Mohamed Halabi, the technical director of AJ 59, is a fervent defender of judo. He is celebrating his fiftieth season as a judoka this year. A great opportunity to come back with him on these many years of practice.
However, nothing predestined the Maubeugeois to embrace a career as a judoka. His sporting attention was first turned to the practice of football, like many children at that age. “ I came to judo by chance. I was playing football with some friends and one of them was also doing judo. One day I accompanied him to the dojo, I sat on the bench, I watched him practice, him and the others, and I wanted to do some “, recalls Mohamed.
Once back home, he easily convinces his father who encourages him in his approach. His career as a judoka was launched and the young Mohamed would spend many hours in the dojo of the Judo club of Sous-le-Bois Maubeuge. ” It was below the party hall. We had Christian Lévêque as a teacher. He was a very good judoka, an SNCF agent who had been France SNCF champion several times. There was also Bruno Zuliani as an educator. I had found a sport that matched my personality and it was really by chance. I liked it, as the young people say, and that makes me now fifty years of practicing judo “, smiles the technical director.
He hung titles of world champion and European master, won many master tournaments. On November 11, he experienced a new important stage in his sports career. He prepared the 7e dan and presented him to the National Judo Institute in Paris. ” It started with an itsutsu no kata, which is an ancient kata, with five energy-related techniques. After the kata, I performed a technical performance with transmission as the key word. This technical service is then kept by the federation “. The test lasted thirty minutes, with a kata and technical part.
This then concluded with a ten-minute interview with the jury, which is made up of senior officers from the 7e au 9e and.
With the congratulations of the jury
Mohamed Halabi waited 17 years between the 6e and the 7e dan. He was assisted by Karim Bachir, his faithful assistant from AJ 59, for the kata test. A great honor for this judo lover who shares and transmits his passion in the Sambrian region throughout the year.
For the technical performance, it was the young Mickäel Lybrecht who served as his partner. Everything went perfectly and the judoka from Maubeuge even received congratulations from the jury. He will be honored this Saturday at the Paris Dojo and will receive from the hands of a representative of the French Judo Federation, a red and white belt with seven bars. A very rare performance since the Hauts-de-France region only has a handful of 7e dan and Mohamed Halabi is the only northern judoka to have received a high rank this year.
AJ 59 has been one of the best clubs in the Hauts-de-France region for many seasons and has made training one of its cornerstones. And its technical director has many projects for the years to come and a great ambition for the Maubeuge club!
