Adaptive judo athlete on the power of inclusion

A man who competes in adaptive judo for Great Britain said he wants to "empower" others to try the "open and inclusive" sport.

Rowan Kinsella, from Bristol, has cerebral palsy, dyspraxia and dyslexia. The 22-year-old said he tried multiple sports as a child but had little success until he found judo.

He first went to Bradley Stoke Judo Club at the age of 11 to be more active - and said the sport immediately stuck.

"They helped me more than they could possibly know," he said.

Now 22, Mr Kinsella is sharing his story in the hopes of putting "the power back into inclusion".

He said his goal is to "inspire one person" to get on the mat, adding: "Because I know what it's done for me, I'm here to advocate, chat, and get the message out there because half the battle is awareness."

Mr Kinsella, who works in equality, diversity and inclusion, said his superpower was that no-one had to tell him the importance of inclusion because he knew how much it had done for him.

"I had a speech impediment and a full-time teaching assistant, and during my schooling I was quite badly bullied because I was an easy target, to put it bluntly," he said.

But when he went to special needs judo, now called adaptive judo, Mr Kinsella said he was around people like him.

"All of a sudden no-one picked on me for how I spoke or acted. No-one made constant comments. And I was in a community of people like me where people didn't judge me and I was respected," he said.

Despite being bullied every single day of secondary school, he said having somewhere he could be himself was "empowering".

"Judo was fun and exciting and now I can accept it was a lot more than that," he added.

Mr Kinsella said the sport has massively progressed since he started, when there were few adaptive judo competitions.

He is now a five-time international adaptive medallist, five-time British adaptive medallist and a first dan black belt - a high-level qualification that demonstrates his advanced skills.

For anyone experiencing a challenging journey and bullying, Mr Kinsella advised finding a sport or somewhere you can be yourself.

"Just keep going," he said. "It's not your fault, it will get better.

"I don't want to say ignore it because that downplays it but it won't last forever, it may seem like it does but it will end one day."

Follow BBC Bristol on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to us on email or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630.