Aiming at the application of judo techniques and principles to assist police officers and people performing security tasks, the seminar took place at the Zagreb Police Academy from 7th to 9th March 2025.
The three days were structured around learning the basic techniques and principles of judo and applying these techniques in self-defence situations against various attacks by armed and unarmed assailants. Specific situations such as immobilisation techniques, working in pairs and examples of self-defence training in judo were also discussed.
This project was an excellent example from the Croatian stakeholders, highlighting the co-operation between the Ministry of Interior, the Croatian Olympic Committee and the Croatian Judo Federation.
The seminar brought together 25 Croatian police instructors and was led by Dr Slaviša Bradić, 7th Dan, Director of Training of the IJF Academy, and Kaya Gezeker, 6th Dan, IJF Academy expert in the security sector. The IJF Academy was also represented by Envic Galea, chair of the IJF Academy, and Tibor Kozsla, director of the institution.
On this occasion, the participants were able to benefit from the expertise of prominent personalities. For example, Olympic champion Barbara Matic, accompanied by one of her coaches, Renata Sunjegra, gave a demonstration of judo training adapted to self-defence.
On the last day of the seminar, all participants presented the knowledge they had gained in applying judo techniques to self-defence situations, with Barbara Matic's demonstration being particularly noteworthy.
The closing ceremony was attended by numerous guests, including representatives of the Croatian Olympic Committee Hrvoje Balen and Neven Savora, Director of the Police Academy Josip Celic, Director of the Police Training Department Mario Culej, President of the Croatian Judo Federation Dr Sanda Corak, and Dr Ivan Bohacek, Secretary General of the EJU Medical Commission, among others.
With this seminar, the IJF Academy continues to work on various projects that demonstrate the many possibilities of judo and its significant contribution to the judoka community around the world.
