![Judo foot sweep - cropped](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Judo_foot_sweep_-_cropped.jpg)
Felix De Smedt (16 August 1923,
Schelle :''Schelle is also the German name for Šaľa, Slovakia.''
Schelle () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Schelle proper. In 2021, Schelle had a total population of 8,559. The t ...
, Belgium – 2 August 2012,
Mechelen, Belgium) was Belgian
judo
is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...
ka who is credited with introducing the sport to
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. In January 1941, he studied judo formally in
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...
, and was the first Belgian to have done so. On 20 May 1946, he founded the first Belgian judo club in
Schelle :''Schelle is also the German name for Šaľa, Slovakia.''
Schelle () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Schelle proper. In 2021, Schelle had a total population of 8,559. The t ...
near
Boom
Boom may refer to:
Objects
* Boom (containment), a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill
* Boom (navigational barrier), an obstacle used to control or block marine navigation
* Boom (sailing), a sailboat part
* Boom (windsurfi ...
in the province of
Antwerp, the Judo and Jujutsu Academy Bushido-Kwai.
["In memoriam Felix De Smedt of Belgium."](_blank)
European Judo Union (EJU) 5 August 2012. Accessed 6 August 2012. On March 14 1951, the club was relocated to
Mechelen.
["Inhuldiging nieuwe gevechtssportzaal ‘Felix De Smedt’."](_blank)
Koen Anciaux website. 10 October 2012 Accessed 30 November 2012. On 28 November 1996, it became the first Belgian judo club to be awarded the predicate ''Royal'': the club is called the Royal Judo and Karate Academy Bushido-Kwai Mechelen. In October 1950, De Smedt co-founded the Bel. A. J. A. The Bel A. J. A. and the Association Fédérale Belge de Judo et Ju Jitsu (AFBJJ) (created 6 June 1949) were the predecessors to the Belgian Judo Federation. As an instructor, De Smedt was known for his emphasis on highly technical and clean
judo
is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...
, eschewing the use of blunt force.
Early life
De Smedt was born in
Schelle :''Schelle is also the German name for Šaľa, Slovakia.''
Schelle () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Schelle proper. In 2021, Schelle had a total population of 8,559. The t ...
, a
Flemish
Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
in the province of
Antwerp,
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. At the age of twelve, Felix De Smedt was introduced to wrestling by his uncle, a skilled wrestler. After the start of hostilities in Belgium on 10 May 1940, De Smedt accompanied his father to work in
Moissac
Moissac () is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Occitanie region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the rivers Garonne and Tarn at the Canal de Garonne. Route nationale N113 was constructed through ...
near
Toulouse
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...
in southern France where he wrestled.
Career
Judo training
In 1940, adult males (16–35 years) of Belgium were sent by German occupying forces to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
to work. In 1940, De Smedt and his father returned to Belgium and were sent to Berlin. Between December 1940 and January 1941, while in Berlin, De Smedt came across a
jujutsu
Jujutsu ( ; ja, link=no, 柔術 , ), also known as jiu-jitsu and ju-jitsu, is a family of Japanese martial arts and a system of close combat (unarmed or with a minor weapon) that can be used in a defensive or offensive manner to kill or subdu ...
and judo demonstration which was being held in the open air along the famous Berlin boulevard,
Unter den Linden
Unter den Linden (, "under the linden trees") is a boulevard in the central Mitte district of Berlin, the capital of Germany. Running from the City Palace to Brandenburg Gate, it is named after the linden (lime in England and Ireland, not rela ...
, as part of a larger German charity event called Das
Winterhilfswerk
The ''Winterhilfswerk des Deutschen Volkes'' ( en, link=yes, Winter Relief of the German People), commonly known by its abbreviated form ''Winterhilfswerk'' (WHW), was an annual donation drive by the National Socialist People's Welfare (german: ...
. The group was practicing under the guidance of
Erich Rahn (1885–1973).
From 1903, Rahn had studied Japanese jujutsu with Katsukuma Higashi who regularly visited Germany, and had opened Germany's first jujutsu school in 1906. In 1912 and 1935 Rahn's jujutsu school was visited by
Jigoro Kano. Inspired by Jigoro Kano, Rahn opened a judo division in his school.
[Preiß, T. "Erich Rahn - Wegbereiter des Jiu-Jitsu in Deutschland", Verlag Günter Beining Stiftung 2012.]
De Smedt was impressed the demonstration and in January 1941, he became a member of the Jujutsu and Judo Verein Erich Rahn, which was located in a Berlin movie theatre.
