First, full credit for making me aware of this awesome story goes to the Highlander Haberdasher adouglasmhor.
Dougie put this story up on www.sociocide.com in response to something else and I am bringing it over here, so salute to Dougie.
[B]The Second World War was just ending when eight-year-old Edinburgh schoolboy George Kerr took his first steps on to a judo mat in a community centre in Lorne Street in Leith.[/B]
“My father wanted me to go into boxing,” he recalled. “I tried, but I wasn’t very good. So he decided I should try judo. I thought, ‘I’ve let the old man down a bit so I better stick at this’. And that’s how it began – I was trying to please my dad!”
His father would have been proud on Saturday when Mr Kerr, now a sprightly 72, became the youngest person ever to be named a 10th Dan. It’s the Japanese martial art’s highest honour and one that’s been held by only 15 other men since it began in the late 19th century.
Of the six other living 10th Dans, three are Japanese, two are Dutch and one is French. The only other Briton who made the grade was Charles Palmer, who died in 2001.
The honour was conferred on Mr Kerr by the International Judo Federation at a ceremony in Paris in recognition of a lifetime contribution to the sport as competitor, coach, referee and administrator.
“I was humbled and slightly embarrassed about the award,” he said. “It was hard to accept, in a way, because I always think of the great teachers I had in Japan who haven’t made it to 10th Dan yet.”
It’s the latest in a lifetime of honours for Mr Kerr, who has captained the British Judo team, won numerous medals, including the British Open Championship, and is currently president of the British Judo Association.
In 2002 he became an inaugural inductee into the Scottish Sporting Hall of Fame, and still teaches judo to youngsters at an Edinburgh gym.
Mr Kerr’s love affair with judo was cemented in 1957 when, aged 19, he won a four-year scholarship to Japan, where accommodation was spartan – a canvas hammock and a blanket. “I studied physical education but I majored in judo,” he said. He also learned fluent Japanese.
One of his most treasured possessions is a picture taken in Japan showing him flanked by his two Japanese teachers. They both went on to become 10th Dans and Mr Kerr is delighted there’s now a third master in the photograph.
His greatest regret, however, was missing the 1964 Tokyo Olympics through injury while captain of the British team. He did not get another chance, retiring in 1968, though he did go on to referee at the Munich Games in 1972 and Montreal in 1976.
Judo has taught him a lot besides how to beat an opponent on the mat: respect for elders, honesty, honour, the need to look after people who aren’t as strong as oneself. “Judo brings all that,” he said. “It certainly has for me.”
Japan’s Dan rankings
The Dan system is a means of ranking practitioners of traditional Japanese fine arts and martial arts and was applied to judo in the late 19th century by the sport’s founder, Jigoro Kano.
In theory judo can have any number of Dan levels, though only 10 are used. Each has a different name, from shodan up to judan.
Those at the first five levels wear a black belt, the next three wear red and white belt, while 9th Dan and 10th Dan is solid red. However, for everyday practice most judoka simply wear a black belt.
There have been only 15 holders of the 10th Dan, though in 2006 three men were awarded the grade simultaneously, the first awards for 22 years.
This story is just awesome.