Sensei Raphael Veras praises work rate of his son after impressing at latest Judo event

Luan Veras overcame some injury problems to impress at the English Junior Championships earlier this month and see all his hard work pay off.

The local karate and judo talent struggled with a chest infection in his last competition of 2016 and was looking to bounce back.

Veras, from Raines Foundation School, competed in the GB Performance Foundation National Ippon League last month in the pre-cadet boys -46kg category.

The youngster, who had a knee injury and a shoulder problem, managed to finish third before earning a medal at the English Judo Championship.

Veras managed to beat a rival he had lost to at the National Ippon League, which ensured he picked up a silver medal.

Sensei Raphael Veras said: “It was very hard to see my son not performing the way that I know he is capable of. I knew the English Judo Championship would be a very important competition in order to get a place in the British Schools Championships squad.

“I told him ‘when a samurai goes to the war he needs to be prepared. He needs to have his shield to protect and sword to attack.’

“Now I’m not a judo master, but I thought I can use my karate experience to help my child. He had to do a lot of research, visualisation and repetition.

“God knows how much he trained that week, but the conclusion was if you want to be just a very good student? Go to judo twice a week.

“But if you want to be a top judo player then be prepared to put in the extra hours and everything you desire will come.”

Luan Veras is the eldest of the Veras Brothers, who are elite junior karate, judo, BJJ athletes as well as very skilled junior boxers. Interested sponsors are welcome to contact verasbros@gmail.com.