Neil Ohlenkamp Martial Arts Background

Judo Background

My approach to teaching Judo is to plant the seeds, nurture them, and then emphasize patience, for quality takes time:

An American tourist visiting a stately home in England asked the head gardener the secret of how the English produced such wonderful lawns. “It’s simple,” replied the gardener. “You just plant grass seed, and then cut and roll it for five hundred years.”

I really love practicing and teaching Judo. Come and visit my classes anytime. Some of my Judo achievements are listed below, but I am still working on improving my understanding of Judo by studying and attending classes every week.

“It has been said that a person may have ten years of experience, or one year of experience repeated ten times.”
–Yukiso Yamamoto

Mr. Ohlenkamp holds a sixth degree black belt in Judo with over 40 years of training and experience as a competitor, instructor, team coach, and tournament official. He has been awarded black belt rank certificates by the United States Judo Association (USJA), United States Judo Federation (USJF), Southern California Black Belt Association (Nanka Yudanshakai), and the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo, Japan. He was promoted to first degree black belt by the USJF in 1975 and by the Kodokan in 1976. Here’s his first Kodokan black belt certificate and his first Kodokan membership card.

Mr. Ohlenkamp has been teaching Judo and jujutsu classes since 1973. He has been the head instructor of the Encino Judo Club since 1985 responsible for classes in five locations teaching hundreds of students each year. He has developed highly successful Judo, jujutsu and self defense programs for various health clubs, churches, schools, community centers, youth centers, and recreation centers throughout Southern California. He has trained athletes and coaches in national conferences, training camps, seminars and clinics at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, and other cities in the United States, Costa Rica, Korea, Japan, France and England. He has trained national champions and international medalists, as well as thousands of recreational Judo players and martial artists. Many of his students have distinguished themselves as coaches and instructors as well. He is widely recognized as a leader in the teaching and promotion of Judo for sport and self defense.

Mr. Ohlenkamp has been a coach and advisor to the Braille Institute of America Judo Team from 1976 to 2006. He was also instrumental in the creation of a national Judo program for blind athletes, and served many years as head coach and coordinator for the U.S. Association for Blind Athletes. He was the U.S. Team Coach at the 1988 Paralympics in Seoul, Korea, the 1989 World Championships in Manchester, England, and the 1990 World Championships and Games for the Disabled in Assen, Netherlands. Coordinator of numerous elite athlete training camps, national and local tournaments, and other training opportunities for the visually impaired, he has trained many blind national and international champions, as well as other coaches and instructors. He also served as the US Representative to the International Blind Sports Association Judo Technical Committee from 1988 to 1993 and was instrumental in creating the international rules for visually impaired competitors.

Mr. Ohlenkamp has been certified by the United States Judo Association as an instructor, referee, rank examiner, and coach. He was named United States Judo Association Coach of the Year for 1999. He has also been designated as a Master Coach by the US Association of Blind Athletes. In 2009, Neil Ohlenkamp was elected to the Board of Directors of the United States Judo Association. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Child Development from California State University, Northridge.As a pioneer in promoting martial arts around the world through the internet, Mr. Ohlenkamp created the first comprehensive web page devoted to Judo in 1995. The Judo Information Site at JudoInfo.com and the Judo Forum at JudoForum.com have helped over 10 million visitors learn about Judo. The Judo Information Site has established itself as the most highly acclaimed, popular, influential, and comprehensive source of information about Judo on the internet. He is a featured advisor at ExpertCentral.com, has contributed to martial arts books, and has had articles published in many Judo publications.

Neil Ohlenkamp authored a pioneering full color judo instructional book published in Spring 2006. The US edition is Judo Unleashed, the UK hardback edition (and the Russian edition) is Black Belt: Judo Skills and Techniques, the German version is Meisterliches Judo, and the Dutch hardback is Handboek Judo. More information about the book is available at JudoBook.com.

You can also see Neil Ohlenkamp’s Judo classes, teaching in Costa Rica, photos of his 2003 visit to the Kodokan in Tokyo, Japan, or photos of a USJA Grassroots Clinic in August 2006. Here is The Squeaky Hip — An Interview with Neil Ohlenkamp.

In Judo, as in life, when something blocks your path, step aside and move around it.