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Rena Kanokogi

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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
Rank7thdan
SpouseRyohei Kanokogi
Children3

Rena Kanokogi(néeGlickman;July 30, 1935 – November 21, 2009) was a renowned Jewish-Americanjudoexpert. In 1959, she won a medal at aYMCAjudo tournament while disguised as a man, 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 theKodokan.She is perhaps best known for pioneering women's judo competition at theOlympic Games.Kanokogi is often referred to as "The Mother of Women's Judo".

Early life[edit]

Kanokogi was born inBrooklyn, New York.[1][2][3]Her family home inConey Islandwas 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 forweight trainingand also worked out on the punching bag at the gymnasium.[4]By the mid-1950s, Kanokogi had married for the first time, taking the name 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[edit]

In 1959, Kanokogi competed at theYMCAjudo championship inUtica, 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 went on to win the contest. She was then pulled aside by the tournament organizer, asking 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 theKodokan Judo Institutein Tokyo, Japan.[2][4]Women had trained in the Kodokan since 1926, but in separate groups from 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 2nddanwhile at the Kodokan.[6]There, she met her future husband,Ryohei Kanokogi,who heldblack beltstatus in judo,karate,andjodo,and was on theNichidai Universityjudo team.[2][6]The couple married in 1964 in New York.[1]At the time, he was ranked 5thdanand she was ranked 2nddan.[6]Kiyoshi Shiina, another judo master,[10]was the best man at the Kanokogis' wedding.[6]Rusty served as the coach for the US Women's National Team in 1976,[11]which included several of the top women in the 1970s:Amy Kublin,Delores Brodie,andMaureen 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 1977, she organized a team of Jewish–American women to compete at theMaccabiah Gamesin Israel.[14]

In 1980, Kanokogi organized the first women's judo world championship in Madison Square Garden's Felt Forum,[15]sponsoring it through the mortgage of her own home. She was the driving force behind the introduction of women's judo as anexhibition sportat the 1988 Summer Olympics—she had threatened to sue theInternational Olympic Committeefor not accepting women’s judo as an Olympic sport.[2][3][4][5][8]In 1988, Kanokogi was Coach of the first United States Olympic Women's Judo Team. She would coach her personal studentMargaret Castroto a bronze medal at this Olympic Games. In 1991, she was inducted into theInternational Women's Sports Hall of Fame.[4]

Later life[edit]

At the2004 Summer OlympicsinAthens,Kanokogi was a commentator forNBC's coverage of judo.[3]In 2008, she was awarded theOrder 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 theInternational 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 withmultiple myeloma.[1][2][17]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.[citation needed]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^abcdefghRobinson, J. (2009):Rusty Kanokogi, fiery advocate for women’s Judo, dies at 74New York Times(November 22, 2009). Retrieved on April 26, 2010.
  2. ^abcdefghThursby, K. (2009):US women's judo pioneer Rena 'Rusty' Kanokogi dies at 74Los Angeles Times(November 24, 2009). Retrieved on November 24, 2009.
  3. ^abcdefghij"Rusty Kanokogi: Judo champion".2010-01-02. Archived fromthe originalon 2010-05-25.Retrieved2010-04-26.
  4. ^abcdefghiLewellen, Wendy (2009)."Rena Kanokogi, Mother of Women's Judo".Archived fromthe originalon 2010-12-22.Retrieved2009-11-24.
  5. ^abcdSmith, G. (2008):Chicken soup for the martial artist: The mother of woman's (sic) judo—a Jewish grandma—gets crownedSports Illustrated(November 24, 2008). Retrieved on November 24, 2009.
  6. ^abcdefBrietenback, J. (1965): "Colorful wedding at New York's Buddhist Academy: Two black belts are joined in Shinto ceremony."Black Belt,3(7):50.
  7. ^ab"New York City Y.M.C.A. Junior Judo Championships."Black Belt,3(10):56
  8. ^abcdefghWilkins, J., & Boyle, C. (2009):Woman who posed as man to become judo champ finally gets goldNew 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 galleryArchived2013-11-15 at theWayback 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. (ISBN0-07-139053-7)
  12. ^Smith, G. (1986):Rumbling with RustySports Illustrated(March 24, 1986; p. 8). Retrieved on March 29, 2011.
  13. ^"New York Women's Invitational Shiai."Black Belt,4(9):57.
  14. ^Roach, Margaret."Judo Foulup Nearly Puts U.S. on Shelf for Games; Finally, an O.K."The New York Times.Retrieved2022-06-12.
  15. ^Kicksport Martial Arts Blog: Women at warArchived2012-03-13 at theWayback Machine(February 28, 2011). Retrieved on February 13, 2012.
  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.
  17. ^Kanokogi, 74, dies; got judo into GamesESPN(November 22, 2009). Retrieved on April 26, 2010.

External links[edit]

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