JESSICA Jennings said she was ‘just hooked’ from the moment she tried judo at a taster session run by Tavistock’s Drake Judo Club.

Up until that point, the Japanese martial art involving two people locked in combat in distinctive white robes was a complete mystery to her. That all changed when she got onto the mat for the first time a year ago. Now she competes in contests around the country. Judo, she said, is definitely the sport for her.

‘The club’s chairman Ross Taylor came along to my school to do a taster session and I thought I might as well go along and give it a go,’ she explained.

‘I was hesitant at first as my brother had previously done it and pulled his ankle. Ross encouraged me though and I found I just loved it. The enthusiasm and passion the coaches give to the sport is amazing.’

From starting out doing just one session a week, she now dons her white robes – known as Gi – to practise the Japanese martial art four or five times a week.

‘Judo originated in Japan and it is an Olympic sport which is pretty cool,’ she said. ‘There is lots of Japanese to remember, the translations, which was the hardest bit.

‘As you get older and more experienced you can do armlocks and strangles but when you are younger it is all about throwing people to the ground, getting them onto their back and for as long as you can. The contests can be very close.’

Jessica took part in her first contest in Cornwall after just three sessions, and has gone on to represent England at the Commonwealth Judo Competition in Walsall in the West Midlands in September, alongside others from Drake Judo Club.

She also competed in the British Judo Association’s Western Area British Schools Regional Championships, where she was delighted to come back with a silver medal.

She said she loves ‘the thrill of competing’.

‘Just being able to be there and the pressure that is on you before you get into a fight,’ she said.

‘It is nerve-racking but you want to get it so much. It makes you feel good if you win. Obviously you are upset if you lose but you keep fighting. You can’t let it push you back.

‘We do competitions for the little ones as well and everyone in the club comes and watches the little ones.

‘The New Year means new competitions and I’m a cadet now, which means I can do armlocks and strangles. So I’ll be having to think about that, there’s quite a lot to it.’

Jessica was excited to be named ‘girl of the year’ at Duke Judo Club’s awards ceremony just before Christmas, being presented with a trophy featuring both her own name and her club nickname ‘JJ’.

‘I’ve made very good friends at the club,’ she said. ‘A couple of the girls and I meet up on Saturdays after judo training and we go to each other’s birthday parties so we are very close. It is like a little society really.’

While Jessica did play football and rugby previously, she said that judo had proved much more physically demanding ­—and she said it had transformed her physique.

‘I used to be a chubby little child, I’m not going to lie, but I’m much lighter than I was a year ago, I’ve now dropped from 58kg to 55kg.

‘Obviously you have to train very hard to get to where you want to go but the coaches are amazing, they teach you and then you can teach the little kids,’ she said.

‘I learned quite quickly but I think most people would say that it does take time to get into the groove of it.’

She finds teaching the youngest children at the club, aged from four upwards, really rewarding.

‘Judo is a great confidence booster for them. They have just started school and are making a lot of good fiends and it is a good fitness thing too, a good place for the kids to get their energy out.’

Drake Judo Club is joining forces with the Tavistock Times to offer free judo sessions for four to seven-year-olds for a whole year.

In its January 16 edition, the newspaper will be printing a coupon for parents to cut out, fill in and present to the club for their children to be eligible

The sessions will take place from 5-6pm at Tavistock College dance studio where Drake Judo Club is based.

Club chairman Ross Taylor said: ‘Judo is a great discipline that teaches etiquette and respect as well as self defence.

‘Many children spend a great deal of time now gaming in their bedrooms.

‘We want to encourage them to be active and socialise alongside their other hobbies.’