TheMartialArtsReporter.com

Tipping Off March Madness With The Week In Review

“Variety is the spice of life.”

I am trying to live up to that saying by posting about different topics that relate to martial arts or not. Anyway ….

In case you were too busy being busy, here’s what you missed:

Bulgarian Greco-Roman Wrestler Is Big In Japan: The David Beckham Of Sumo

It Happened In 1935 … Sarah Mayer, First Non-Japanese Female Judo Black Belt

The Question Is: “Honestly, Are You Really Prepared To Fight If You Have To?”

With ‘The Sensei ‘, She’s Creating Buzz In The Movie Industry And Let’s Just Face It … With A Name Like Lee Inosanto, She’s Got To Be Good

What Goes Up, Must Come Down. With This Guy, Things Appear To Be A Bit Different. Thai Action Movie Star Tony Jaa Defies The Law Of Physics.

There you have it: The Week In Review At TheMartialArtsReporter.com

Have a great Sunday!

I will be reporting again from here tomorrow.

 

 

 

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Tags: Bruce Lee, Dan Inosanto, David Beckham, Diana Lee Inosanto, fighting, grappling, Japan, jigoro kano, judo, kicking, kodokan, Kootusho, martial art, Muay Thai, punching, Sarah Mayer, Self defense, stuntmen, stuntwomen, Sumo, Thailand, The Sensei, Tony Jaa, wrestling

Sarah Mayer, First Non-Japanese Female Judo Black Belt

The same year that Amelia Earhart flew from Honolulu to Oakland Ca (non-stop, of course), driving tests were introduced in Great Britain and Parker Brothers launched their game of Monopoly, the martial art of Judo awarded its first black belt to a non-Japanese female judoka.

This all happened in 1935!

Sarah Mayer started Judo in London, England at the Budokwai, which had been founded by Gunji Koizumi in 1918.

She visited Japan in the 1930′s and studied at the birthplace of Judo, better known as ‘Kodokan’.

Later she went on to study at the Kyoto Butokukai, which had been established in 1890 and was led by founder Jigoro Kano’s representatives, for about 2 years.

On March 1, 1935 the Japanese Times bore the headline “Foreign Woman wins Shodan at the Butokukai”.

To Sarah Mayer’s surprise, she was offered this rank on February 27, 1935 and was the first non-Japanese woman in the world to be awarded black belt rank in Kodokan Judo.

She returned the same year to Britain and practiced at the Budokwai for a while before setting up her own dojo in her home in Burgh Heath.

Technorati Tags: Amelia Earhart, black belt, jigoro kano, judo, kodokan, martial art, Monopoly, Parker Brothers, Sarah Mayer

Tags: Amelia Earhart, black belt, jigoro kano, judo, kodokan, martial art, Monopoly, Parker Brothers, Sarah Mayer