Kazakhstan Brings Judo Into Military Education with First Defence Institute Centre

Kazakhstan has launched its first judo centre under the Sports Committee of the Ministry of Defence, marking a notable step for Judo inside the country’s military system. The new facility is based at the Talgat Begeldinov Military Institute of the Air Defence Forces in Aktobe.

According to the International Judo Federation, the project is the first concrete outcome of the cooperation agreement between the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Kazakhstan and the IJF. It was developed in partnership with the Jenys International Sports Foundation and is designed to deepen the place of Judo in military education and training.

The opening ceremony gathered senior officials, sports figures and members of the military community. Among those present were Minister of Defence Lieutenant General of Aviation Dauren Kosanov, Chairman of the Sports Committee and Head of the Central Sports Club of the Army Colonel Arman Abeuov, Jenys International Sports Foundation founder Almaz Alsenov, Kazakhstan wrestling federation president Erkin Okassov, IJF representatives, athletes, veterans, military personnel and cadets.

For Kazakhstan’s defence leadership, this is more than a single new training hall. Dauren Kosanov described the centre as the first visible result of the partnership with the IJF and said the ambition is much larger, with similar centres planned for every military higher education institution and military college under the Ministry of Defence.

This opening is being presented as the start of a wider military Judo network.

The practical side of the project matters too. Colonel Arman Abeuov said the cooperation helped the Ministry of Defence receive IJF-standard tatami, judogi and modern training equipment, giving military institutions high-level conditions for practice.

That support is also expected to shape competition. Abeuov announced plans for a Kazakhstan Armed Forces Judo League and said the IJF educational system will be introduced into military sport.

The planned league is set to bring together teams from military units, academies and colleges across the country. Through regular events, the aim is to raise standards, build a stronger competitive environment and create a clear route for selecting athletes to represent Kazakhstan’s Armed Forces in national and international competition.

The project links daily training, competition and athlete development in one system.

Beyond results and selection pathways, the centre has been framed as an educational project as much as a sporting one. The Ministry of Defence, the IJF and the Jenys International Sports Foundation presented the initiative as a way to promote the values closely associated with Judo: discipline, leadership, resilience, mutual respect and physical readiness.

That gives the opening a broader meaning. In Aktobe, this is not only about adding a new sports facility. It is about placing Judo on the tatami and inside the structure of military preparation, with the expectation that future servicemen and women will benefit both in training and beyond it.

Source: IJF.org

Image source: IJF / International Judo Federation