Mike Swain!
Last weekend I had the pleasure of visiting Mr. Damon Tong’s school in Spokane, WA and participating in a Judo Instructor Training Course with Mr. Mike Swain. Mr. Swain is a 4 time Olympian, the 1996 Olympic Team Coach, and the first American to win the World Championships – Judo’s most prestigious competition. I had the honor of being Mr. Swain’s demo partner for most of the weekend, which was an incredible experience. His technique, power and control are amazing! Plus, he is a super nice person. I know everyone in Masters Training is going to love learning Judo in the Fall quarter!
I also had the privilege of sitting on Mr. Tong’s Black Belt Exam Board on Saturday afternoon and participating in his school’s graduation ceremony Saturday night. Mr. Tong had three student’s testing for junior black belt and all three performed very well. I was particularly impressed with the perseverance they showed and the depth of the curriculum they demonstrated to earn their black belts. One of the students began studying Karate with Mr. Tong as a Little Dragon, when he was 4 years old, and earned his black belt on Saturday… 7 years later. That’s an amazing accomplishment and well deserved!