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Est. 1973

The Sobell Judo Club London

The most popular judo club in London - teaching old school throws, leg grabs and submissions.

Established in 1973, the Sobell Judo Club stands as one of the oldest judo clubs in the country. Since our founding, we have served the London community by providing a place for all to learn judo in a friendly and welcoming environment; enabling all to become the best versions of themselves and achieve their own goals, whether it be to get fit and have fun, or to take their judo to the highest level.

The most popular judo club in London - teaching old school throws, leg grabs and submissions.

Established in 1973, the Sobell Judo Club stands as one of the oldest judo clubs in the country. Since our legacy begun, we have served the community by providing a place for the community to learn judo in a friendly and welcoming environment; enabling all to become the best versions of themselves and achieve their own goals, whether it be to get fit and have fun, or to take their judo to the highest level.

50% standup,

50% groundwork,

and even no-gi judo

At the Sobell, we teach proper judo. We place a 50:50 split between standing and groundwork to ensure that every student who learns judo at our club is a complete martial artist. Not only that, but we actively teach leg grabs as well as no-gi judo meaning that we’re an especially great choice for someone who also trains in BJJ, wrestling, and MMA and wants to round out their overall grappling skills. 

Over 50 years of Judo

More than 40,000 people believe in how we teach judo

Our head instructor, Sampson, has a YouTube channel with over 40,000 subscribers eager to learn from him. Explore his channel to experience the Sobell teaching philosophy first hand as well as to get a deeper insight into who he is and the methods he has created for teaching judo at the Sobell. 

Head coach Sampson currently leads the teaching philosophy at Sobell. He has extensive competitive experience, formerly representing Cyprus. He is a globally recognised judoka.

Sampson Sampson
9th Dan

Club chairman Bob manages the operations of our club. He also has the important job of getting every newcomer started by leading our beginners induction programme.

Bob Bushnell
6th Dan

Former competitor for Congo, Samuel has accumulated extensive experience via his international career and draws on this experience each week to develop our students in the club.

Samuel Betu
6th Dan

Vice-chairman and active competitor Sam is a regular coach in our senior sessions. He is the 2016 WJF European Champion and currently represents Cyprus on the IJF tour. 

Sam Sampson
3rd Dan

Meet your coaches

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I’ve been a member of this club for the last six months and its been incredible so far. The teaching is rich, thorough and fun.

Moe, via Google

A lovely welcoming club. Classes are well structured, energetic and with a mixture of standing and floor work. Come join, you won’t be disappointed.

Anne, via Google

The teachers are patient, incredibly knowledgeable and helpful (especially with someone like myself who is not particularly athletic).

Jack, via Google

Get Started

Ready to get started with Judo at the Sobell Judo Club? Whether you're an existing judoka or completely new, we'd be thrilled to have you. Get started by selecting an option below.

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The Sobell Judo Club London is a member of Judo for All United Kingdom (JFAUK), the National Governing Body for traditional judo in the U.K. JFAUK is a member of the World Judo Federation (WJF), the international governing body for traditional judo, backed by 52 countries worldwide; and is also a member of the Federation of Martial Arts (FMA).

Affiliations

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