March 29, 2007
President: Tim
Schultheis
VP: Chuck
Clark
Secretary: Mary Gail Ford
Treasurer: Frank Oliveri
Editor: Kei
Narimatsu
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Contents:
Editorial – DREAMS
LOCAL
NEWS
Rules Clinic – April 15th
Notice of meeting IJI – May 19th
Results of Middle School, High School and collegiate Nationals - Midwesterners
USA JUDO NEWS
Middle, High School and Collegiate Nationals Results
Serving Our Country
Something to Think About – the Leica Freedom Train
Upcoming
Events
USA Judo Life Members
EDITORIAL –
Dreams
I talk referee because that is probably what I
know best in Judo. I do not profess to be an expert player using advanced
techniques (I never did have that flexibility) but I can recognize
them. I do not profess to be an expert in teaching but I can teach
the basics pretty well – enough to get some kids to their black belt. I
do not profess to be an expert coach, but I can recognize good coaches and the
“not” so good coaches. I admire everyone in Judo that has a particular
talent – be they player, coach, teacher, administrator or referee. And
there are many of you out there that do not want to do any of that – you just
want to be a social judoka. You want to go to the dojo, get a little
exercise, work out some frustrations of the day, sweat a little and go home
quite satisfied with your accomplishments during practice. Then there are
the parents. What is their motivation? They took Judo in the past
and they want to give their kids the same experience. They want their children
to learn about discipline, attitude and respect. They do not want their
children to be a couch potato. They might even be living out their dream
to be a champion – through their children.
Judo to me is a way of life
however. It is not just a sport or a martial discipline. It has
transformed my attitudes of life, I believe for the better. Some may say,
I have just mellowed – and perhaps I have. But without Judo, this
mellowing would have been much more difficult to achieve and I believe, more
stressful to others. It has taught me the three principles that are
solidly – Judo principles. You have heard me talk about this before so I
will not explain in detail but I will mention them again so that there is no
misunderstanding. To understand JUDO, you have to understand the three
principles that bind us as a unique group of individuals.
JUDO – The Gentle Way
Sei Ryoku Zen Yo – Maximum Efficiency in
the Use of Mind and Body
Jita Kyoei – Mutual Welfare and Benefit for
All
Sempai – Kohai *** Teacher – Student
Many of us are tempted to pay
lip service to any or all of the principles. Do not deceive
yourself. They are easy to remember and sometimes explain but most
difficult to practice. It is the equivalency of reaching Nirvana.
Many top ranking Judoka will say they never achieve this state because they are
always learning these principles, always trying to do better, coming close but
never quite reaching that perfect state of Judo essence. I do believe
that one can never achieve this perfect state 100% of the time, but can achieve
it in bits and pieces. This is what each of us practitioners of Judo, the
teachers, the Sempai’s, the elders should try to instill in our students – for
little by little, our patience and practice will rub off on some judoka
who will become the Judoka that we would wish we could have been and they too
will pass on this wisdom and culture to the next generation and so on and so
on. This is the true spirit of Judo and I am very pleased to have been a
part of this and hopefully be able to contribute for many years to come.
It is a part of who I am and what I hope will be a part of all of you.
LOCAL NEWS
Beginners Referee/Rules
Clinic at Tohkon Judo Academy – April 15th
Those wishing to learn more about the rules should attend
this basic referee clinic. Held in a low key environment – no
competition, you will learn what the rules are, how to apply them in
competition as a referees and from a player/coaches point of view. Be
prepared to have a copy of the rules in front of you at the clinic and you
should have read the rules at least once thoroughly to have a better
understanding of Judo rules and how they are applied.
If you have any questions, please contact Mary Gail Ford mgford@comcast.com
Tohkon Judo at 1-773-784-7766 (dojo) or info@tohkon.com
Cost of the Clinic - $20.00
Time: 11:30am registration
12noon to 5:00pm
Illinois Judo Board Meeting
Please be advised that the next Illinois Judo board meeting
will be held on May 19, 2007 at the North South Shiai. Meeting will be at
the tournament site: 9:00 - 10:00 a.m.
At the GAME Arena, 101 The Game Drive,
Glen Carbon, IL 62034
Agenda items: Executive and Special Committee Reports
Sanction Management
2008 Illinois State Championship
If you want to add any items to this, contact Tim Schultheis
at tschulth@warpnet.net
We will keep the meeting on schedule so as not to interfere
with the tournament.
Mary Gail Ford
Secretary
See article on Tomoyo Yoshinaga in the USA Judo News section – way
to go Tomoyo. Tomoyo is a product of Tohkon as is her brother Atsushi who
is also at San Jose State and is a regular on the College circuit.
