ections of Judo was back in the 70’s around "78" or "79" I had seen the movie “Breaking Point” starring actor Bo Svenson. "Breaking Point" was my first exposure to martial arts on screen. In "Breaking Point" he played a judo instructor who witnesses a murder carried out by the mob and he and his family are entered into a witness relocation program. There were some memorable fight scenes in the movie that impressed this young 12 year old boy.Another movie which made an impression was "Judo's Gentle Tiger" and also known as "The Year of the Gentle Tiger". A forerunner to "The Karate Kid", it was shot in the late 1970s, and was later broadcast as a NBC daytime program in 1979. But it was Bo Svenson’s movie "Breaking Point" that was the catalyst for my interest in judo and other martial arts. All other influences would come and go, but, Bo Svenson's would stay and re-inspire years and years later.
By the age of 14, I was in a karate/jiujitsu class which I stayed with for years but the impression Bo Svenson made would linger for a lot of years. My family did not share my enthusiasm for the martial arts. Most of my inspirations came from people I did not know nor did they know me. I guess like alot of kids my inspirations came from the heroes portrayed on the silver screen and T.V. by actors like Bo Svenson.
Recollecting my boyhood movie memories of judo, in 1991 at the age of 26, I would step into a judo class for the first time. Judo was like no other style I had trained in and I was assured of two things by the Judo instructor; Rank would nt come easy nor would it come fast. I was told by the instructor that this would be an endeavor that would take years of hard work. That the lessons learned in judo corresponded with life and as I found out, life somehow made sense on the judo mat.
As I look back, my judo experience was like developing a taste for beer, at first it was unpleasant but after awhile you got used to it and then eventually began to enjoy it. This however would take years of showing up to class. Alot of times I would ask myself, "what am I doing here?" Being too stubborn to quit after several years I attained brown belt. It was nt until brown belt that a love for judo developed.
Finally in 1998, I tested and was awarded shodan. I had never taken as much pride in achieving something as I did when I had achieved my shodan rank in Judo. I hold higher ranks in other styles but the rank I have been most proud of are the shodan and nidan ranks I attained in judo.
Then in 2006 I was awarded nidan and had seen Bo Svenson's movie "Breaking Point" again after alot of years. After 2006 work and other endeavors had taken me away from judo. I was involved also with other martial arts and all of these things just took up too much time. Some time after, I was able to contact Mr. Svenson and had asked him of his judo experience and if he was still training at which point he said he was nt and that it was too bad that he was nt involved any longer.
By 2009 I had become disillusioned with the politics of the other martial arts that had taken up so much of my time. I began to distance myself from karate, jiujitsu and running a dojo. Tired of politics, tired of teaching, maybe I was just plain tired of everything. I dont really know. I do know I wasnt happy and no longer found enjoyment in training or teaching. I was just not motivated any longer and felt that there was something that I was missing but just couldnt put my finger on it. So, I closed my dojo and walked away.
I had not stepped foot in a judo dojo in over two years and had closed my dojo earlier this year and was no longer teaching or training. Then a few months ago, out of nowhere Bo Svenson contacted me. He wrote "Nearly a year ago you asked if I was still involved in judo. At the time I wasn't. I am now. This weekend I am competing in the the USA Judo National Championships. I'm THRILLED to be back in the sport! Hope all is well with you."
My childhood hero had managed to inspire me again, but this time I was nt a boy of 12 but a man of 44. Alot of years had gone past since I first saw him play that role of judo instructor and now those few words had lifted my spirits and moved me in a long lost familar direction. Not only had his words affected me but his actions as well, as he stepped back on the mat to compete as he had told me he would.
Memories of judo and the people I trained with, my old sensei, the sounds of judoka hitting the mat, practicing ukemi, getting thrown and the purity of judo itself ran thru my mind. I guess I went back to th
e beginning, the first influence, the first impressions made on a young boy so long ago. A distant unknowing role model whose few words reaffirmed the purity of a martial art that I had so desperatly needed and couldnt find. A once extinguished fire trying to spark and rekindle.I am back in Judo but not as an instructor but as a simple student, getting back into the learning process, the developmental process not only of a martial artist or a competitior but a human being as well. The rebirth of a spirit. On the other side of our great country Bo Svenson is busy with movies and Judo training and teaching, still inspiring me as he had done so many years ago from a distance. Yep, life always made since on the judo mat, a point reinterrated by a humble hero of the silver screen in a few written words.
http://barronsjudopage.blogspot.com/2009/08/judo-actor-bo-svenson-competes-in-usa.html
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