Blind Judoka Miles Soloman Wins European Silver and Inspires Inclusive Judo in Oxford
A visually impaired Oxford graduate judoka has won silver at the 2025 IBSA European Judo Championships and is now helping others learn the sport at Oxford Brookes Judo Club.
“The world isn’t full of a lack of opportunities, It’s full of a lack of people taking them. Sometimes you’ve got to go out there and you will fail — one hundred percent you’ll fail. As long as you’ve got the right people around you, the right mindset, you’ll succeed at something.”
Miles Soloman, 26, reached the final of the men’s – 70 kg category at the championships in Tbilisi, Georgia on 19 September 2025; narrowly missing out on gold. The event, run by the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA), is the highest-level competition for visually impaired athletes in Europe.
However, for Miles, judo is more than competition. It is a way of understanding discipline, courage, and improvement — a modern continuation of the way of martial arts.
Discipline and ‘the way’
A long-time practitioner of judo (柔道), which translates from Japanese as “the gentle way,” Miles follows its emphasis on respect, discipline and self-improvement.
“I try and be noticeably better every three months,” he explained. “That’s how I measure improvement.”
He calls his approach active learning a habit of analysing each session after training.
“When I leave the dojo, I think, what did we learn today? How did it fit into my judo? That reflection on the mat and off it massively improves your progression.”
Judo’s founder Jigoro Kano described the art’s goal as “the perfection of character.” Miles’s method echoes that principle of constant self-development.
Looking ahead
With qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games beginning next year, Miles will compete in IBSA Grand Prix events and the 2026 World Championships.
His ambitions are clear, but his philosophy remains grounded. “You can’t control what happens,” he told students recently, “but you can control how you respond.”
“I used to be someone who went out in the first round,” he said. “Now I’m getting to finals fighting the best in the world. If that’s the progress I’ve made in two years, imagine what I can do between now and Los Angeles 2028.”
Miles describes judo as uniquely suited to blind athletes.
“It’s the easiest sport in the world to do when you’re blind,” he said. “As long as I know where you are, I can put hands on you; I can do judo to the same level as any sighted person.”
Fear and opportunity
Miles now uses his experience to motivate young people with disabilities.
“The world isn’t full of a lack of opportunities,” he said. “It’s full of a lack of people taking them. Sometimes you’ve got to go out there and you will fail — one hundred percent you’ll fail. As long as you’ve got the right people around you, the right mindset, you’ll succeed at something.”
Before Oxford, Miles almost chose to study mathematics in Sheffield but decided to apply to Oxford instead. “It was difficult, but definitely the right decision,” he said. That decision, he believes, shaped his willingness to take risks on and off the mat.
Coaching inclusion
At Oxford Brookes, Miles coaches sessions that mix sighted and visually-impaired judoka, encouraging partners to train by touch to understand balance and movement.
The club’s inclusive structure mirrors judo’s core principle of jita-kyōei (自他共栄) the mutual welfare and benefit.