From left to right, top Beñat Urriza, Unai Guridi, Endika Perez de Arenaza and Damian Vela, bottom Manex Uranga, Ruben Calvo and Eneko Zabaleta.
Seven judokas from Legazpi have just obtained the black belt for the pride of the Legazpi Judo Club
The Legazpi Judo Club is in luck. Seven of his judokas have just obtained a black belt. They are Beñat Urriza, Unai Guridi, Endika Pérez de Arenaza, Damián Vela, Manex Uranga, Rubén Calvo and Eneko Zabaleta. “They are a benchmark and a source of pride for us,” says the local club’s coach, Asier Berasategui.
“Statistics show that approximately one in twenty judokas get a black belt, which indicates the merit and tenacity shown by all of them,” he adds. “It is not about preparing for an exam on the eve, but about a long road that they undertook when they were just five years old, when they stepped on a tatami for the first time, it is the result of the knowledge, training and perseverance of many years,” he relates. .
The seven legazpiarras have the first Dan. The rank of black belts goes up to 10th Dan. “To get an idea, the highest black belt in Spain is a ninth Dan and he is a judoka almost 90 years old,” says Asier. «And it is that to attend the exam to obtain the next Dan, it is required that a certain number of years pass, so that the student can acquire and consolidate knowledge with adequate time, for example, so that our seven black belts First Dan can be examined for the second Dan will have to wait at least three years, “explains the Legazpiarra coach.
New season in October
For now, it is time to savor this moment of satisfaction, since it is not every day that seven black belts are achieved within the same club. «The seven are a mirror where the rest of our judokas can look at themselves», highlights Berasategui.
The Legazpi Judo Club will now hold a vacation parenthesis, after which it will resume its training sessions on October 12. However, registration is already open on its website www.judolegazpi.com.
