Makena Webb battles Faith Mayano during the National Judo Championship at Ida Baker High School on Saturday. CHUCK BALLARO

Competitors of all ages converged on Southwest Florida this past weekend for a day of hand-to-hand combat, grappling and taking their opponents down.

Ida Baker High School was the site for the National Judo Championships on Saturday, where martial artists competed for points, medals and for the chance to compete internationally.

The event was sponsored by Kodokan Judo of Cape Coral and sanctioned by the United States Judo Association. John Paccione, event organizer, and Kodokan owner, said the USJA is a grassroots organization that develops the future judo stars who could one day compete in world championships and the Olympics. USA Judo is the group that handles the Olympic-level athletes.

“We have people here from all over the country, from New York, Georgia, Florida and even California,” Paccione said. “These people have a chance to compete outside the country, which is beneficial because you can’t become the best just by competing in the United States. The more students we take outside of this country, the more we can develop their skills.”

Paccione said judo is one of the biggest spectator sports in the world, trailing only behind soccer in popularity. However, in the United States, it’s a niche sport that you might see during the Olympics and even then, only if an American has a chance to medal.

“If you go to Asia or Europe, it’s tremendous and the athletes are incredibly trained. The U.S. has only produced one gold medalist, Kayla Harrison, who did it twice,” Paccione said. “In some nations, the government pays to train these athletes and puts them in special schools. Here, it’s limited.”

David Brogan, president of the USJA, said after the pandemic it was hard for the local clubs to find a place to compete.

“To have us back off the ground and having a national event here is exciting for the future of judo,” Brogan said, who owns a judo studio in Pennsylvania. “We’re growing these kids to become Olympic-level athletes.”

More than 100 competitors from about 20 schools nationwide came for the event, with ages ranging from 5 years old to 55.

Walter Miller, head sensei for the University of Florida Judo Club, brought several athletes from Gainesville and said people get into judo to develop and become better people.

“College-aged kids grow and change so much it’s perfect for them. I can see how it can develop people,” Miller said.

Another coach, Rodney Ferguson, competed in the Olympics in judo in 2024 and in mixed martial arts. He is now a coach at a club in Tampa. He said the experience was the thrill of a lifetime, but very nerve wracking.

“It’s an honor to compete for your country. It was surreal having my parents watch me at opening ceremonies and then watch me compete,” Ferguson said. “I teach these kids resilience and grit. The way the youth are today, they need to understand that suffering is necessary.”

One of his pupils, Makena Webb, 13, who fought numerous times with mixed results, said she started self-defense in an after-school program after being pushed around by her brother’s friends at a birthday party where she was the only girl.

“I started in karate, but went into judo because it’s more hands-on while karate is more technique. I like taking people to the ground and grappling,” said Webb, whose father is also a coach.

Omari Jaosheili, 14, who trains at Kodokan Judo, said his father was a martial artist and got into it with him.

“It’s fun, it’s good exercise and you learn to protect yourself. I’ve done OK in competition. At the U.S. Open I finished third out of 30 competitors,” said Joasheili, a blue belt.