"Gentle way" leads to gold, bronze medals for judo siblings
LOCAL brother and sister judo duo Dean and Norika Wright are one pair you don't want to mess with.
Just recently Dean, 14, took out a gold medal at the Australian Judo Championships in Wollongong, while younger sister, Norika, 13, added a bronze medal to her collection, making for a fighting fit family.
The Ballina teenagers have both been training in the Japanese martial art of judo - meaning "the gentle way" - for more than three years, training twice a week at Lismore PCYC, and once a week in Brisbane.
Lismore PCYC judo coaches - also known as senseis - Alan Foley and Hiro Nakazaki said they were very proud of the brother-sister duo, and all of their students who had entered the championships.
For the eight youngsters who competed in the NSW team from the Lismore PCYC, six medals were won in their relevant age and weight categories, Mr Foley explained.
Dean said the best part about judo was the feeling of accomplishment after winning, followed closely by the travelling he gets to do for competitions.
