It seems like a long time ago that Pete Douglas founded the Bradley Stoke Judo Club at the Leisure Centre, but not so long when you consider how much he and his club have achieved since 1999.
In the past 27 years, the BSJC has earned such a stellar reputation that judokas travel from all over the South West and Wales to train here… and in 2024, Lele Nairne from the club went to Paris to compete for Team GB in the Olympic Games.
Now, Pete, who lives in Bradley Stoke with his wife, has been appointed as one of the three Team England Judo coaches for the Commonwealth Games to be held in Glasgow this summer. Almost everything Pete has done for the Club has been as a volunteer alongside his main job: “I used to start at 6am, drive a recovery truck till midday, then I’d go to judo and work with my players then. I was a mechanic. I don’t know how I did it.”
Bradley Stoke Voice caught up with Pete while he was in Paris with members of BSJC who were preparing to qualify for the Commonwealth Games, and were getting ready to fly to Tunisia in a few days for more tournaments. “I’m here with Skye [Knoester], a South African player, and two of my players are here with Team GB, so I’m coaching them as well.
“When I move to Tunisia, there’ll also be three of the Welsh players who’re aiming to qualify and another English player there. It’s a busy time.”
As mentioned, the Bradley Stoke Judo Club coaches players from all over the South West and Wales and has become recognised as the premier hub in this part of the world for judo coaching, which is traditionally centred around Birmingham and London.
Explaining the appeal of his club and his coaching style, Pete says: “I’ve taught judo in a very different way. People have seen us in competition, they’ve seen our success, and they know that we are big throwers. If you think of Brazil as a football team, they’re not just winners, they’re exciting to watch. We’re like the Brazilians of judo because we’re really exciting to watch.”
He adds: “I work with them mentally as well as physically because the athletes’ game is as much mental as physical. If you come through the sport of judo and you fight at a high level, you’re pretty much sorted for when you do anything else because of the effort and the dedication you put into aiming to achieve.
“The big saying at the moment is, ‘Everyone wants to be on the top, but no one wants to do the work for it.’ Very few people want to do the work for it.”
Putting in the work clearly pays off for those who do. Skye, who is originally from South Africa, has moved to live in Bradley Stoke in order to train regularly with Pete, and funds her training by working on the reception desk at Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre, where the club meets. She is currently ranked 64th in the world, and took silver at the US Open and gold at the African Cup in South Africa.
While her club mate, black belt Millie Bayliss, won bronze at the 2025 Birmingham Junior European Cup. Other names to watch from Bradley Stoke Judo Club include senior lightweight Ethan Nairne and Tatum Keen, who have also hit the qualifying standards for the upcoming Commonwealth Games.
Pete explains: “Skye came to Bradley Stoke and had to learn a whole different style of judo and she’s doing really well. She’s number two in South Africa. She’s 60th in the world. To qualify for the Olympics, you need to be top 25. Well, she come from 120 last year. She’s fast tracking. And Tatum is 40th in the world, so she’s chasing down the LA Olympics.”
Having practiced judo for several years as a child, Pete took a break until he and his wife moved from central Bristol to Bradley Stoke in 1999 and had a son. “I thought judo would be good for my son because it’s good for children,” explains Pete.
”I can remember the coach saying to me, ‘You used to do judo, you should do judo again.’ So I got involved and it just went crazy from there. I came back as a blue belt and now I’m a sixth Dan.”
Explaining what it is that he loves so much about the sport, Pete says: “I love the effort, the ethos, the fight mentality, but the respect. We bow to each other at the end. There’s none of that bad talk that you get in MMA and boxing. Everyone respects everyone, and I think it really is a good message to kids because you always respect people when they win or you lose.”
The appointment to become one of the three Team England judo coaches for the Commonwealth Games came about following a traditional job interview, although Pete admits it was the first interview he had experienced since 1979. “I can remember my wife saying, ‘Are you going to revise for this interview?’ And I said, ‘Well, they’re only asking me questions about judo, which I feel I know enough about.’ I just answered the questions.
“Two weeks later, they said I smashed the interview, and I got the post as one of the coaches, which is a real rarity. I don’t think it’s ever happened to a coach from Western England, and I don’t think it’s ever happened to an actual club. Usually coaches are part of an academy or a full-time setup, so it was a really special appointment.”