Walk into the Dervarič household any evening after 7pm and you might hear the unmistakable sound of bodies hitting mats. Not upstairs in the living room, downstairs in the basement, where the family tatami lives. Why? Because when judo runs this deep in your blood, training doesn’t stop when official sessions end. It follows you home.
Meet Zvonko Dervarič and his family, who attended at the Ljubljana European Judo Open past weekend. Amidst the chaos of warm-ups, weigh-ins, and elite athletes from across Europe, this Maribor family stood out, not because they were loud (though they definitely were) but because watching them, you could see something rare: a family whose lives revolve around the same passion, the same values, the same tatami.
Where It All Began
Zvonko’s judo journey started in the early 1990s at age 12, when Judo Klub Železničar Maribor introduced the sport at his elementary school in Jakobski Dol. Four years later, his younger brother Boštjan followed him onto the mat, inspired by watching Zvonko train.
“With judo, we children gained discipline, respect and many different skills that are important in life,” Zvonko reflects. “The coaches and club management prepared us very well for domestic and international competitions. We quickly realised that judo isn’t just a martial art and winning a match, it is much more. We learned respect for others, everyday greetings, order and discipline. We met many new friends.”
Both brothers found success on the competition circuit, regularly standing on podiums. Their older sister Joca trained alongside them, though her greatest contribution, Zvonko insists, was teaching her brothers proper behaviour and encouraging their progress. Their parents came to every competition, cheering from the sidelines as their children discovered what judo could teach them beyond technique.
Even after Zvonko joined the police service, a childhood dream fulfilled, judo remained central to his life. In fact, it became more important. “Judo was a great advantage when I was training to be a police officer,” he explains. “Even as a police officer, judo was an even greater and daily passion, as we also had many domestic and international competitions.” His brother Boštjan became a judo coach. The sport had shaped them; now they would help shape others through it.
When Your Partner Shares the Tatami
Then Zvonko met Maja. She trained judo too. “We are in a relationship and still decide together to achieve different goals,” Zvonko says simply but there is nothing simple about finding a life partner who understands why you need to train in the evening, who knows what competition nerves feel like, who speaks the same judo language you do.
Today, Maja is “my golden wife and the mother of our three children,” Zvonko beams. Together, they are raising Tim, Nik, and Ela, all three of whom train at Judo Klub Apolon in Maribor under president Mitja Jenuš and coach Mario Rudl.
Raising Judoka
Zvonko shares how his children ended up in judo. Did he push them? Encourage them? Insist? “We did not force anything on them,” he is adamant. “Just an inspiration and a spark has already appeared in their desires and the path to learning and success in judo. The children got excited on their own based on the stories from judo.”
Still, once that spark ignited, it blazed. All three Dervarič children train regularly. All three compete and yes, all three sometimes join their parents for evening sessions in the basement after official training ends because when everyone in your household speaks judo, why would you stop just because the club session finished?
“We raise our children in a sporting spirit,” Zvonko explains. “They follow our lives as children and are always interested in our path. All three of them have found out for themselves that they are very interested in judo.” Tim, Nik, and Ela aren’t being dragged along their parents’ path. They are choosing it themselves, discovering what Zvonko and Maja already know, that judo offers something beyond sport.
The Indescribable Feeling
We ask Zvonko what it means to share the same passion and the same tatami with his children, his answer comes quickly but his voice changes, softer, more reflective. “When you step onto the tatami with your children, you feel that you yourself were on the right path and that this is also the right path for them. This is an indescribable satisfaction and endless pride!”
It is validation, vindication and joy all mixed together. Every value he learned as a 12-year-old in Jakobski Dol, discipline, respect, perseverance, he is now watching his children discover for themselves. Not because he demanded it but because judo itself teaches it to anyone willing to step on the mat and listen.
“They are doing great because they themselves realise that judo is an excellent discipline that helps them to be motivated in various areas,” Zvonko continues. “Motivation is better well-being after regular training and winning medals in competitions. Children learn from their parents, and here too it is a mirror of personality.”
Balancing Act
Five people, all training judo. Competitions most weekends. Evening sessions in the basement. How does a family balance judo life with… well, actual family life?
