After 50 years, club still going to mat for children
Published Friday November 6th, 2009
Judo: A dojo born in a machine shop with makeshift mats celebrates golden anniversary
SAINT JOHN - A cluster of children donned in blue and white robes form a straight line as instruction begins at the Judo Shimpokai. Packed into a warm room on the second floor of the Millidgeville North School, the children give a traditional bow to usher in the evening's lesson.
Shortly after, the calm dojo is overcome with the types of laughter, cheers and excitement that only children can produce.
Carl Schell stands off to the side, a peaceful smile etched on his face as the 84-year old man reflects on the scene before him: a testament to a vision he conceived and confirmed exactly 50 years ago.
"It was a hobby but it was also a way of life for me," said Schell, co-founder of the Judo Shimopkai, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.
The club's origin stretches back to 1955 when Heinz Wazal and George Taenzer, a pair of young German immigrants, caught the attention of Schell and his friend Harry Thomas while they were exercising at the YMCA in Saint John.
"They came out with a mat and wearing pajamas, and we said "What the hell are they going to do?" Schell said. "That was judo."
The men were instantly attracted to the strangers' elegant mix of sport judo and self-defence, known as judo-jujutsu, and joined in before long.
"That's when judo started in New Brunswick. The word itself was not even known."
In 1959, Schell and Thomas broke away from the YMCA group to start their own club above a flower shop on Sydney Street. They were quickly joined by Ken Meating, John Crawford and Doug Kearns, the club's first members.
"Our group moved from the YMCA, nice and warm with showers and everything, out into a dilapidated machine shop that we converted into a judo club," Schell said with a chuckle.
And he's not exaggerating. The unit had holes in the walls, wasn't hooked up for electricity and featured layers of soot for wallpaper.
But they scrubbed it down, wired the space and began their practice, missing one key element for any judo club: mats.
That problem was solved while competing in a tournament at CFB Greenwood, in Nova Scotia. The group noticed the large sheets of tarpaulin used to cover jet planes and had a stroke of creative ingenuity.
They took a sheet of tarpaulin back to Saint John and used half-ton trucks to transport load upon load of sawdust from a local mill to their budding Sydney Street gym.
"We covered this tarpaulin over the sawdust, tied it down tight and that's what we used. And it was just like cement. That's the way we started out," said Meating, the only original club member still alive today.
From there, Schell looked to get better informed about the sport and stumbled upon E.J. Harrison's book, The Fighting Spirit of Japan, in the city library. After corresponding with the author, Harrison suggested the club be named Judo Shimpokai, which translates to the progressive group of judo.
The name was a perfect fit, as Judo Shimpokai is believed to be the first club in Atlantic Canada to introduce the craft as a sport for children.
"What sets us apart is that we cater to kids, as you can see," said club president Harold Stears, gesturing to a pack of three dozen children practising throws on thick orange mats.
The club eventually acquired the official judo mats, known as tatami, after a roughly 40-year stint at St. Peter's Church where they used a clever combination of plywood, felt and 400 used car tires to break their falls.
"Our philosophy is we don't turn any kids away," Stears added.
This is a point Schell is passionate about. His main motivation for leaving the YMCA club, of which he was president, was to start a new dojo for children to learn the character-building sport.
A short man with a crop of grey hair, Schell has a great sense of humour, ending every exchange with a light joke or hearty chuckle.
But when asked how the Judo Shimpokai has enriched his life, Schell pauses - a thoughtful look cast on his wrinkled face.
"Every kid has got tremendous potential; every kid," he said, his tone sharp and firm. "And if you get it early enough you may find a few Einsteins we've missed. Some of these children have never had an opportunity and so many kids get missed," he said.
"We did a bit, teaching judo is what I did and I found that we never had a bad kid. There's no such thing."
For his efforts, Schell was inducted to the Judo Canada Hall of Fame in June 2002 as a builder. He's also a member of the Saint John and New Brunswick sport halls of fame.
Schell was active in the Judo Shimpokai up until the last couple of years when he gradually stepped away from the mat.
"I still miss the idea of putting on that judo suit and working with the kids," he said wistfully.
Meating, who left the dojo in the 1960s, can still recognize the impact judo had on his life.
"It taught me self-esteem; walk away the first time and don't look for trouble," said Meating, who was at the dojo last Thursday night to watch two of his great-grandchildren at practice.
"It's a beautiful sport and it's made a good person out of me. And I can see the difference in my grandchildren now."
Today the club has more than 60 members between its youth and senior classes, which both meet every Tuesday and Thursday evening. The senior class, for youth 16-years-old and up, has been successful at provincial, national and international competitions, but children remain the focus.
Last year, the club opened two expansion programs at inner-city schools; one at Centennial Place Elementary on Friday afternoons and the other at Prince Charles Elementary on Wednesdays.
The dojo runs these classes for free, funded in part by the sport development grant GO N.B.
"We've got national champions, international medalists and I can't count how many black belts we've put through these doors," said Jason Stears, a senior instructor.
"But winning is secondary to us, we want the kids to have fun and do it in a safe environment."
At 31, Stears has been with the club for about 25 years, and can see himself taking the reigns as president one day, as his father did a few years back.
"Fifty years now is a long time, and hopefully we can go another 50."
More Sports
Search Articles
More CE Network Sites & Partners:
