Be Judo Zen - Nurturing Mental Health through Inclusive Judo

ongoing

The main objective of the Be Judo Zen project is to contribute to nurturing mental health within the judo community, emphasising the importance of creating emotionally safe environments where individuals with or without disability can coexist and thrive. The specific objectives of the project are: 1) to increase coach competence and elevate their skills and knowledge to effectively address mental health concerns as well as work with PWDs, 2) to strengthen mental health in target groups: children, youth, parents, and volunteers, 3) to collaborate with experts in Yoga, Kinesitherapy, and similar fields to integrate holistic practices into judo training, and 4) to promote inclusion in judo where individuals of all abilities feel valued and supported in their pursuit of judo. The project brings together six partner organisations from Slovenia, Croatia and Serbia - the national judo federation and an inclusive judo club from each country. The three judo clubs aim to achieve the objectives by developing six comprehensive training modules, two each, three practical workshops that will serve as a platform for sharing insights, experiences, and fostering holistic development, and a detailed guidebook that will serve as a valuable resource for coaches, providing guidance on creating safe environments. Through national federations the project will disseminate the guidebook widely. By focusing on mental health, inclusivity, and the core values of judo, this project endeavours to create a lasting impact on the well-being and development of different target groups: 1) judo coaches will benefit from expanding coaching knowledge and competencies, 2) athletes will adopt new exercises, techniques and ways of training through practical lectures, 3) national judo federations will gain a quality knowledge base as well as a critical mass of trained coaches, 4) the wider community will be acquainted with the inclusive concept of sport and the importance of including PWDs in sport.