Middle School Male 40kg
3. Ben Feiger (Chicago, Ill.)
Middle School 58kg
1. Max Golembo (Vernon Hills, Ill. / Daniel Wright Jr. High)
Middle School Male +70kg
3. Ivan Knowpin (Minneapolis, Minn. / Mounts Park)
High School Women 52kg
3. Kassandra Scoggin (Jewell, Iowa / South Hamilton High
School)
High School Women 70kg
1. Kayla Harrison
(Middletown, Ohio / Virtual High School of Excellence)
3. Kelsi Bostic (Anderson, Ind. / Lapel Junior and Senior High
School)
High School Women Open
1. Kayla Harrison
(Middletown, Ohio / Virtual High School of Excellence)
COLLEGIATE RESULTS:
Women’s 63kg
3. Brittany Bezoski
(Amherst, Ohio / University of Toledo)
Women’s 70kg
1. Tomoyo Yoshinaga
(San Jose, Calif. / USA Judo National Training Site at San Jose State
University)
2. Kathleen Sell
(Harlingen, Texas / University of Texas of Brownsville)
3. Samantha Bleier (Ames, Iowa / Iowa State University)
Women’s 78kg
3. Rhonda Morrell-Pruitt (Centerville, Ohio / University of
Cincinnati)
Men’s 66kg
1. Felipe Novoa
(Miami, Fla. / University of Miami) – Chicago, IL
2. Toshiya Nishimura
(Centerville, Ohio / Ohio State University)
Men’s +100kg
2. Philip Mongan
(Bemidji, Minn. / Bemidji State University)
Men’s Novice 73kg
1. Dan Dempsey (Ames,
Iowa / Iowa State University)
USA Judo
News
Complete coverage of
these articles available at the USA Judo website. Click on the link http://www.usjudo.org/
and click on the What's New page to see all the recent news items.
The items listed below may or may not be linked already. To get further
information on any of these stories, it is better to go to the USA Judo
website.
Middle and High School Nationals Results
(Miami, Fla.) – Athletes
from more than 20 states competed in the USA Judo Middle and High School
National Championships Saturday at Pharmed Arena at Florida International
University.
Ronnie Talledo (PER /
North Lauderdale, Fla.) won of the
day’s most difficult division – High School Men’s 66kg.
Talledo, an elite-level
senior player in the 60kg division, fought up this for the High School
Nationals and took the title with a 5-0 record, including a final match win
over Rafael Ramos (North Bergen, N.J. / Emerson H.S.), the 2006 Senior
National Champion.
Ramos racked up a trio of
penalties throughout the match giving Talledo the lead before the Peruvian
threw Ramos in the final minute for a waza-ari (half-point) score to end the
match in the final minute.
Ramos had advanced to the
final round following one of the closest semifinals of the day, a win over 2006
USA Judo National Junior Olympic Champion Daniel Chow (Honolulu, Hawaii /
Punahou High School). At the end of the regulation five minute match,
Chow nearly secured the win with a throw in the closing seconds, but it wasn’t
enough for a score and sent the match into Golden Score (overtime). Chow
kept coming at Ramos with a constant stream of attacks, but Ramos earned the
first score – a koka that moved him into the final.
Twelve-year-old Giovonte
Ortiz (Jonesboro, Ga. / MD Roberts) was the star of the middle school
divisions as he took the 48kg title and the Outstanding Competitor… more>
San Jose State University Wins Collegiate Nationals in
Miami
(Miami, Fla.) – The USA Judo
National Training Site at San Jose State University won its 42nd
team title on Sunday at the National Collegiate Judo Association National
Championships at Florida International University.
The San Jose squad took six
gold medals out of 13 divisions and captured 11 medals overall.
Tomoyo
Yoshinaga (San Jose, Calif. / USA
Judo National Training Site at San Jose State University) successfully defended her 2006 Collegiate National
title in the 70kg division, beating 2006 Senior Nationals bronze medalist Katie
Sell (Harlingen, Texas / University of Texas at Brownsville) by a koka in
the final to earn the Most Outstanding Female award…more>
SERVING OUR COUNTRY
PVT Luke Jacobsen – Milwaukee,
WI
LTJG Donny Newsome, Gurnee, IL
LT Nick Oldfield, Navy, Virginia – home
base
Mike Preditus,
IL
Dan Smith, Dickson,
TN
Please let me know other Judo families who have loved ones serving in our
military: rank, branch of service and where they are serving.
Thanks.
Something to Think About –
Some
may find this an inappropriate topic for a Judo Newsletter. I do not and
make no apologies for its inclusion. The history we learn from the past
are meant to avoid the same mistakes in the future. I hope you find this
as interesting and as uplifting as I did.
