10/31/2026
12 years old. The Kodokan. 1954. 🇯🇵
Nobody taught him. The adults just threw him around.
Ten years later, Tokyo hosted judo's first Olympics. His hometown.
He had to cut 8 kilos before every trial. Then jaundice. No Olympics.
In 1968, he left Japan for Canada with 3 goals:
1️⃣ An Olympic medallist
2️⃣ Judo as big as hockey
3️⃣ One page in Canadian judo history
He founded the Shidokan in Montreal in 1973. He coached Canada at five Olympic Games. At 84, he's still on the mat. 🥋
58 years later, I sat down with Hiroshi Nakamura sensei, 9th dan, and asked him: did you make it?
Two goals ticked. One he's still working on.
🎥 My full interview with him is out now on YouTube. Link in the first comment 👇
Stories like this disappear when the people who lived them are gone. That's why I record them, country after country.
Merci Nakamura sensei. Merci Shidokan Judo Québec Judo Canada 🙏
❤️ Every class I teach is free. In every country. If you want to help keep it that way, the support link is in the first comment too.
Ever trained with him or at the Shidokan? Tell me your story 👇
