“It’s kind of a big deal,” said Sensei Bob Rush, pastor and fearless leader of CEM Judo.
The president’s arrival was indeed a big deal. Rush’s dojo was packed with about 60 judo practitioners dressed in their judo wear (including a few black belts), hoping to see the president show off a few moves. Goltz also presented an award to Rush, which the pastor didn’t see coming.
Also present were members from two other prominent local dojos: Coastal Judo and Five Cities Judo.
Some attendees entertained the idea of taking the event outside to the parking lot, where it would have been immensely cooler and more open. President Goltz, however, decided it was a good idea to split the crowd; the 12-and-under attendees went first, followed by the older students.
After warm-ups, Goltz wanted to see their falls.
“I can tell a lot about a student by a fall, and I can tell if they are ranked right by a fall,” he said. “Every stuntman has to know how to fall right, and some dojos spend six months on falls.”
The students obliged, tumbling down. Afterward, Goltz grouped the more experienced students with the younger students for fall practice.
except for a student who had a rash. Turned down, the young judo practitioner asked to throw the next student during the demonstration.
Later, the black belts took on a few of the students and helped them with their throws. One student watched as Gregg Rubio, who runs the Five Cities dojo in Nipomo, demonstrated the “Dudley Butt Strike.” Before tossing his student, Rubio made a farting noise, his rear end sticking out.
The main attraction of the night came during the president’s Goshin demonstration. Goltz’s assistant approached him with bats, mock knives, and a mock gun. But Goltz is a president who doesn’t need a Secret Service; he threw the “assailant,” who landed on the mat with a loud thud.
[image-4] After grabbing his glasses, Goltz walked toward the middle of the dojo to present two awards to Pastor Rush. The first was a Life Membership award from the judo association; the second was something Rush had waited a while for: his third degree black belt.
“That took a long time,” he said, after getting his promotion. “It almost brought me to tears.”
After the ceremony, the students bombarded their teacher with group hugs, handshakes, and congratulations. The pastor was ecstatic.
“They’re all the sons I never had,” he said of his students.
Intern Henry Houston fought the law with judo, but the law won. Contact him at [email protected].
