Darren Elcock…Judo practitioner extraordinaire sets his eyes on Olympics Gold

Sep 26, 2012 Sports

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By Michael Benjamin
The urge to enhance their respective stations in the sports arena has led to widespread migration as Guyanese sportsmen and women flock other Caricom and industrialized countries in droves in search of better opportunities and accomplishments.
This phenomenal pattern of migration has not only witnessed large chasms in the respective disciplines locally but in too many cases the locals arrive overseas and receive shock treatments that drastically enforces the reality that not all that glitters is gold.
On the contrary, there are those sports personalities that break into the international arena but refuse to acknowledge any association with the country of their birth. Local history is replete with individuals of that ilk but one could hardly blame them since the road to the top is fraught with compromises that often times force the individuals to assume strong alliances with the ‘other’ country in order to attain the top echelons of their respective disciplines.
Darren Elcock is a judo practitioner of Guyanese heritage who has migrated to Alberta, Canada and despite his phenomenal successes, a patriotic fire still burns in his breast to the extent that he has signaled to local judo authorities his desire of representing this nation at the 2016 Brazil Olympics.
Kaieteur Sport spoke with Darren from his Canadian base and the young man reiterated his desire to serve the country of his birth. He said that he returned to Guyana in August last and spoke briefly on the phone with President of the Guyana Judo Association (GJA), Geoff Sankies. They were supposed to have met to discuss the ramifications of Darren’s participation in local judo and subsequently the possibility of his involvement in the Brazil Olympics. However, the meeting never came off as Darren left for Canada shortly afterwards.
As a child Darren was drawn to combat sports and practiced karate at the YMCA, Thomas Lands. Shortly afterwards, when he was merely eight years old, his family migrated to the North American country but despite his best efforts, the absence of a reputable Karate club stymied his efforts and in January 2003, Darren signed up as a member of the Airdrie Judo Club, Alberta Canada,  under the tutelage of Head Sensei, Paul Hachey. His rise to the top was a phenomenal experience and even though he still has much to achieve, Darren is satisfied with his progress.
In Judo, improvement and understanding of the art is denoted by a system of ranks split into kyû and dan grades. These are indicated with various systems of coloured belts, with the black belt indicating a practitioner who has attained a certain level of competence.
As initially designed, there were six student grades ranked in descending numerical order. Beginners were given the rank of sixth kyu and wore a light blue belt. Once they had passed an elementary level of instruction, they were promoted to fifth kyu, when they would adopt the white belt. This they wore through fourth kyu. The remaining three grades third kyu, second kyu and first kyu, all indicated with brown belts (for seniors) or with purple belts (for juniors).
The tenth degree black belt (jûdan) and those above it have no formal requirements. The president of the Kôdôkan, currently Kanô Jigorô’s grandson Kanô Yukimitsu, decides on individuals for promotion. Only fifteen individuals have been promoted to this rank by the Kodokan.
On January 6, 2006, three individuals were promoted to 10th dan simultaneously: Toshiro Daigo, Ichiro Abe, and Yoshimi Osawa. This is the most ever at the same time, and the first in 22 years. No one has ever been promoted to a rank higher than 10th dan. Darren is currently ranked at the Brown belt level and nurtures hopes of attaining the highest rank some day.
The young man said that he practices his trade twice per week; one day randori (fight off) while the other training day is specifically allotted for fitness activities. Ever since migrating, Darren has accomplished a host of lucrative accolades. He is a member of Team Alberta and participated at the Canadian National Championships for the past three years. He also earned a prestigious spot on the Canadian team, in the U-17 category, at the World Championships in Kiev, Ukraine. Some of his other accomplishments include a gold medal in the team championships in the Alberta Winter Games in 2010. He also clinched a gold medal in March 2011 at the Edmonton international championships. In March 2012, he journeyed to Portugal where he participated in the Junior World Cup tournament.
The awards are many; in 2011 he copped the Tom Green Way Memorial as well as the Most Outstanding U-17 Male in Alberta Canada. He also won the Best Spirit Award in a competition staged in Airdrie, Canada.
Darren is currently in training for the Quebec Open, in that Province next month, while he will be participating in the Canadian National Championships slated for Toronto Ontario in June 2013.
He said that judo is a special sport and one can no longer qualify as a nation but as an individual practitioner. He said the top 16 players in the world ranking may qualify for the Olympics. He also said that while he has been fighting at the junior and senior level, he is not yet ready to practice fully at the latter level since this may take a heavy toll on his young physique.
Quizzed on his desire to represent the country of his birth, Darren said in a matter of fact tone, “I believe I could win that coveted gold medal for my country.” he has since promised to pursue the idea with Mr. Sankies “and build a strong relationship.” Darren considers such a feat a part of his national duty.

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