On Thursday 7th August, the pilot event for the Northern Ireland Judo Federation’s initiative Breakfalls For Life took place in the Sonkei Judo Dojo in Ballycastle, and the feedback to the night so far has been resounding.
Breakfalls for Life uses the Judo principles of “learning to land safely during a fall” to apply the same principles to mental health and wellbeing, or as it’s known in the program as mental fitness.
However, you don’t need any judo experience to understand the principles as Frances Robertson, herself a trained Mental Health Nurse guides you along an understanding of feelings, wellness, how to recognise the various aspects of mental health and even how society views them.
The overriding goal is to ensure that everyone that attends leaves feeling more empowered in themselves and to recognise the feelings of mental health conditions, to catch themselves, before they possibly fall.
Frances said:
“I’m really pleased with how the pilot event went and having a cross section of both judo players, parents and members of the local community attend meant we had a range of different viewpoints for feedback and fine tuning.
It was a fun, relaxed workshop that resonated with both the judo community and the wider public.
Breakfalls for Life proves you don’t need to understand judo to benefit—and you can take an upbeat approach to understanding mental fitness, even when it touches on subjects’ people may find uncomfortable. In fact, there’s no physical judo involved during the workshop at all, but we apply the principles of awareness when falling.
I’d like to thank Sonkei Judo Club for hosting the pilot, for their starring roles in the videos, and for their support (plus a healthy dose of inspiration!).”
The next steps for Breakfalls For Life are to roll out the concept to a Judo club based in England, and Frances has also been asked to deliver the course in the South of Ireland as well.
This initiative further cements the Northern Ireland Judo Federations message that everyone is welcome on the mats, and we want to showcase our supportive Judo community to all, recognising that it’s not just about medals, its about putting people together and first.
Breakfalls For Life will be rolled out across the Northern Ireland Judo Federation clubs, but Frances is open to requests for attendance and you can email her at antidoping@nijudo.com to find out more.
Congratulations to Frances and all of those who have supported the initiative from inception to delivery, and we look forward to seeing BFFL making a massive difference to the Judo community and beyond.