The Leica Freedom Train
I
carry my Leica camera a bit more proudly these days. The reason? A story I had never heard before - a tale of courage, integrity and
humility that is only now coming to light, some 70 years after the fact. The
Leica is the pioneer 35mm camera. From a nitpicking point of view, it wasn't
the very first still camera to use 35mm movie film, but it was the first to be
widely publicized and successfully marketed. It created the "candid
camera" boom of the 1930s. It is a German product - precise, minimalist,
utterly efficient. Behind its worldwide acceptance as a creative tool was a
family-owned, socially oriented firm that, during the Nazi era, acted with
uncommon grace, generosity and modesty. E. Leitz Inc., designer and
manufacturer of Germany's most famous photographic product, saved its Jews. And
Ernst Leitz II, the steely eyed Protestant patriarch who headed the closely
held firm as the Holocaust loomed across Europe, acted in such a way as to earn
the title, "the photography industry's Schindler." As George Gilbert,
a veteran writer on topics photographic, told the story at last week's
convention of the Leica Historical Society of America in Portland, Ore., Leitz
Inc., founded in Wetzlar in 1869, had a tradition of enlightened behavior toward
its workers. Pensions, sick leave, health insurance - all were instituted early
on at Leitz, which depended for its work force upon generations of skilled
employees - many of whom were Jewish.
The
'Leica Freedom Train'
As
soon as Adolf Hitler was named chancellor of Germany in 1933, Ernst Leitz II
began receiving frantic calls from Jewish associates, asking for his help in
getting them and their families out of the country. As
Christians,
Leitz and his family were immune to Nazi Germany's Nuremberg laws, which
restricted the movement of Jews and limited their professional activities. To
help his Jewish workers and colleagues, Leitz quietly established what has
become known among historians of the Holocaust as "the Leica Freedom
Train," a covert means of allowing Jews to leave Germany in the guise of
Leitz employees being assigned overseas. Employees, retailers, family members,
even friends of family members were "assigned" to Leitz sales offices
in France, Britain, Hong Kong and the United States. Leitz's activities
intensified after the Kristallnacht of November 1938, during which synagogues
and Jewish shops were burned across Germany. Before long, German
"employees" were disembarking from the ocean liner Bremen at a New
York pier and making their way to the Manhattan office of Leitz Inc., where
executives quickly found them jobs in the photographic industry. Each new
arrival had around his or her neck the symbol of freedom - a new Leica. The
refugees were paid a stipend until they could find work. Out of this migration
came designers, repair technicians, salespeople, marketers and writers for the
photographic press.
Keeping
the story quiet
The
"Leica Freedom Train" was at its height in 1938 and early 1939,
delivering groups of refugees to New York every few weeks. Then, with the
invasion of Poland on Sept. 1, 1939, Germany closed its borders.
By
that time, hundreds of endangered Jews had escaped to America, thanks to the
Leitzes' efforts. How did Ernst Leitz II and his staff get away with it? Leitz
Inc. was an internationally recognized brand that reflected credit on the newly
resurgent Reich. The company produced range-finders and other optical systems
for the German military. Also, the Nazi government desperately needed hard
currency from abroad, and Leitz's single biggest market for optical goods was
the United States. Even so, members of the Leitz family and firm suffered for
their good works. A top executive, Alfred Turk, was jailed for working to help
Jews and freed only after the payment of a large bribe. Leitz's daughter, Elsie
Kuhn-Leitz, was imprisoned by the Gestapo after she was caught at the border,
helping Jewish women cross into Switzerland. She eventually was freed but
endured rough treatment in the course of questioning. She also fell under
suspicion when she attempted to improve the living conditions of 700 to 800
Ukrainian slave laborers, all of them women, who had been assigned to work in
the plant during the 1940s. (After the war, Kuhn-Leitz received numerous
honors for her humanitarian efforts, among them the Officier d'honneur des
Palms
Academic
from France in 1965 and the Aristide Briand Medal from the European Academy in
the 197 0s.) Why has no one told this story until now? According to the late
Norman Lipton, a freelance writer and
editor,
the Leitz family wanted no publicity for its heroic efforts. Only after
the last member of the Leitz family was dead did the "Leica Freedom
Train" finally come to light. It is now the subject of a book, "The
Greatest Invention of the Leitz Family: The Leica Freedom Train," by Frank
Dabba Smith, a California- born rabbi currently living in England.
UPCOMING EVENTS - 2006
Please note the following events on the horizon for Illinois and the
Midwest. Communication and download information can be gotten directly
through this email by attachments or by going to www.judofdl.com (Brett
Wood Taylor Welcome Mat Judo). OR www.judocalendar.com (Jim
Carmer). Either site is a wealth of information on Judo events.
Both have more events listed than I have, so visit their sites often.
Thanks.
2007 dates
March31-April
1 WELCOME MAT OPEN
Fond du Lac,
Wi.
