Members of Yawara Judo from around the Southwest gathered at Sensei Oscar Tinajero’s dojo, Legacy Mixed Martial Arts, in Las Cruces, New Mexico for a major promotional event over the weekend of June 12. Groups from Yawara dojos in Texas and New Mexico have hosted one another for summer clinics and promotionals for a number of years, and were glad to be able to gather again as Covid rates have declined in both states.
The weekend opened with a Friday night Judo class, where students had a chance to drill, practice, and learn from visiting instructors, which served as an excellent warm up to the two day long belt test and promotional comprised of technical demonstrations, kata, and teaching presentations from senior ranking black belts.
Sensei Gary Cotton and Sensei Dudley Raybon, both of Fort Worth, Texas were promoted to the rank of Shichi Dan (seventh degree black belt). Both men described the ways that their nearly 50 years of Judo practice had shaped their lives, leading to deep friendships, confidence, honesty, and self control. Perhaps just as importantly, both noted how much fun they had practicing, learning and teaching Judo, and expressed hopes that the new generation of Judoka would find similar joy in the art. Sensei Duane Kidman of Mansfield Texas, was also due to be promoted to Shichi Dan, but was unfortunately unable to attend. Sensei Oscar Tinajero was promoted to the rank of Roku Dan (6th degree black belt). To promote to this rank, Judoka must choose an area of specialization and demonstrate unique contributions to the art of Judo. Sensei Tinajero has developed a particular focus on groundwork over the years, and demonstrated his unique understanding of ground-based off balancing techniques with a teaching demonstration. Sensei Tony Brown, of Plano, Texas was also promoted to Roku Dan, and showed his expertise in non-standard and anatomical grips that utilize the basic physical principle of classic throws in unusual, highly adaptable ways. Several Legacy students also promoted over the weekend, including
Shane Brisco (San Dan)
Kandis Jones (Sho Dan)
Arianna Conde (Sho Dan)
Daniel Talamantes (Sho Dan)
Miles Berry (San Kyu)
Vada Burch (San Kyu)
Special thanks also to Nadia Anderson, Loren Bentley III, Dylan Burch, Alejandro Duarte, Diana Garcia, Travis Rogers, and Joe Terrazas for serving as Ukes during the promotional.
And an extra special thanks Michelle Solis, co-owner of Legacy Mixed Martial Arts, and Jessica Martinez-Conde for planning and providing breakfast and lunch at the dojo, and to Sherry Burch for photographing the event.