Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nickname | Mr Judo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Nationality | Scotland | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | 24 August 1937 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Occupation | President of the British Judo Association | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Great Britain | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Judo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Rank | 10th dan black belt | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Profile at external databases | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
JudoInside.com | 4952 |
George Kerr, CBE (born 24 August 1937) is a Scottish judoka. He is referred to as Mr Judo. [1]
In 1957, he won the gold medal in the European Judo Championships in Rotterdam. In 2001 he became president of the British Judo Association. [2] [3] [4] In 2002 he was named one of the inaugural members of the Scottish Sports Hall of Fame. [5]
In 2010 he was awarded the grade 10th Dan by the International Judo Federation (IJF) for international services to judo. [6] Having been preceded by Frenchman Henri Courtine (2007) and followed by Japanese American Yoshihiro Uchida (2014) [7] and Italian Franco Capelletti (2017), Kerr currently is one of only four living IJF jūdan . He is the second Briton after Charles Palmer [8] to have gained this rank in Judo. IJF judo dan rank awards are, however, not officially recognized by the Kodokan Judo Institute in Japan, and currently, Uchida (Kodokan 7th dan, 1983) and Courtine (Kodokan 6th dan, 1968) are the only IJF judan who concomitantly also hold a Kodokan judo rank of 6th dan or higher.
Kerr received an Honorary Doctorate from Heriot-Watt University in 2010 [9]
He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2011 New Year Honours. [10] [11]
He also received the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, in January 2011 after being named in Emperor Akihito's November 2010 honours list, due to his ongoing contribution to judo and to relations between the UK and judo's country of origin, Japan. Masataka Tarahara, Japan’s Consul-General in Scotland, presented him in Edinburgh with Japan’s equivalent of a CBE. [12]
He has authored the books Judo:
Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport, and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally. Judo was created in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō as an eclectic martial art, distinguishing itself from its predecessors due to an emphasis on "randori" instead of kata alongside its removal of striking and weapon training elements. Judo rose to prominence for its dominance over established jujutsu schools in tournaments hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, resulting in its adoption as the department's primary martial art. A judo practitioner is called a "judoka", and the judo uniform is called "judogi".
Antonius Johannes Geesink was a Dutch 10th dan judoka. He was the first non-Japanese judoka to win gold at the World Judo Championships, a feat he accomplished in 1961 and 1965. He was also an Olympic Champion, having won gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Japan, and won a record 21 European Judo Championships during his career.
Keiko Fukuda was a Japanese-American martial artist. She was the highest-ranked female judoka in history, holding the rank of 9th dan from the Kodokan (2006), and 10th dan from USA Judo and from the United States Judo Federation (USJF), and was the last surviving student of Kanō Jigorō, founder of judo. She was a renowned pioneer of women's judo, and in 1972 together with her senpai Masako Noritomi (1913–1982) was one of the first two women promoted to 6th dan. In 2006, the Kodokan promoted Fukuda to 9th dan, making her the first woman to hold this rank from any recognized judo organization. She is also the first and, so far, only woman to have been promoted to 10th dan in judo, which occurred in 2011. After completing her formal education in Japan, Fukuda visited the United States to teach in the 1950s and 1960s, and eventually settled there. She continued to teach her art in the San Francisco Bay Area until her death in 2013.
Charles Stuart William Palmer was a British martial artist. Palmer was a judo instructor, President of the Budokwai, President of the British Judo Association (1961–1985), President of the International Judo Federation (1965–1979) and Chairman of the British Olympic Association (1983–1988). Palmer was a judoka who attained the sport's highest rank of 10th dan black belt.
Kyuzo Mifune has been categorized as one of the greatest exponents of the art of judo after the founder, Kanō Jigorō. He is considered by many to be the greatest judo technician ever, after Kanō.
Yamashita Yoshitsugu, also known as Yamashita Yoshiaki, was a Japanese judoka. He was the first person to have been awarded 10th degree red belt (jūdan) rank in Kodokan judo, although posthumously. He was also one of the Four Guardians of the Kodokan, and a pioneer of judo in the United States.
