Master Phyllis Harper

In the early 1970’s, I was a young Judoka training near Chicago. One of the visiting instructors was Phyllis Harper, who at the time was nearly 60 years of age, a 5th degree in Judo, and the highest raked woman in Judo in the United States. The first time I fought her, I wanted to be careful and not hurt her since I was young and strong and she was a thin, white-haired, grandmother. In spite of my efforts, there was some hurting going on, but it wasn’t her that was hurting. She whipped my butt! I tried to at least to save face, but it was not to be, I was not only whipped, I was humiliated.

Tomo Nage is a throw where you plant a foot on the opponent’s abdomen, drop to your back, and throw the opponent over the top of you to the floor behind you. Ms. Harper would gain a grip on each side of your upper chest and then drop her body and shoot it between your legs, Since she had a grip on your upper body, your head would be suddenly pulled down and between your legs so fast that you not only flipped to the floor but passed out from the sudden motion. I used to try the technique on others, but I usually just ended up dropping on my kidney area and lying there in pain.

Once at a Judo tournament in Rockford, Illinois, I was on the mat grappling with an opponent, I was going for my usual strangle hold when I heard my gi pants rip. As I applied the choke, I heard a bigger rip. My opponent tapped out, and, as I stood, I found that my pants had ripped from the bottom hem of one leg, up the inside seam, across the crotch, and down the inside seam of the other leg to the bottom hem. The crowd was yelling, clapping, and cheering at the free show. There was nothing I could do about the situation so I just bowed out and walked back the sidelines as if nothing had happened. Ms. Harper was a judge at the tournament so she let me use her gi pants. They were a little tight but they did not rip and went on to a third place win.

Phil Porter

In about 1970, I attended a Judo clinic taught by Phil Porter, who at the time was about 45 years old. He later became the president of the United Sates Judo Association and one of the very few men to ever attain the rank of judan (10th degree) in Judo. I was about twenty-four and thought I was tough. As we performed the warm-up stretches, Porter, who was stocky and powerfully built, not thin and willowy, had us doing some flexibility exercises. As we sat on the floor, he had us pull a foot toward our abdomens, then toward our chests, then toward our chins, and then toward our ears. I did not get past the abdomen.

It was then and there that I decided that if a stocky guy who was 20 years older than me was able to do these things, then I also should be able to do them. I started daily morning stretches and have continued them ever since. Now I tell students, if a short, stocky man who is old enough to be your father or grandfather can do flexibility exercises, then they should also be able to do them. Master Porter went on to become O'Sensei, the highest ranking Judoka in the United Sates.

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