Judo

Judo: David Cornell

What got you interested in the competition?

When I saw the publicity about the competition and as a coin designer I thought I would have a go at doing a few of the designs, I did four and got selected for Judo which was my favourite subject because I used to do competitive Judo when I was in my twenties and the particular design that I did was the throw that I got thrown in a contest and I damaged my shoulder really badly and had to give it up so it’s something I’ve always had a hate, love relationship with because I hated having to stop doing Judo but I still love the sport.

Why did you choose Judo for your design?

I did contest Judo for many years and I got to a brown belt and in a contest to get my black belt I was thrown and you have to make a break fall to win a point and I didn’t want to lose the point so I didn’t make a break fall and I came down on my shoulder and damaged it really badly and so I had to bow out from Judo which is a shame.

What was the inspiration behind your idea?

That particular image I did as I used to work for the Royal Mint as an engraver, I did the design in a plaster because I wanted to transfer my engraving ability to the modelling side of it which was taking over from the engraving at that time and so I did that design in a very rough way as one of my first jobs to prove to myself that I could do it and so I went back to that original concept and still liked the idea that it was very active and that it was a favourite throw of mine so I understood it very well and I hope that I got it as accurate as can be.