Contact Brett Wood-Taylor welcomemat@charter.net or Michael Blakeslee mcbreply@mcb-us.com
Information
available www.judofdl.com
and tournament package available http://www.judofdl.com/open2007
Mar 31-Apr 1 Liberty Bell – Philadelphia,
PA
-
Referee EXAMINATION Site
Apr
7-8 Northglenn – Denver, CO -
Referee CREDIT Site
Apr 14 Konjo Dojo St
Louis Spring Championships
Fenton, MO
Contact: Randy Pierce
636-464-6487 eve or 636-343-2481 days
Blackbelt6thdan@aol.com
Apr 14 2007 Morris Cup
- Burnt Hill, NY near Schenectady, NY
Contact Jason Morris silver92@albany.net
518-399-3936
Apr 15 RULES CLINIC
– Chicago, IL
Contact Mary Gail Ford mgford@comcast.net
1-847-776-7233
Tohkon Judo Academy 1-773-784-7766
April 21 Junior Workout –
Chicago, IL
NEW!!!
Contact Brett Wolf
773-230-6070 azumah4@yahoo.com
Apr
20-21 Senior Nationals – Miami, Fl
-
Referee EVALUATION Site
May 19 N-S Tournament
Glen Carbon, IL
Contact Quentin
Thompson
618-476-1976
H
qthom2@juno.com
Eiko
Shepherd
618-781-5157 Cell eikojudo@apci.net
May 20 ILLINOIS JUDO JUNIOR WORKOUT
O’Fallon, IL World
Martial Arts
School
Contact Eiko
Shepherd
618-781-5157 Cell eikojudo@apci.net
Brett Wolf
773-230-6070 azumah4@yahoo.com
May 29-30 Am-Can
Challenge – Buffalo,
NY-
Referee EXAMINATION Site
Jul
7-8 USJA Junior Nationals – Indianapolis, IN
-
Referee CREDIT Site –
Jul
14-15 USJF Junior Nationals – Ypsilanti, MI
-
Referee CREDIT Site
Jul 21 – 22 Junior Olympics – San
Antonio, TX
-
Referee EVALUATION Site –
Jul
28-29 USA Judo Junior Open – Ft Lauderdale, FL
-
Referee EVALUATION Site
Sep
2007 Ladder and Fall Classic –
-
Referee EVALUATION Site
Oct
20-21 USA Judo Senior Open
-
Referee EVALUATION Site
Nov. 2-4 3rd Annual "All Women's Championship," Kalamazoo, Michigan
Jr.
Sr. and Master competition (Kata, Shiai)
, Referee, Coaches, Kata
Clinics
Contact Deborah L. Fergus at defrgs6@cs.com or 269 208 1068
Nov
2007
Continental Crown – Seattle, WA
-
Referee EXAMINATION Site
Nov
2007
Dallas Invitational – Dallas, TX
-
Referee EXAMINATION Site
.LIFE
MEMBERSHIPS INFORMATION – USA JUDO
For more information on Life
Membership in USA Judo, please contact USA Judo and click on “LIFE
MEMBERSHIP”
Nat’l Order Name
030
1 Henry
Okamura(deceased)
041
2 Kei
Narimatsu
065
3 James
Colgan
122
4
Richard Fukuyama(deceased)
125
5
Joanne Barthold(deceased)
139
6
George Stanich
148
7 Mary
Gail Ford
161
8 Kevin
Narimatsu (CA)
162
9 Scott
Narimatsu (CA)
164
10 Byung Chul Cho
167
11 Yung Kim
177
12 Kyu Yoon
181
13 John Bek
189
14 Quentin Thompson
201
15 Michiyuki Sasa
216
16 George Weers
271
17 Susan McConnell
289
18 William
Jaconetti
291
19 Jean S Narimatsu
292
20 Susan Narimatsu
324
21 Timothy Tremaine
342
22 Stephen Bergren
349
23 Timothy Canty
355
24 Tim Schultheis
358
25 Bradford Lee
(NV)
363
26 Frank Oliveri
364
27 Michael Ogata (FL)
370
28 Jeanette J
Narimatsu
371
29 Julie K
Narimatsu
374
30 Joe Kajita (CA)
378
31 Eiko Shepherd
381
32 Bill
Dunning(deceased)
382
33 Yasko Odagiri
383
34 Wren Odagiri
385
35 Cary Yamanaka
(MN)
387 36
Don Bordeau
There are currently only 36 Life Members in
Illinois. You can start a membership for $75 minimum start payment and
$25 per payment thereafter until completed. You can pay by cash, check or
credit card. For more information, please contact www.usjudo.org
and select “LIFE MEMBERSHIP” Let’s do our share in Illinois. Thanks.