden opportunity to watch for promising young players and to encourage them to train on a regular basis.

From day one of the new Wolverhampton Judo Club many of the older established players had continued to achieve success at many domestic championships and by the early 1970‘s the new generation of younger players such as Corbert Scarlett, Simon Edmonds, Kevin Blower, Bill Kelly, and Kevin O’Reilly, were beginning to emerge as serious contenders for the honours at most of those championships. These were soon to be followed by Elvis Gordon, John Swatman, Kerrith Brown, Densign White, Tom Brindle, Michael Chamberlain, and many more. By the mid 1970‘s, Wolverhampton players were dominating the majority of the junior championships and by 1979, Tom Brindle, John Swatman, Kerrith Brown and Densign White at the ages of 15 years, were taking medals at many senior championships including the Scottish Open.

From that point on, the Wolverhampton players were virtually unstoppable and by 1979 at the age of 16 years they were winning medals at every British Open up to and including 1992. Kerrith Brown won a Gold medal at six consecutive British Open Championships commencing with the 1982 event. John Swatman was probably the unluckiest man never to win a British Open Gold medal. In 1980 at 16 years of age he fought his way to the final in the under 60 Kg category and was winning the contest when he was forced to withdraw through injury. Two years later history repeated itself and he once again had to settle for the silver medal. The 1980s were virtually dominated by Wolverhampton Judo Club with players winning medals in the majority of the major international championships including the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the European Championships and the Commonwealth Games.

In 1984 and 1988 three and four players respectively, out of the seven man Great Britain Olympic squads were from Wolverhampton with Kerrith Brown winning bronze on both occasions and Dennis Stewart also taking a Bronze in 1988. From 1980 to 1992, virtually the whole of the Midland Area Men’s Team selected for the National Teams Championships came from Wolverhampton. The Midland Area won the gold medal on every occasion with the exception of 1984 when four of the team were in Japan, training for the Olympic Games. The list of achievements is almost endless and far too great to list here, however, there can be no doubt that Wolverhampton Judo Club probably has the best record by far of any judo club in the country.

In 1988 due to Mac and Dave’s heavy commitments to the senior section of the club, Tom Brindle took on the responsibility of coaching the junior players in order to ensure continuity through to the seniors. Bill Kelly took over the position in 1990 and since then the junior section has expanded steadily. Many of those junior players are now showing a great deal of talent and indeed much promise for the future. The current junior section has been extremely successful over the last few years with some excellent results both at home and abroad. Bill Kelly himself, is still active on the competition scene, winning medals in Veteran competitions.

In 1995 the club established a link with Antelope Valley Judo Club who are based in Lancaster, California, USA. The coach at Antelope Valley J C is Steve Bell, an ex Wolverhampton club member who emigrated to America some years ago and set up his own judo club. Following a visit by Steve to Wolverhampton in 1994, the decision was made to twin the two clubs. This arrangement led to a visit by several members from Wolverhampton to see our friends over there in November 1996. Those club members also competed in competitions whilst over there. That visit was the first of many reciprocal arrangements as the relationship matured but sadly, in October 2006, at the age of 46 years, Steve died suddenly of a massive heart attack leaving a much loved wife and family behind. This tragedy was totally unexpected as Steve was always so fit and healthy but the one thing is certain is that his passing has left a huge void in Judo that will be impossible to fill.

In 2006 the club was awarded the BJA/Sport England Club Mark Bronze Level and the BJA Club of the Year award for the efforts and team work of the Junior Section. These awards were mainly a result of the hard work and efforts of Kevin O’Reilly and Billy Kelly respectively.

In 2006 the club was forced to move from Heathtown Baths due to closure prior to a major development and subsequently moved into the ex Boxing Club in Wednesfield Park. The City Council paid for the initial refurbishment to enable the club to move and there now begins a programme of fundraising to extend and improve the building. The main advantage of the move is that the club now has exclusive use and total control of it’s own premises which is something we have never had. This is the beginning of a new era for Wolverhampton Judo Club and we hope that the club membership will now grow along with the club itself.

It has to be said that the unique rapport and coaching methods of the Mac Abbotts/Dave Brooks combination has been the key factor in the success of Wolverhampton Judo Club. Their successes and achievements are what most coaches would be justifiably proud of but could only hope to aspire. It is our sincere hope that this success will continue for the foreseeable future.