
Sydney judoka, Club president and coach Rob Katz has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal to recognise a life in service to judo and its communities.
The Medal, awarded on January 26 as part of the Australia Day Honours, is the second OAM in the Katz household, with Kerrye Katz, OAM, awarded in the June 2024 King’s Birthday Honours.
Rob, like many judoka, gives judo the credit. From his earliest days as a beginner in the 1970s, he was inspired by Jigoro Kano’s philosophy of physical and moral development progressing hand in hand.
Helping others develop as judoka and people became a guiding principle on a journey that spanned elite competitor, National team coach, the guiding force of a thriving club, and the founding father of an illustrious judo family.
Having met wife Kerrye through judo, their rich partnership soared in 1999 when they were offered the chance to take over as head coaches at Sydney Hills District club, Budokan. Founder Ivor Endicott Davies was no longer able to dedicate the time he felt the Club required, and with Rob having just resigned from a 21-year career in the Royal Australian Air Force, the Katz family was ready for a new challenge.
And a challenge it would be – their sons, future Judo Olympians Nathan and Josh – were young children at the time, and would grow up on the mats at Budokan. With both Kerrye and Rob having fought and coached at the highest levels in Australian judo, Budokan would develop into a club that attracted elite players from all over Sydney to train.
Budokan isn’t just a competition club, Rob stresses. Having Nathan, Josh and the other elite players training and coaching taught wider lessons that are applicable to every aspiring judoka, competitive or otherwise.
“They’ve seen how hard all of our competition teams work, and seen the injuries and setbacks and how they just reset and refocus on the next goal. That’s what makes it really satisfying – not the setbacks themselves, but watching the others learn and be inspired by how you deal with them. Our members have seen the journey, not just the results.”
Rob makes it clear that Budokan is not just one family – developing and encouraging members to take leadership roles is a necessary part of leading a thriving club, made essential with the Katz family travelling regularly for National Team events as athletes, coaches, or in support.
“In our early days as athletes, training in a lot of different places in Australia and overseas and seeing a lot of different clubs prepared us to lead Budokan, because we saw all sorts of different approaches and it shaped what we wanted to offer.”
Good clubs had one thing in common, Rob remembers. Committed coaches giving their all for the sake of judo.
“Right from the start I was so impressed with how these people were trying to get their careers going, investing their time and passion to make sure tons of kids were having a good time on the mat. It taught us so much about motivating people, how to keep them coming back, how to keep learning and help the people around us to keep learning.”
“That’s what makes it so worthwhile: working with a club and building from a few classes of kids into something special, beyond judo players.”
Check out the gallery below: Rob and Kerrye Katz shaping champions at Budokan.
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