Edinburgh has a strong judo community to this day and one of the stalwarts of Scottish judo, Jimmy Purves, has just been recognised during the 70th anniversary celebrations of his club, Yoshin.
Jimmy Purves is one of the 4 brothers who established Yoshin Judo Club in 1953 and since that time he and Yoshin have contributed to the development of judo in Scotland in more ways than can be listed here. However, we shall try…
Jimmy Purves has special expertise working with the children with special needs and those with social disadvantages but despite a passion for community and inclusion he has also had a hand in the elite end of performance sport in the area, notably working as one of Billy Cusack’s (Olympian) coaches.
Jimmy has been instrumental in the establishing of several Scottish judo clubs, has been an examiner, a competitor, a mentor and an official and at the age of 84 he continues to coach, demonstrating techniques and encouraging the many generations below him to do their best. As a 6th dan he is all too aware of the judo values and how they have shaped him and his students over the decades and this is the foundation of Jimmy and Yoshin’s success.
The IJF would like to congratulate Jimmy Purves and Yoshin Judo Club for their dedication and positively throughout their 70 years.