“Family life comes first for us,” Zvonko insists. “In doing so, we learn daily and remind each other of our values: health, discipline, work, school, sports, hobbies, fun and free time. If there is satisfaction and happiness in everything, positive results will also come in all areas and this respectfully applies to all of us.”
It is not about balance in the traditional sense, keeping judo separate from family. It is about integration. Judo doesn’t compete with family time; it is family time. Training together, competing together, travelling to tournaments together, celebrating victories together, learning from defeats together.
“We really succeed because we are very hardworking and diligent!” Zvonko adds.
Ljubljana: A Family Holiday
Which brings us to last weekend’s Ljubljana European Judo Open, where we found the Dervarič family among thousands of spectators, athletes and coaches filling the arena.
“The Open European Judo Championship in Ljubljana is a big holiday for us,” Zvonko tells me and you can hear the excitement still in his voice days later. “We went to this competition with passion, with heart and positivity and joy, to cheer for all competitors.”
All competitors. Not just Slovenians, though yes, the Dervarič family admits they are “really the loudest when it comes to Slovenian judo competitors.” Yet, their respect extends to every judoka on the tatami, regardless of nationality.
“For us, it is important to respect everyone on the tatami and every judoka deserves respectful cheering,” Zvonko explains. “When such a big competition is organised in Slovenia, for us this is indescribably beautiful, and we are experiencing something really special. All praise to the organisers. Excellent.”
It is a family outing, yes but it is also a pilgrimage, a chance to witness elite judo, to see what years of dedication produce, to let Tim, Nik, and Ela watch athletes who have walked the same path they are now walking.
Watching Your Children Compete
Zvonko also shares what goes through his mind when his own children step onto the competition tatami. Pride? Nerves? Hope? Fear?
“Pride comes first,” he answers immediately. “Of course, there are nerves but satisfaction and learning come close too. We learn through progress and mistakes! Of course, sporting spirit still comes above all and it is important to cooperate, whether we win or not.”
It is the judo mindset applied to parenting, mutual welfare and benefit, continuous improvement, respect for the process over obsession with results. Tim, Nik, and Ela compete to learn, to test themselves, to grow. Medals are wonderful but they are not the point. The point is becoming better versions of themselves. The point is discipline, respect, perseverance. The point is judo.
Beyond Medals
So what has judo actually brought the Dervarič family beyond competition success and basement training sessions? Zvonko doesn’t hesitate.
“Judo is sport, discipline, order and educational in many different areas which are very useful in life. In addition to knowledge and techniques, we acquire respect, order, learning and sports and life discipline.”
It is woven through everything he has said, the greeting strangers with respect, the discipline to train even when tired, the order that helps five people coordinate schedules and commitments, the learning mindset that treats defeats as lessons rather than failures. Judo hasn’t just taught the Dervarič family how to throw and pin opponents. It has taught them how to live.
Three Words
Finally, we ask Zvonko to describe his family in three words. He pauses for a moment, then responds. “We are members of judo, loyal and very grateful to this discipline. We enjoy judo, we are happy and satisfied.”
That is definitely more than three words but we let it be because watching Zvonko talk about his family, about judo, about the basement tatami and much more, you realise three words could never capture it all.
“Judo is the law for us!” he declares.
Not law as in rules imposed from above. Law as in fundamental principle. Law as in the foundation everything else is built upon. Law as in the shared language this family speaks, the values they live by, the passion that connects them all.
Gratitude
Before we finish, Zvonko wants to make sure I include his thanks. “Thank you to Judo Klub Apolon for providing young people in the Maribor area a path to the world of judo. Thank you to all the other clubs in Slovenia and in the world.”
It is typical of the judo mindset, recognising that individual success is built on community support, that clubs and coaches and federations create the infrastructure that allows families like the Dervarič to discover what judo offers. No judoka walks the path alone. The Dervarič family certainly hasn’t. Judo follows them home and that is exactly how the Dervarič family likes it.
“We enjoy judo,” Zvonko concludes. “We are happy and satisfied.”
This is a family that found something worth building their lives around. Something that connects them individually into one unified whole. Something that teaches while it challenges, that builds character while it builds strength. They found judo and judo, in turn, found them worthy students.
Images: Zvonko Dervarič
Author: Szandra Szogedi