Arnaldo Gonzalez
Arnaldo Gonzalez started Judo three years ago at the age of six. He competes in the -43kg weight division and trains at the Cranford Judo & Karate Center under Sensei Nick Yonezuka.
Living in Jersey City, New Jersey, Arnaldo's day begins with the school bus picking him up at 7:00 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. He is currently enrolled in the 4th grade at BelovEd Community Charter School from which he is then taken to his Judo class that begins at 5:30.p.m. On a normal day Arnaldo gets home by 7:30 p.m. to complete other tasks such as homework or study for school exams.
Due to the strict regimen, continuous discipline and unconditional parental support, Arnaldo has achieved impressive success in the very short time that he has been involved in judo. Some of his accomplishments include:
- 2014 NJ State Championships (GOLD)
- Jr. National Championships (BRONZE)
- Jr. International Championships (SILVER)
- 2014 U.S. Jr. Open in Florida (SILVER)
Arnaldo is currently ranked #2 in his division and is training and dedicating most of his free time to Judo. He has collected many other trophies and medals at such a young age.
Arnaldo is working towards a successful 2015 season in local and national level tournaments. He has worked arduously to get to this level and his dream is to make it one day to the Senior World Championships and the Olympics, of course!
It is an honor to receive this merit of USA Judo’s December Athlete of the Month.
His parents, family, teachers and friends are all so proud of this little guy!