The Club
Cluarankwai Judo Club (Kilmarnock) is one of the oldest clubs in Scotland having formed in 1949. We are a not-for-profit organisation, any funding we receive goes back into improving the club for our members.
We have the highest number of qualified Club Coaches in Scotland at UKCC Level 1 and 2. Our classes run 4 times per week for Juniors and 2 times per week for Seniors, and we currently have over 100 active Junior & Senior members.
The club has had many special guests & visitors over the years who have come from all over the world. This has included World Champions, Olympic Medalists, and some of the best coaches that the world has to offer.
The Dojo
The club built an extension onto the original Dojo building in 2006 which was re-opened by Kisaburo Watanabe 8th Dan.
The Club has the largest purpose built Dojo in Scotland and some of the best facilities in the UK. The Dojo is used for national and local events throughout the year and its facilities are used by other sports for training and seminars.
There is a double mat area with seating, two large changing areas for women and men, and a private gym for cardio and strength training.
We welcome everyone to visit and train at our club, one of the best and safest Judo training facilities in the UK.
Our History
The Beginning: Includes Ted Routley, Bert Houston, Alex McKintosh & George Gilmour snrThe club was started in Kilmarnock by members of the Massey Harris Tractor Plant Workers Association Club in a room in the big house at Annanhill in 1949.
Ted Routley, who had come up to Scotland from England to work at the plant, was a brown belt at the time but was graded in Edinburgh by Gunji Koisumi, the founder of British Judo, to black belt and was the founder of the club.
He had been a Commando in the Second World War and trained at the Budokwai in London. Some founder members of the club, Alex MacKintosh, who was trying to Judo by following instructions in a book and George Gilmour (senior) who visited the Budokwai in the 1946 being two who had an interest in Judo before the club started.
The name of the club comes from the Galic for Thistle - Cluaran and Kwai the Japanese for the way. The thistle was to represent all round defence but also it’s seeds would scatter for new clubs to grow. Our club motto is Defence not Defiance.
The club has had many venues, in the 1960’s it was in the old Scout Hut in the Ossington Gardens not far from the current club. In the late 60’s the members raised funds and with a grant from the Scottish Sports Council and built a purpose built training hall, which had one full mat area. This was the only one in Scotland and was complete in 1972.
The main coaches and administrators during the 1960-1974 period were Pat Hughes, John L Young, John S Young, Tommy Rankin, Bert Houston, Ronnie Barbour, Alex McKintosh Davey Smillie and Davey Sneddon.
The old club in Ossington Gardens was very Spartan but produced many Scottish champions, A British and European individual medallist in John L Young and Edward J Cassidy who was British champion 4 times and a European team medallist as well as training in Japan for 3 years. The club also won the Scottish team championship twice in the 1960’s
The new club continued to produce many Scottish and British medallists and is still the only purpose built Dojo in Scotland. The committee in the early 1990’s were advised by Colin McIver that there was a possibility of obtaining a grant to extend the club from the Foundation for Sports and Arts based in Liverpool which was funded from the Football Pools. Plans were drawn up but due to planning issues an application was not made until 1999 by this time it was the Lottery Fund who had the resources.
After plans were finalised and fund raising was completed the new Dojo was built in 2006 and fitted out for its official opening in 2007 by Kisaburu Watanabe 8th Dan.