City's first judo dojo now fully up and running in north-west Leeds

Balazs Csepes and Anna Janovics have been welcoming local people to judo classes in Horsforth since 2019.

- by James Bovington

And, in 2024, they opened the sport's first dojo, or place of training, in northwest Leeds.

"Our club is called Hajime, which is the Japanese for 'begin," said Csepes. "It's the word used when you start a competitive match. Sessions have proved popular and we now have about 70 judokas, or pupils, attending classes weekly.

"We also run sessions in Middleton and Harrogate, Skipton and Selby. We hire community or church halls and put mats down, but Horsforth is our own permanent base."

Seven-year-old Beauden is enjoying his weekly class, and mum Sarina said: "I'd done judo at a high level and I'm a former Yorkshire champion.