Ann Arbor Judo

1. Traditional Judo in Ann Arbor has a long history. Our Chief Instructor, Nicklaus Suino, began studying Judo at the Ann Arbor Y in 1968. During that time, he first met Ito Kazuo, Meijin 10th Dan, and Sato Shizuya, who was to become an instructor to Suino Sensei twenty years later, in 1988. Sato Sensei is the Chief Director of Kokusai Budoin, IMAF, and the leader of the American Embassy Judo Club, one of several dojo (traditional martial arts schools) where Suino Sensei studied when he lived in Japan.
   

2. After years of practicing Judo and meeting some of the best known judoka in the world, including Walter Todd, Sato Nobuyuki, Yamashita Yasuhiro, Mike Swain, Jimmy Pedro, Kerrith Brown, Phil Porter, and many others, Suino Sensei returned to Ann Arbor to open the Japanese Martial Arts Center, where Judo is taught both as a competitive sport and a lifetime personal development pursuit.
   

3. Suino Sensei believes that every human being should have a mission, and that the traditional martial arts (with the character development aspects intact) are a superb method for finding and refining your personal mission. Through safe, systematic practice of Judo or one of the other traditional Japanese martial arts, students can gradually improve their health, self-confidence, and ability to perceive and adapt to reality. If you live in or around Ann Arbor, Suino Sensei invites you to visit a Judo class at the Japanese Martial Arts Center. We hope to see you soon!