After two years of practice De Smedt obtained a jujutsu and judo teacher's diploma issued by Rahn. De Smedt continued his practice until the movie theatre was bombed in 1943. In that same year, De Smedt was relocated to
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...
. He returned to Belgium in July 1945.
Formation of judo clubs
On 20 May 1946, De Smedt opened the first Belgian judo club, the Judo and Jujutsu Academy Bushido-Kwai, located in a room at the back of his parents' cafe in
Schelle :''Schelle is also the German name for Šaľa, Slovakia.''
Schelle () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Schelle proper. In 2021, Schelle had a total population of 8,559. The t ...
, near
Boom
Boom may refer to:
Objects
* Boom (containment), a temporary floating barrier used to contain an oil spill
* Boom (navigational barrier), an obstacle used to control or block marine navigation
* Boom (sailing), a sailboat part
* Boom (windsurfi ...
.
["Club historiek. Felix De Smedt, stichter van de Judo-Karate Academie Bushido-Kwai."](_blank)
Bushido-Kwai Mechelen website 2006. Accessed 30 November 2012. Later that year, De Smedt, opened a second judo club, Ojigi, in Kiel,
Antwerp at the request of Camiel Van Haesendonck (the brother of François Van Haesendonck). It operated in a backroom of Van Haesendonck's parents' cafe, De Familiekring.
De Smedt and Van Haesendonck increased their expertise under Maurice Van Nieuwenhuizen (Dutch) and
Jean de Herdt (French national and first and multiple European champion). In November 1949, de Herdt promoted De Smedt to blue belt 2nd kyu, and in June 1950 to brown belt 1st kyu.
Judo black belt exams
The presence of de Herdt in Brussels led to a schism among some Flemish clubs in the region around Antwerp who, until that point, had been working with De Smedt, Van Haesendonck and a Dutchman, Van Nieuwenhuizen. In October 1951, the first Belgian judo
shodan
SHODAN (Sentient Hyper-Optimized Data Access Network) is a fictional artificial intelligence and the main antagonist of the cyberpunk-horror themed video games '' System Shock'' and '' System Shock 2''.
Character design
SHODAN is an artificial ...
black belt exams for members of the AFBJJ, were held in Brussels, presided over by de Herdt. De Smedt and Van Haesendonck, who were not members of the AFBJJ, were not informed of the exams. Thus, several of their pupils became judo black belts before they did.
BEL.A.J.A. attracted Jean Beaujean (a former colleague of de Herdt) as their visiting expert. In February 1952, the first BEL.A.J.A. black belt exams were held. Again, De Smedt was not informed. Thus Van Haesendonck and Victor Van Gich, the BEL.A.J.A.'s president, became black belts before De Smedt. De Smedt was promoted to shodan black belt in September 1952 by Ger F. M. 'Opa' Schutte (Dutch), a student of Tokio Hirano. De Smedt was introduced to Tokio Hirano by Schutte, and became a first-generation and dedicated student of Hirano from 1952 until Hirano left.
Later career
De Smedt pioneered
judo
is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...
instruction to the police in Belgium starting in the early 1950s, as well as creating children's and women's judo programs.
Among his students are: Gustaaf De Waele, François Van Onckelen (-60 kg),
Jeannine Meulemans (women's -56 kg), Carl De Crée (-78 kg), and Sonja Maes (women's -72 kg).
In 1993, disappointed with the commercialization of judo and federal policies, De Smedt left the Flemish Judo Federation (the Flemish regional sub-federation of the Belgian Judo Federation). From 2001 he transferred his club's judo instruction to others, but remained active as his club's president.
Death
During his final years, old age started limiting his mobility. De Smedt died in his sleep in the early morning of 2 August 2012, aged 88. At the time of his death De Smedt held the judo rank of ''nidan'' (second degree black belt) to which he had been promoted by Tokio Hirano and which had been recognized by the Belgian Judo Federation through its technical director
Ichiro Abe
was a Japanese judoka. He was head of the Promotions Panel at the Kodokan and former international chairperson of the All Nippon Judo Federation. He was one of only fifteen judoka to have attained Kodokan 10th dan rank, having been promoted at ...
; he also held the rank of 6th degree black belt in his club's Judo-Karate fighting system, based on a combination of
Kodokan judo and Ashihara karate. On 10 October 2012, the city of Mechelen named their new
judo
is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...
dojo after De Smedt in honor of his contributions to
judo
is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyclopedia Nipponica, "Judo"). ...
.
References
External links
History Felix De Smedt
{{DEFAULTSORT:De Smedt, Felixl
Belgian male judoka
1923 births
2012 deaths
People from Boom, Belgium
Judoka trainers
Sportspeople from Antwerp Province
20th-century Belgian people