At Kanokwai Judo Club, women’s judo is not just growing, it’s thriving. In 2025, the club took a bold step by establishing a new base at Kirkshaws Neighbourhood Centre, creating a safe and welcoming space for women and girls to train, connect and grow in confidence.
Head Coach, Louise Renicks noticed that a lot of parents of the children attending the club wanted to take up judo themselves but there was an apprehension from the mums to join in the sessions compared to the dads.
When the JudoScotland Judo Girls Rise Fund opened for applications, Louise saw an opportunity. Kanokwai became one of 12 clubs across Scotland to secure funding to run dedicated women and girls’ programmes. With a plan to run a six-week programme with sessions for over-8s followed by a senior women’s class. But a lack of space at their usual venue posed a challenge, until Louise had a lightbulb moment to use her local community hub, Kirkshaws Neighbourhood Centre.
“I’m very local to here, I live across the road, so I know the manager, Willie. I had gone in one day to speak with him and told him: look I have this much to spend so can I rent your hall for 6 weeks?”
That conversation sparked something bigger. The centre’s team successfully applied for additional funding from North Lanarkshire Council, allowing the club to expand the programme from six weeks to 27 weeks and have funding to purchase judo suits for the attendees and new roll-up mats for the centre.
The Friday night sessions quickly became a hub of female judo activity. The environment was intentionally designed to be inclusive and supportive:
“We try to make it all women as well, it’s a lady caretaker, it’s ladies that come along with their children and they can sit in a separate room and be looked after. They’re not in the hall making noise or anything so the ladies can really concentrate on their session for the hour.
“Don’t get me wrong, sometimes they do need to step out and deal with something but that’s motherhood for you. You don’t get a lot of clubs that would maybe do that and that’s the whole purpose of it.”
The impact has been profound. For many, the classes have become more than just a place to train, they’re a lifeline. One participant Fatima Drammeh explained:
“It has been a game-changer, it’s improved my mental health, improved my sleep, improved my confidence and I can have a laugh with all the woman in here. It’s absolutely amazing and I can’t miss a week, I’m here every week.
“It’s really improved my confidence, the ladies here, I didn’t even know them before but now I will talk to them whereas before the classes I would have found that really hard to interact with people that I don’t know but now I can come here and talk to them about anything.”
Another participant Lucy Yuen who had previously dropped out of judo due to a lack of suitable classes, echoed the sentiment:
“I did judo for a few years, and it’s been quite a lonely journey so when I heard there was a womans only class I was very excited to come, and I feel very included. Having the chance to throw some women who are similar to my weight and age, that’s not something that is very usual for me.”
As the programme wrapped up before summer, Louise reflected on its success:
“I could sit here and give you a list of reasons as to why we did it, but this is a community club, and the point of a community club is to get people in off the streets, through the doors and enjoying judo.
Interested in running a similar programme or applying for funding?
Contact Club Support Officer Laura Kirkhouse at laurakirkhouse@judoscotland.com for more information on the Judo Girls Rise Programme and support with fundraising applications.