Jonathan Wood has been very busy over the past few weeks as he has travelled to the National Centre of Excellence in Sophia Gardens to train with the Welsh judo squad before they travel off to Loughborough College to compete in the UK National Judo Championships.
 
He has been involved at Neyland Judo Club for over four years now and as a 16 year old will be one of the youngest competitors on view from not only Wales but England, Scotland and Ireland too.
 

Training very hard indeed – three times a day

 
Jonathan is currently a Blue Belt and as well as taking on others who might be two years older than he is will also be competing against Brown and Black Belts - but if determination, commitment and a love of his sport are anything to go by then he will hold his own in such elite company.
 
His selection came after he had come second in the national championships, at the National Judo Centre at Sophia Gardens, and in the intervening time has had to undergo some very intensive training sessions which have seen him having to travel to Cardiff every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
 
On each day the squad has training sessions at 10am, 2pm and 6pm so it places huge demands on his time and dedication to the cause – but he loves every second of it.
 

Great family support – and from Neyland Judo Club too

 
He would also be the first to say how appreciative he is of his parents Simone and Peter, who bear the brunt of his travel. Fortunately, both are as committed as he is after Peter was involved as a Brown Belt in karate as a youngster and took part in athletics, whilst Simone loved competition on her horse in gymkhanas.
 
Jonathan started out as a 12 year old when Peter took him along to Neyland Judo Club to meet up with Damon and Bill McGarvie and he took to it from the outset as they provided all the encouragement needed.
"He loved the rough and tumble of the sport,” Peter told us, “and didn't mind being thrown around and was soon wanting to take part in competitions.
 

Showing physical as well as mental toughness!

 
This was never more evident than at the Gemau Cymru competition, when half way home on the motorway the adrenaline of the competition wore off and he noticed his toe really hurt and was a funny colour.
 
So Peter had a look at it and could see that he had dislocated his toe - and told him to
pull it back into place and then popped into Glangwili Hospital for an x-ray to make sure all was ok. Jonathan had no idea when he did it, but it didn’t affect his performance over-much!
 

Moving through the belts and beginning to succeed in competitions

 
At first Jonathan began with the obligatory White Belt and has progressed through to Blue Belt at regular gradings, with a first Brown Belt as his next target. He also enjoys working with Barry Watson, another trainer/judoka, and quickly learned about the self-discipline needed in the sport.
 
He began to compete at events 'up the line' and was understandably thrilled when he won his first competition in Llanelli, which took him up a degree as he also trained with John Cooper at Haverfordwest Judo Club and once a week in Swansea, at Penyrheol Leisure Centre, where he travels with the Penny and Paul, the parents of Ashley Barnikel, which is a great help because of the huge mileage his parents already undertake.
 
Before long he was being encouraged to compete at the Welsh Closed and Welsh Open Championships as the next part of his learning curve that he led him to his current place in the Welsh squad.
 

Other sports

 
Outside of his judo, Jonathan has also enjoyed other sports like cricket in his home village of Llangwm with Dai Davies and rugby for Pembroke, where Richard Allen was his coach and Jonathan used his 6'2” and just under 13 stone frame to good effect.
 
"I've played second row for my age group at Crickmarren for two seasons and we have reached the County Junior Finals both times at Narberth and Crymych, but lost on both occasions to Crymych.
 
"I’ve been awarded ‘Players’ Player’ and ‘Coaches’ Player’ in the past and I also captained the team once against New Dock Stars in a friendly - and we were the first team to beat them at home in two years.
 
We trained twice a week and I really enjoy it but I'm so busy with judo now that I might have to give it a rest for a while!"
 

Provided with kit – and given an insight into international competition in France

 
During his recent visits to Sophia Gardens for training, Jonathan has received his Welsh kit for the four days, which starts with a bus trip from Cardiff to Loughborough, followed by the official opening ceremony, with flags and the national anthems playing, followed by over two days of competition and then a closing ceremony before the trip back home.
 
"We have been given our official bag, track suit, hoodie, tee shirts and Welsh tie, and when I received my kit it came home to me what a big event it is going to be," admitted Jonathan.
 
Jonathan has already tasted international competition when he joined the rest of the Neyland contingent on a trip to compete in France - and apparently it was a wonderful experience that further helped to cement the club's team spirit under the watchful eye of Damon McGarvie.
 

Working towards set goals

 
Ask Jonathan about ambitions and he is quick to answer.
“I hope I can carry on get my brown belt this year, followed by black in 2018 - and represent Wales abroad, perhaps at the Commonwealth Games in South Africa in 2022 (when I will still be only 21) - but we will have to see.”
 
At the moment, Jonathan is also quite busy as he has a part time job at Heatherton for the school holidays too, saving for a car and he is starting a two year full time Level Three Sports Course at Pembrokeshire college in September and eventually  hopes to work in this field.
 

High praise from coach Damon

 
When asked about his protégé, Damon McGarvie told us,
“Jonathan is a smashing lad who has really developed physically over the past 12 months and is now working very hard at improving his judo skills.
 
He showed his determination when there were four youngsters vying for second place in the Welsh team and when all four had to compete against each other he showed his battling qualities with three wins from spectacular throws. That was some performance.”
 
We could pay Jonathan Wood no higher compliment and we wish him continued success in his chosen sport because he is already clearly one to watch out for in the future in the highly competitive sport of judo!