Barstow Judo Club Kids rack up hardware

BARSTOW — Isaiah Ramirez anxiously rushes to the Barstow Judo Club medal chart and points at his first place finishes.

“Look at all of the medals,” the 6-year-old Ramirez said. 

After working with judo coach Ernie Smith for two years, Ramirez, 6, and Elizabeth Wright, 8, have earned a combined 25 medals from various Southern California and national judo tournaments.

Smith said Ramirez, could potentially be as good as Chuck Jefferson, who is a former member of the Barstow club that was the Pan-American champion in 2008 and would fell one match short of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics. 

“If he stays with it and doesn’t get hurt, he will be better than Chuck,” Smith said.

Ramirez and Wright work diligently together on all the basic throws and techniques in Judo, practicing more than 16-types of different throwing techniques on each other for two hours during a Thursday practice session.

The two competitors won a combined three gold medals in competition called the Golden State Open, a weekend tournament in Pomona on August 23 and 24. Ramirez won in the 6- and 7-year-old age bracket, and Wright won gold in the 8-year-old bracket. 

After the successful results of the Junior Olympic tournament, in Orlando, Fla., Smith said he noticed a change in mannerisms. The two displayed even more confidence  against unfamiliar opponents. Ramirez came away with a gold medal, and Wright won a silver medal in their age brackets.

“Winning at that level will definitely boost these kids' confidence,” Smith said. “These kids continue to improve on a weekly basis.” 

Ramirez said he had to make some adjustments when adapting to the higher level of competition.

“It was kind of difficult at first,” Ramirez said. “I struggled with some of my competitors. After I made the adjustments, I just started throwing them around.”

Wright, who surrendered an automatic gold in her 31 kilogram weight division because of lack of competitors at the Junior Olympics and moved to the 35 kilograms, rather than moving up in the age bracket earned silver in the 8-year-old bracket. She refused to accept the gold medal in her weight without earning it.

“The most important thing that I’ve learned is to fight hard, and showcase good sportsmanship,” Wright said. “You also have to throw your opponent whenever you have a chance.”

Smith said their early success is attributed to the fact that they like going to practice.

“Since I’ve had them, they've improved. When I first got them, they didn’t even know how to stand or move around,” Smith said. “I had to teach them the basic fundamentals of how to walk, how to stand, and how to fall. They had to learn all of those. They’ve only learned the basics so far, and they are only going to get better as they progress in their craft.”

The kids continue to practice on basic elements of judo working two hours a day on Tuesday and Thursday, in becoming the next Jefferson. Smith said he thinks they are off to a good start in their pursuit of gold medals.

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(760)-256-4122 or jason_blasco@link.freedom.net