Ex-military judoka still going strong 30 years later
"The only way you get better is if you chase the guy better than you. Once you think you've learnt everything, you start to regress."
Stuart Bartman is a 57-year-old judoka who represented the province at the National Judo Games while he was still serving in the South African National Defence force.
He said in those days politics prevented the judokas from growing because they were not allowed to compete internationally and that was incredibly limiting to the sport.
He believes the sport has much to teach its competitors even though it has changed over the years with regard to scoring and competition.
Respect is the foundation of the sport and it carries through into all walks of life.
Stuart said that in his career choices, he has noticed how much of a positive impact the principles of judo had.
Photo: Bianca Pindral.
He said that youngsters these days are super-fit, but the older judokas have more experience and perspective which they can carry over to the youngsters. He also said that judo is for everyone.
He went on to say that the most difficult part of any sport is getting started.
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