Judo Greats – A Portrait Series

By Jae Brown-Jobb

In late 2001 Dr. Paposi-Jobb, Andor a Judoka from Pennsylvania was looking for a way to honor his sport of Judo. It was his desire to perform some service that would provide a lasting memorial to those Judoka whom he felt had made great contributions to the sport. 

As a recently retired Professor of Fine Arts at Clarion University of Pennsylvania Paposi-Jobb had spent decades both teaching and practicing various elements of Art; and-among his greatest achievements had been portraiture. He had not only taught Master’s Classes in Portrait Painting; but had regularly accepted commissions for works from throughout the United States and Europe. Now in retirement he had a bit more free time and he hit upon a way to effectively honor The Art of Judo and Distinguished Judoka – he would paint portraits of those he considered to be Judo Greats.

As a person who had been active in organized  Judo in the United States since the 1963 founding of his Hun-Judo Dojo at Clarion University of Pennsylvania (which this year celebrates its 47^th year in continuous operation with P-Jobb Sensei – Shichidan -  at the helm), as an official in both collegiate and state Judo organizations, as a Founder of World MasterAthlete Judo Association and as an ever-present master competitor in Pennsylvania, National and International Judo Tournaments Paposi-Jobb saw much to admire in his fellow Judoka.

 He identified his first honoree and began work in earnest. It was necessary to find the means to work in secret as it was his wish that each portrait be unveiled to a totally unsuspecting recipient. By working closely with various organizations and individuals he found that friends and family of the honoree were willing to supply the photographs and information that were necessary to provide a realistic and first-rate portrait.
 

*** Please click on the pictures to view an enlarged version. ***

 In April of 2002 in Las Vegas at the USA Senior National Annual General Meeting, P-Jobb presented his first in the Judo Greats Series which was jointly dedicated to Mrs. Phyllis and Dr. Eichi Koiwai MD of Pennsylvania. In this dual portrait P-Jobb elected to portray Judo’s respected and much loved physician who has made so many contributions to the sport along with his recently deceased wife, Phyllis, who had been known as “The Golden Microphone’ while serving as the Official Announcer at countless hundreds of State, USA and International Judo events throughout her lifetime.

The second portrait was presented at the USA Senior National’s Annual General Meeting the following year, once again, in Las Vegas.  This time he honored the respected and renowned organizer and Sensei Dr. Sachio Ashida of Brockport, New York. This portrait did homage to the Ashida Family and included the likeness of Dr. Ashida’s deceased wife; but on an upbeat note it also portrayed his grandson who is the ‘light of his life’. A collegiate coach at SUNY Brockport and IJF Referee Dr. Ashida is a world-renown Judo personality.

At the National’s in 2004 a third portrait of the series was presented in San Diego to Dr. Joshihiro Uchida of San Jose – the well-know national collegiate coach who built the Nation’s first collegiate Judo Program into a dynasty. An outstanding feature of his portrait was the medallion of the Order of the Sacred Treasure he proudly wore that was bestowed upon him by the Emperor of Japan for his services to World Judo.

 In July of 2004 at the WorldMaster Athlete Judo Competition in Vienna, Austria the recipient of the fourth portrait was the Canadian Judoka, Mrs. Liz Roach – Founder and Executive Director of WorldMaster Athlete Judo Association who was responsible for ‘the dream’ that lead to the formation of the annual WMJC, the Eighth of which was held in Tours, France 2006. (NB: WMJC is now the world’s largest Judo competition.)  Updated information: The final WMJA Tournament is scheduled for Montreal, Canada in August of 2010

In April 2005 at US Nationals in Virginia Beach the fifth recipient was Eiko Saito Shepherd. This world famous Kata Master and Kata Coach is also a past World Champion in Bench Press. Shepherd Sensei is the Co-Chairperson of WMJA’s Kata Committee and right- hand woman to Kata’s most famous figure –Miss Keiko Fukuda.

In June of 2005, again at the World MasterAthlete Judo Competition, in Mississauga (Toronto) a sixth portrait was dedicated to Miss Keiko Fukuda, WMJA’s Co-Chairperson of the Kata Committee and internationally loved and celebrated ‘Queen of Judo’ who had just received her 9^th Dan from the Kodokan.

In August of 2005 in St. Louis Paposi-Jobb delivered to the Annual Banquet of the United States Martial Arts Association the seventh of the Judo Greats Series to O Sensei Phil Porter, Founder of USMA in honor of the organization’s Tenth Anniversary. O Sensei Porter was one of the original Judoka who brought the Art of Judo to the United States following World War II.

In April of 2006 in Houston, Texas at the U.S. A. Judo Nationals a portrait of Rusty Kanokogi, and eighth in the series, was presented. Mrs. Kanokogi had been a life long promoter of women’s judo, was an Olympic and International Referee and renowned judo sports commentator. Thanks to Kanokogi, Sensei Women’s Judo became an Olympic sport.

In July of 2006 in Tours, France the ninth portrait in the series was unveiled. Depicted was Terry Watt of Londonderry, N. Ireland. He is past president and now Treasurer of World Masters Judo Association (WMJA). He is an active competitor world-wide in Masters Judo.

In April of 2007 in Miami Beach, Florida the tenth Judo Great – John Anderson – a true Southern Gentleman and tireless worker for U.S. Judo was unveiled at the Championship’s actual Closing Ceremony, giving a great many attendees and competitors at the event the opportunity to view the portrait itself.

On March 31, 2007 the eleventh portrait was presented at the Hungarian Masters Tournament in Budapest Hungary. The recipient - Shihan Botez, Mihály -   is a world famous Sensei, author and competitor (still competing well into his eighties) from Timisoara (Temesvar, Transylvania) Romania

A twelfth portrait is WMJA past-president, Cristiana Pallavicino a Judoka from Rome, Italy who for many years worked and trained in Brazil. A true Judo activist, Cristiana worked hard to bring the excellent Brazilian Judo Masters into the world arena. For the past ten years the Brazilian contingent has been a strong part of the WMJA Championship.  This portrait was supposed to be presented at the 2007 WMJA Tournament in San Paulo.  Due to travel difficulties it was presented at at a later date.

The thirteenth Judo Great was recently completed and was presented in Virginia Beach, Virginia in April of 2008 at the U.S.A. Judo Nationals. Ed Liddie!

The fourteenth portrait was presented in Brussels during the 10th WMJA Championship in Belgium. The recipient was Adil Belgaid, President of WMJA. He has participated in two Olympics, came in 5th in the Worlds, and is a ten time African Champion. He works in France; but commutes back and forth between France and Morocco. He is the father of six boys. 

The seventeenth Judo Great was dedicated at the Kyu-Ha Kim Open championships on November 14, 2009. The portrait was of  Kyu-Ha Kim.

Ninth Degree Grandmaster Kyu Ha Kim is widely recognized as one of the most accomplished martial artists of his generation and has successfully taught in the Pittsburgh area for over forty years.

In looking over these portraits there are two factors that repeat in each image. The first is that of a ‘portrait within a portrait’ of Judo’s Founder – Dr. Kano, Jigoro which appears in each and every portrait. And the second is that each portrait is the product of many months of intense labor and concentration for the artist. In providing the gift of a portrait to a designated Judo Great, Paposi-Jobb, Andor is secure in the knowledge that he has honored both his Sport and his Idols.