In a sport where smaller judoka often battle much larger opponents, Able Seaman Shane Rigby showed that mentorship carries as much weight as performance.
At the 2026 Oceania Military and Police Judo Championships on April 19, his only match of the competition was in the under 90kg division against a significantly larger opponent.
"The first round went tit-for-tat, but the second round he pretty much dominated and got the throw in for the win," Able Seaman Rigby said.
"They say judo is a small man's sport, but it's harder when they're towering over you and you're constantly looking up."
Two mixed teams of Australian Defence Force (ADF) and police judoka competed against a team of Oceania representatives from Fiji, Samoa and Guam. Oceania won the competition, with Australia One in second and Australia Two third.
But it was Able Seaman Rigby's role off the mat that he took the most pride in.
At the Oceania Judo Championships, held the same weekend, he coached a student into the bronze medal match, and supported his younger brother in a fight for a Commonwealth Games spot.
'It's exposing our ADF and veterans to high-level judo players, which is improving their self-esteem and performance as judoka.'
Able Seaman Rigby said he enjoyed passing on knowledge to build the next generation of judoka.
"Being able to watch your players grow and develop, and seeing them achieve great things is very fulfilling for me," he said.
"I think my young competing career is a bit behind me, [so] now I just do it for a bit of fun."
Able Seaman Rigby started judo at age nine, and stepped away from competing to become a coach, a national referee and focus on his career.
ADF Combat Sports Association (ADFCSA) president Lieutenant Colonel Derek Morris said the competition was a success.
"It's exposing our ADF and veterans to high-level judo players, which is improving their self-esteem and performance as judoka," he said.
The ADFCSA has a partnership with the Judo Australia national team, with ADF personnel training full time at the National Performance Centre in Melbourne.
Lieutenant Colonel Morris said the ADF was an attractive career for high-level judoka, and hoped to see an ADF athlete on the podium at the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.
"There are more judo players in the ADF that I don't know about and that don't know about us. If they want to get involved, we have money to send them to competitions," he said.
