Judo instructor Bruce Fraser ‘fighting on’ despite the odds

May 24, 2014 Sports

By Sean Devers
At age 30, Bruce Fraser is already a 2nd Dan Black Belt Judo Instructor attached to the Rising Sun Judo and Jiu-Jitsu club at the Marian Academy School on Carifesta Avenue in the City.

Rising Sun Judo Club members show off their medals at the 2013 year end.

Speaking with Kaieteur Sports from the club’s main branch on Wednesday, Fraser who has been in the sport for 14 years, explained that there has been several challenges to the sport, which was resuscitated in 2000 after experiencing some of its best times in the 1970s.
Fraser disclosed that between the two branches of the Rising Sun Judo Club there are about 30 members and sessions are held from 18:00hrs to 20:00hrs (the other branch is located in Kitty), adding that it takes about six years to get a Black Belt, while Judokas under the age of 16 cannot be promoted to Black Belts despite the skill level.
Fraser has Martial Arts in his blood. His uncle David Fraser represented Guyana in the ‘70s, while his Father was also a competent Judoka.
The Instructor, who represented Guyana in Brazil in 2007, explained that the present environment locally is not conducive to developing Judokas because of the internal politics in the sport.
But all is not doom and gloom since Fraser has several plans to keep the sport alive despite the absence of International opportunities.
“We have to take small strides. We have started to promote Judo on Facebook and get more females involved, especially with the increase in domestic violence. We have also tapped into the school which has provided 16 members to our Club and their interest is tremendous,” Fraser informed.
He disclosed that his club has produced Raul Lall who represented Guyana in 2012 in London, adding that the club buys mats and each member pays for their Judo-gi. Fraser said that the club presently caters for students from ages 18-55, while there is also a youth programme in place from 15:00hrs at the Marian Academy.
“The biggest challenges locally are the attitude of many not to want to work hard and still expect success, the lack of Judo clubs and the internal differences due to petty issues,” said Fraser, who says his love for the sport keeps him involved in Martial Arts.
“When Judo was resurrected in 2000, the name of our Association was changed from the Guyana Judo Association (GJA) to the Judo Association of Guyana (JAG). Back then there were only two Black Belts in the Guyana. However, an overseas

Bruce Fraser executes a cross armlock on Stephan Barry during a practice session at the Marian Academy on Wednesday night.

Black Belt Instructor came here and promoted a few of the local guys to Black Belts. They were promoted due to their experience but because they did not come through the system and a couple of Greens Belts were among those promoted it left gaps in the technical aspects of the sport,” Fraser lamented.
“Judo was dormant in the 1980s and when we resumed in 2000, we seemed on the right track to take the sport forward but started to go wrong in 2004 leading to two factions being formed in 2009. We went to the GOA (Guyana Olympic Association) for Arbitration again and then last year we had Elections to ensure that the game took off. But things started to fall apart again,” Fraser disclosed.
“Our President (Raoul Archer) went to Brazil for a congress this year and came back with updates and told us that the IJF (the International Governing body for Judo) did not recognize JAG leaving us with a Constitutional crisis,” Fraser concluded.