Hitoshi Saito was a Japanese judoka who won two consecutive gold medals at the Olympic games.
Shokichi Natsui was a Japanese judoka from the Akita Prefecture. He became the first world champion in judo, winning the title at the 1956 World Judo Championships in Tokyo, by beating Yoshihiko Yoshimatsu in the final. As there were no weight classes in the world championships until 1965, Natsui was the only champion in 1956.
Henri Courtine was a French judoka.
Ronald Stewart Watt OBE is a Scottish master of Shotokan karate. He is the founder, president and chief instructor for the "National Karate Institute Scotland" a member of the World Karate Confederation (WKC).
In judo, improvement and understanding of the art is denoted by a system of rankings split into kyū and dan grades. These are indicated with various systems of coloured belts, with the black belt indicating a practitioner who has attained a certain level of competence.
Kunisaburo Iizuka was a Japanese judoka and the fifth person to be promoted to 10th dan in Kodokan judo.
The Japanese martial art and combat sport judo has been practised in Canada for over a century. The first long-term judo dojo in Canada, Tai Iku Dojo, was established by a Japanese immigrant named Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki in Vancouver in 1924. Sasaki and his students opened several branch schools in British Columbia and even trained RCMP officers until 1942, when Japanese Canadians were expelled from the Pacific coast and either interned or forced to move elsewhere in Canada due to fears that they were a threat to the country after Japan entered the Second World War. When the war was over, the government gave interned Japanese Canadians two options: resettle in Canada outside of the 'Japanese exclusion zone' or emigrate to Japan.
Masao Takahashi was a Canadian judoka, author, coach, and founder of the Takahashi School of Martial Arts in Ottawa, Ontario. He was involved in judo for more than 70 years, and was ranked hachi-dan, making him one of the highest ranked Canadian judoka. In 2002 he was decorated by the Emperor of Japan with the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Gold Rays with Rosette, in recognition of his service to improving the status of Japanese Canadians through his lifelong commitment to the promotion and development of Judo in Canada. He was inducted into the Judo Canada Hall of Fame in 1998 for his devotion to the development of judo in Canada. In 2005 Takahashi co-authored a book, Mastering Judo, with his family.
JudoScotland is the national governing body for judo in Scotland. It was founded in 1988 to represent Scottish judoka, coaches, referees and officials, clubs and the Scottish National Judo Team. JudoScotland is the sportscotland recognised governing body for the Olympic sport of Judo within Scotland. It is currently situated in Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (EICA) in Ratho.
Hajime Isogai was an early student of judo and the second person to be promoted to 10th dan. He was considered to be a newaza expert, although was also famed by his tachiwaza as well. He was an early promoter of the kosen judo circuit.
Karl Geis was an American judo, aikido, and jodo instructor. He died of prostate cancer. Karl Geis is a member of the Black Belt Magazine Hall of Fame, and the founder of Fugakukai International Association.
The Mixed Team tournament in Judo at the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics was held on August 21 at the Longjiang Gymnasium.
Spyros Rigos is a 7th dan Greek judoka who represented Greece in international competition, and was the head coach of the national judo team from 1998 to 2000. Rigos shares with Yiannis Tsaparas the record of having the greatest number of Greek national titles in his weight division.
Scottish judo icon and British Judo Association President George Kerr will receive the 'Order of the Rising Sun' in January after being named in Emperor Akihito's November honours list. The revered 73-year-old will be presented with the [sic] Japan's equivalent of a CBE by the country's Consul-General in his native Edinburgh... In February, George, who's known as Mr. Judo, received the sports [sic] highest accolade, the hugely prestigious 10th Dan, to become only the fifth non-Japanese judoka to hold judo's greatest prize. His latest honour, Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette, has been met with delight by Masataka Tarahara, Japan's Consul-General in Scotland... The former European Champion, Olympic coach and referee is overjoyed to receive the honour.