Pilot project at elementary school in Leipzig

Leipzig.First an hour of math, then the general knowledge lesson and then judo. This is what a timetable for the third and fourth grades at the Geschwister-Scholl elementary school in Gohlis looks like.

Carina Seiferth is not only studying sports, history and math to become a teacher, but is also a successful judoka. Getting everything under one roof requires a lot of self-discipline and planning. The 25-year-old fights in the 2nd Bundesliga with her women’s team, the Powerfrauen JC Leipzig, of which she is the captain. This season, the league victory and promotion to the first league is possible again.

Seiferth, who is on the way to the first state exam, now teaches and guides almost 200 children in the third and fourth grades at the Geschwister-Scholl elementary school in Gohlis on the subject of judo every week. The project was scheduled to run for ten weeks and will end this week. In the first hour it was still theoretical. What is judo actually? What is important in the sport? Carina Seiferth has developed a workbook for this, which the German teachers go through with the children.

Judo, the gentle way

The student teacher is not concerned with recruiting young people for the club. Rather, their goal is to make the sport better known, but also about the values ​​that judo conveys. In five everyday stories, the children get to know the ten judo values: friendship, helpfulness, respect, politeness, self-control, seriousness, modesty, appreciation, courage and honesty. The stories are short and easy to understand.

The Asian martial art judo means “the gentle way”. The philosophy behind this is not to hurt others. The goal is to throw the opponent onto their back or pin them to the ground without intentionally hurting them. Everyone gets a jute bag with a judo suit for the duration of the project. Here, too, it means taking responsibility.

In the first practical hour, the children learned how to wear the suit correctly and the traditional greeting and farewell during training. Discipline and calm are important at the opening of the judo lesson. You can tell that Carina Seiferth can handle the group well. Again and again she builds movement games between the judo exercises.

The children first learn different falling techniques. “This is important to reduce the risk of injury,” explains Carina Seiferth. In teams, she checks how the judo newcomers implement the exercises. Sports teacher Katy Hillgruber also looks at how her protégés are doing. Some who otherwise do not get good grades in the subject of sports come out of themselves here or can also get points for the lessons in the workbook. Also unusual for some children: In times of Corona, the motto was to keep your distance. Physical contact is required in judo. They fight with each other, pulling and tugging at the lapels of the suit. The duel between the kids takes place under rules.

Showkampf JCL-Judoka

Like their classmates, the two ten-year-olds Edgar and Oskar are happy about the variety in physical education. Edgar joins in the extra training. Accompanying the judo school project, the children can take the test for the white and yellow belt at the end of the project week. “The training is cool and I enjoy it. We learn even more there than at school,” says Edgar. He already knows the O-Soto-Otoshi throwing technique, which his classmates only learn in class.

Another highlight is planned for the end of the project: Carina Seiferth will bring along JCL teammates for a show fight. Many of them with years of experience and mostly with black belts.

The pilot project was initiated by Haiko Seidlitz, former German champion, base trainer and now a primary school teacher. It shouldn’t stay that way when it comes to Carina Seiferth and Haiko Seidlitz. Both can imagine doing the project at other schools. However, the association needs financial support for this. “We wanted to start before the summer holidays and try out how it was received by the students, teachers and parents.” They paid for the first suits and bags from the club’s treasury. They hope for sponsors who will take over the costs for the suits and the bags.