Previous History Of Harlow Judo Club From John Black

Dear Mick

History of Harlow Judo Club

 

I met the Harlow Coach recently in Wolverhampton University and promised to send some notes to add to your site.

 

I started Judo at Harlow Judo Club in 1957, at the age of 10. At that time, the dojo was in Mark Hall School, and we were using the original straw tatami with that stitching which always snagged the toes of the unwary. There was no seniors section to the club, but we had a very healthy Juniors club at around 50 children.  The instructor was Dennis Wynn , 1^st Dan, and the club was affiliated to TAJJA (The Anglo-Japanese Judo Association). There must have been co-operation between the various Judo bodies because my first grading was conducted by the late Charles Palmer.  By 1960, the Club had switched to BJC, and had changed venue to a sort of shed in Old Harlow.  Shortly afterwards, I joined the Royal Navy, and could only re-join the Club when on leave.  In the early 1960’s the dojo moved again, this time to a hall on the upper floor of the swimming pool.  Dennis was still the instructor, by now a 3^rd Dan (BJC).  Another instructor, Bill Farthing, was sharing the load, and there was now a thriving and extremely active seniors section, including Peter Martin and Frank McIntyre who were achieving some success in national level competition.

 

My career in the Navy and getting married meant that I lost touch with the club, but not with Judo.  I went on to represent the Royal Navy and Royal Marines at national competitions, and by default represented Great Britain in the South African Open Championship in 1968, winning a silver medal.  After the Forces, I trained at Portsmouth Judokwai (Dennis Penfold), and later at Guildford (Ellen Cobb), before moving to Kenya where in 1990, I became the National Coach.  Now as a rather creaking 3^rd Dan, approaching my 60^th birthday, I am still training every week, and clearly have a lot to thank Harlow Judo Club for.

 

In 1957, Judo was not very fashionable, and I was the first member of my family to have tried this strange sport.  Now, I am delighted to say that I have a son (1^st Dan, Masters competitor), a daughter (3^rd Kyu), and 3 granddaughters, all taking an active part.

 

Thank you, for giving me the start to make this all possible.

 

If I can provide any more information, please let me know.  My phone number is at the bottom, and I will be delighted to hear from you.

Kind regards

John Black

Thornbury Associates Limited

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