Head judo coach Juergen Klinger awarded 7. Dan
Team Bath head judo coach Juergen Klinger has described his “delight” at being recognised as an integrated judo coach in the UK after receiving a 7. Dan rank.
German Klinger has been at the University of Bath since 2006 and received the award at the British Judo Open last weekend.
Speaking of the award, Klinger said: “I’m delighted to receive the 7. Dan. It is a rank not awarded by assessment so you must be nominated by the British Judo Association.
“The Association are obliged to promote judokers from the UK,” 63-year old Klinger added. “So for them to do this for me is fantastic.
“For me it shows that I’m integrated into the system in this country. For a foreigner living in a different country I personally believe it is really important to integrate yourself – you cannot arrive with your own culture in mind – and so to be pushed forward for this Dan by British Judo is really fantastic.
“For me, it is a good feeling.”
The award follows further success for Team Bath’s judo squad after winning five medals at the Open in the SSE Arena, Wembley.
The final of the women’s -70kg category saw two Team Bath judokers go head-to-head with Gemma Howell eventually triumphing to take gold.
