Platte River Judo

Platte River Judo Platte River Judo What is Judo? A competitive Olympic sport, a modern martial art and means of self-defense. It has been an Olympic sport since 1964.

Judo, translated from Japanese, means “the gentle way.” This is due to many techniques used in judo that require a person to give way to the force used by an opponent. By giving way, you allow the opponent’s own force to be used against them. Judo was developed by an educator, Dr. Jigoro Kano, in 1882. It is one of the most popular sports practiced worldwide. Why should we study it? Dr. Kano, the educator, developed Judo not just for the sake of physical activity, sporting purposes, or self-defense, but as a way of life. “As a way of life” does not mean it is some kind of pseudo-religion; it means that you apply what you learn through the practice of Judo into everyday aspects of life. The two core principles that Kano put into Judo are: “jita kyoei” and “seiryoku zenyo.” The first, jita kyoei, means “Mutual benefit and welfare. The second, seiryoku zenyo, means “Maximum efficient use of effort.” Now if you take those two principles that we learn in Judo and apply them to other situations in life, you may see how and why Dr. Kano hoped Judo would help us to be better people; not just better athletes. Located at 1911 Dunlap, inside the Casper Pickleball & Sports Complex,, we offer a safe, friendly, environment in which everyone is welcome to come and learn Judo. Whether you're a competitive grappler looking for techniques to add to your game, or you're just looking to be physically active and have fun, we have something for everyone. We accept students 5 years old - adult.

09/19/2026

Busy week on the mats!! School must be back in session, and folks are all back from summer vacations!

Tuesday, we were about at capacity for the 6:30 kids' class...and there were several brand new kiddos (with only 1-3 classes). So we had to adjust a little bit!!🙃

Thankfully, there were about 4 teens and 1 adult that showed up to help coach, so they helped wrangle the little judoka! THANK YOU!

The 7:30 class was pretty big too. So, it was a full mat kinda night.

Thursday's kids classes were a little smaller, but still a decently sized group. The teens/adults was decent as well.

The ashi waza theme continued for the most part. Some of our newer folks got work on other basics, but everyone was working at least one new sweep each class!!

Looking forward to seeing everyone again next week! Have a great weekend 🙂

"We were all grey.We all bleed red. We are the human race..."Remember. And remember to take care of each other.
09/12/2026

"We were all grey.
We all bleed red.
We are the human race..."

Remember.
And remember to take care of each other.

We were all grey.
We all bleed red.
We are the human race, and when it matters,
we remember.

Look what is going to be happening downstairs!Pretty awesome!
09/09/2026

Look what is going to be happening downstairs!

Pretty awesome!

Coming next month: Casper's Adventure Park! 🎉📢

Casper's brand-new indoor adventure park is under development, with an estimated opening in mid-October. Featuring an elevated high ropes obstacle course, a zip line, a ninja warrior course, and a large three-level custom soft play area with a 30’ wave slide, the indoor park offers tons of fun new obstacles to challenge the body and the brain for all ages and abilities.

This new addition will provide a dynamic, family-friendly environment designed for fun, movement, and year- round activity. Stay tuned for updates and opening announcements.

09/02/2026

First week of school, so no kiddos at the dojo tonight.

Teens/adults just had a straight up newaza night. Spent about half the class in a 3 min roll, grab a new partner, repeat. Spent the other half working on technical correction/drills from what was experienced during the live rounds.

I even got in on the action for a change! Don't get to go too much due to coaching, but tonight the numbers and experience on the mat were such that I got to just set the timer and go too. Nothing crazy, but it was fun... been a while since that happened. 😉

09/01/2026

I hope everyone had a great first day of school!!!

Remember-NO KIDS' CLASSES THIS WEEK!! We want kiddos focused on getting back into their routine of school.

Teens/Adults classes as normally scheduled.

From TeamApp
08/27/2026

From TeamApp

We were missing a bunch, but we had about 60 folks show up tonight for judo.We weren't on the mats though...we were at t...
08/27/2026

We were missing a bunch, but we had about 60 folks show up tonight for judo.

We weren't on the mats though...we were at the Mike Sedar pool!

Even with a storm/lightning delay, we had fun. Good food, good friends, good conversations, and eventually there was even some swimming and water slides!!

I got a few pics, but I definitely need to hire a better photographer for these kinds of events. The guy we have now forgets, and then uses an old phone!

Thanks for coming, hanging out, and being part of our dojo!

End of Summer Pool Party!! Next Wed, 8/26 from 6-8PM. We've discussed it in classes, and I put an Event in the TeamApp. ...
08/20/2026

End of Summer Pool Party!!
Next Wed, 8/26 from 6-8PM.

We've discussed it in classes, and I put an Event in the TeamApp. Just sharing here in case you missed it!!

Please check your TeamApp and RSVP.

Regional JudoCon Day 2!!42 grapplers spent their Saturday on the mats. We had folks ranging from 7th Degree Blackbelt (s...
08/16/2026

Regional JudoCon Day 2!!

42 grapplers spent their Saturday on the mats. We had folks ranging from 7th Degree Blackbelt (shichidan) to white belts. Participants ranged in age from 80 years old to 11 years old.

Sensei AnnMaria DeMars taught the morning blocks:
1) Developmentally appropriate instruction (preschool vs elementary vs adolescent/adult). Everyone had a blast with the games!
2) Newaza combinations, juji gatame, drilling with partners of differing sizes/skill levels.
** I found out AFTER we're done on the mats that today is her birthday!!! She spent her birthday out here in WY teaching judo!! So it is late, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SENSEI!!!**

Prof. Grant Gaither taught session 3:
Underhook mastery/fighting from half guard for pin avoidance and multiple sweeps. We did some additional work from kesa gatame

Prof. Pat Hall finished out the 4th block of instruction for the day:
Focusing on transitional work. Uki waza was used as an example for moving directly into elevator sweeps, arm bars, etc.

After the last block, there was an hour long open mat for drilling, randori, and Q&A.

It was a great time!!

THANK YOU FOR BEING A PART OF JUDOCON!!

Day 1 of The Northern Rockies and High Plains Regional JudoCon is in the books!We had judoka/jiujiteiro/wrestlers from a...
08/15/2026

Day 1 of The Northern Rockies and High Plains Regional JudoCon is in the books!

We had judoka/jiujiteiro/wrestlers from all over WY, as well as those that drove from CO, UT, SD, and NE. And, one clinician from CA 😉

This afternoon, Justin Smith (Platte River Judo) started things off with a session on Judo for Wrestling.

Sensei Nicholas Haderlie (Platte Valley Martial Arts) then ran a session on coaching concepts, methodology, and skill building. He utilized hikkikomi gaeshi as a technical example.

The majority of folks then headed out to The Hangar in Bar Nunn for a group dinner and to hang out.

I didn't get a ton of pictures because I was teaching/training...but here are a few.
Tomorrow's session kicks off at 9AM with Sensei AnnMaria De Mars!

Address

1911 Dunlap Way
Casper, WY
82601

Telephone

+16057870258

Website

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