Pinning discipline lands Brent gold in judo National Championships
Logan City Council’s Parks Manager Brent Dowden won gold in June at the National Championships for judo (-90 kg) held on the Gold Coast from 9 to12 June.
Brent started judo in October 2021, and soon began competing in state and national competitions and representing Australia internationally.
Brent says he was inspired by his children and decided to give judo a go, but he was surprised to find he was a natural at it.
‘I was watching my 12-year-old and 5-year-old boys practising judo, and I was itching to do it myself,’ Brent says.
‘I started learning and got my yellow belt in my second lesson. My judo teacher commented “it’s coming back to you really quickly” and I thought “what’s coming back to me?”.
‘I enjoy the physical aspect and learning new techniques, even though the strenuous training program is challenging. I train for 2.5 hours on Monday and Wednesday evenings and Saturday afternoons.
‘In the mornings before work, I also train in CrossFit, which complements the judo due to the fitness and strength training.’
Brent is currently a level 7 CrossFit athlete and was ranked in the 87th percentile in the world in his age group following the 2023 CrossFit Open competition in March this year.
Brent says managing body weight is an important aspect in judo.
‘A 5 kilogram weight difference is a huge advantage on the mat,’ he says.
‘The aim is to go into the contest as the heavier player, which means I need to be disciplined about what I eat and drink and manage my weight.
‘Along with discipline, the sport is steeped in tradition and protocol, which you must learn and apply. It is a mindset.’
Brent says the discipline and goal setting of martial arts help him at the workplace and he enjoys Council’s culture and its people.
‘Setting goals and working towards the goals are necessary in business and sports, and good work ethics are essential,’ he says.
‘I’ve been with Council for the past 10 years and enjoy working for Logan. There is a good culture here, and people are genuinely trying to do the right thing and deliver for the community.’
Brent used to work as a tree climber before working for Council’s Parks Branch.
Brent already achieved the following championship titles:
- bronze at Judo Queensland State Championships 2022
- gold at the National Championships in June 2022
- silver at Oceania World Cup in October 2022
- gold at Regional Championship 2023
- silver at Queensland State Championships 2023
- gold at the National Championships in June 2023.
Judo originated in Japan as a derivative of the various martial arts developed and used by the samurai over hundreds of years. The word judo consists of two Japanese characters, ju, which means ‘gentle’, and do, which means ‘the way’.
