Rena Kanokogi

Rena Kanokogi (née Glickman; July 30, 1935 – November 21, 2009) was a renowned Jewish-American judo expert. In 1959, disguised as a man, she won a medal at a YMCA judo tournament, but had to return it after acknowledging that she was a woman. Traveling to Japan to continue her judo training, Kanokogi became the first woman allowed to train in the men's group at the Kodokan. She is perhaps best known for pioneering women's judo competition at the Olympic Games. Rusty is often referred to as, "The Mother of Women's Judo".

Rena Kanokogi
BornRena Glickman
July 30, 1935
Brooklyn, New York, United States
DiedNovember 21, 2009 (aged 74)
Brooklyn, New York, United States
Other names
  • Rusty Kanokogi
  • Rena Stewart
StyleJudo
Rank7th dan
SpouseRyohei Kanokogi
Children3

Early life

Kanokogi was born in Brooklyn, New York.[1][2][3] The family home in Coney Island was not a stable one, and she began working in various jobs at the age of seven.[4] In her adolescence, she led a street gang known as the Apaches.[3][4] Her mother sold hot dogs for a living.[5] In the 1950s, she used her brother's weights for weight training and also worked out on the punching bag at the gymnasium.[4] By the mid-1950s, Kanokogi had married for the first time, becoming Rena Stewart.[3][6] She bore a son, Chris Stewart,[3][6] who would later add his stepfather's surname, Kanokogi, to his own name.[7] Kanokogi and her first husband divorced after a short period of marriage.[3] She was working as a switchboard operator at this time.[3]

In 1955, a male friend showed Kanokogi a judo technique that he had learned, and she immediately became interested in the martial art.[3][4] Kanokogi recalled that she was attracted to the art because it calmed her down and helped her develop self-control.[4] She learned judo in her local neighborhood and tried to fight in judo competitions, but was barred because she was a woman.[2] She acquired the nickname "Rusty" after a local stray dog.[5]

Judo career

In 1959, Kanokogi competed at the YMCA judo championship in Utica, New York, disguised as a man.[1][8] Women were not explicitly barred from the competition, but no woman had ever tried to participate before and there was no place on the tournament application to indicate gender.[8] She had cut her hair short, and taped down her breasts.[1][8] She was an alternate on her team, and had to step in when a male member was injured and unable to compete.[8] She won the match against her opponent and her team won the contest, but she was then pulled aside and the tournament organizer asked her whether she was a woman.[1][8] She nodded, and was stripped of her medal.[1][8]

In 1962, with no further options for her development in the US, Kanokogi traveled to the Kodokan in Tokyo, Japan.[2][4] Women had trained in the Kodokan since 1926, but in their own groups (not in the same groups as men).[9] After "pulverizing" the other students in the women's training group, she became the first woman allowed to train in the men's group at the Kodokan.[4] She was promoted to the rank of 2nd dan while at the Kodokan.[6] There, she met her future husband, Ryohei Kanokogi, who held black belt status in judo, karate, and jodo, and was on the Nichidai University judo team.[2][6] The couple married in 1964 in New York.[1] At the time, he was ranked 5th dan and she was ranked 2nd dan.[6] Kiyoshi Shiina, another judo master,[10] was the best man at the Kanokogis' wedding.[6] She served as the coach for the US Women's National Team in 1976,[11] which included one of the top women in the 1970s, Maureen Braziel.[12]

In 1965, Kanokogi directed the first junior judo tournament held in New York: the New York City YMCA Junior Judo Championships.[7] The following year, she directed the New York Women's Invitational Shiai.[13]

In 1980, Kanokogi organized the first women's judo world championship in Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum,[14] sponsoring it through the mortgage of her own home. She was the driving force behind the introduction of women's judo at the 1988 Summer Olympics—she had threatened to sue the International Olympic Committee.[2][3][4][5][8][15] In 1988, Kanokogi was Coach of the first United States Olympic Women's Judo Team. She would coach her personal student Margaret Castro to a medal at these Olympic Games. In 1991, she was inducted into the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame.[4] She was the first woman to be promoted to the rank of 7th dan in judo.[1]

Later life

At the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Kanokogi was a commentator for NBC's coverage of judo.[3] In 2008, she was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class (Gold Rays with Rosette), one of Japan's highest civilian honors.[1][5][16] In April 2009, she was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[3] In August that year, some 50 years after she had been stripped of her YMCA judo medal, the New York State YMCA awarded her a gold medal to honor her lifetime's work.[2][8]

Kanokogi died on November 21, 2009, at the Lutheran Medical Center in New York, following a battle with multiple myeloma.[1][2][15] She was survived by her husband, children Ted Kanokogi and Jean Kanokogi, and two grandchildren according to one newspaper article,[2] as well as eldest son Chris Stewart Kanokogi and a third grandchild.

See also

References
  1. Robinson, J. (2009): Rusty Kanokogi, fiery advocate for women’s Judo, dies at 74 New York Times (November 22, 2009). Retrieved on April 26, 2010.
  2. Thursby, K. (2009): US women's judo pioneer Rena 'Rusty' Kanokogi dies at 74 Los Angeles Times (November 24, 2009). Retrieved on November 24, 2009.
  3. "Rusty Kanokogi: Judo champion". 2010-01-02. Archived from the original on 2010-05-25. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  4. Lewellen, Wendy (2009). "Rena Kanokogi, Mother of Women's Judo". Archived from the original on 2010-12-22. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
  5. Smith, G. (2008): Chicken soup for the martial artist: The mother of woman's (sic) judo—a Jewish grandma—gets crowned Sports Illustrated (November 24, 2008). Retrieved on November 24, 2009.
  6. Brietenback, J. (1965): "Colorful wedding at New York's Buddhist Academy: Two black belts are joined in Shinto ceremony." Black Belt, 3(7):50.
  7. "New York City Y.M.C.A. Junior Judo Championships." Black Belt, 3(10):56
  8. Wilkins, J., & Boyle, C. (2009): Woman who posed as man to become judo champ finally gets gold New York Daily News (August 22, 2009). Retrieved on August 22, 2009.
  9. Johnson, G. (1974): "A single reed that bends gracefully in the wind." Black Belt, 12(6):28–33.
  10. New York State Judo: Photo gallery Archived 2013-11-15 at the Wayback Machine (c. 2009). Retrieved on March 12, 2011.
  11. Miller, E. G. (2002): Making her mark: Firsts and milestones in women's sports (p. 170). New York: McGraw-Hill. (ISBN 0-07-139053-7)
  12. Smith, G. (1986): Rumbling with Rusty Sports Illustrated (March 24, 1986; p. 8). Retrieved on March 29, 2011.
  13. "New York Women's Invitational Shiai." Black Belt, 4(9):57.
  14. Kicksport Martial Arts Blog: Women at war (February 28, 2011). Retrieved on February 13, 2012.
  15. Kanokogi, 74, dies; got judo into Games ESPN (November 22, 2009). Retrieved on April 26, 2010.
  16. Consulate-General of Japan in New York: Rena ‘Rusty’ Kanokogi, “Mother of Women’s Judo,” is honored (December 2008). Retrieved on April 26, 2010.
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