[quote=“ScottSommers”]This is the Shuan Yuan Judo Club. And since only 2 of the black belts they have awarded have been to foreign members, and I’m one of those two, I have to confess to feeling a little annoyed that people I have never seen at my club refer to it as …
The only person here I have ever met at judo is Formosa Fitness.
I haven’t been there for about a year, but I doubt things have changed much, as that’s the way they have been for years. Shuan Yuan trains everyday, but some days are more instructionally oriented than others. Wednesday and Friday night are more randori-oriented. Sunday morning is open mat.
It is a highly competitive club and easily the best social judo in Taiwan. Many national high school champions train there regularly and some members have represented Taiwan nationally. At Shuan Yuan, I have trained with members of the Saudi Arabian, Syrian, and UAE national teams. The coaches are all national-level and many have competed at respectable levels. We are the Taiwan over-40 champions. The real advantage of training there is you get to spar with seriously good fighters. I once remember Andy Wang explaining the virtues of BJJ after someone in our club had to fight the Filipino national judo champion in BJJ. Well, in Taiwan judo, you get to compete and train with top people all the time.
As FF mentions, there are a couple of people there who can speak any English. If you can’t handle Chinese instruction and you’re starting from zero, it might be a little tough. I paid $4000 a year, but I think I got the student rate because I’m a teacher. You have to buy a gi, but my advice is to have more than one. The club pays for registration to some events, but depending on the event, you may have to your own registration fee. It’s pretty cheap, but the language barrier can be an issue for beginners.
The club’s a little hard to find. Anyone who wants to know how to get there can PM me.
Also, I think this is a more up-to-date website
willy313.myweb.hinet.net/wanhwajudo.htm[/quote]
The price I was quoted was 12,000 for a year. That seems a lot higher.