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George Lee Harris (January 15, 1933 – January 7, 2011) was a member of the first United States Olympic
judo
is an unarmed gendai budō, 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 Nipponi ...
team. He was born in
Kittrell, North Carolina
Kittrell is a town in Vance County, North Carolina, United States.
History
Kittrell was chartered in 1885, with its first mayor David Outlaw, a merchant and bachelor. In 1860, one census district in Granville County the primary of the three pa ...
. He was a 10th dan in Judo. Harris began his judo career after 1952. Ten Questions with George Harris - by Rebecca Barnett. Published in ''The Masters, Judo for Adults'' (2000) Harris while speaking at Jack Krystek's School of Judo stated he was initially a boxer before becoming a Judoka.
He was a two-time gold medalist in the
Pan American Games
The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...
(1960 and 1963), four-time United States National Champion (1957, 1958, ...), and six time Air Force Champion. He also trained at the
Kodokan
The , or ''Kōdōkan'' (講道館), is the headquarters of the worldwide judo community. The ''kōdōkan'' was founded in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō, the founder of judo, and is now an eight-story building in Tokyo. Etymology
Literally, ''kō'' ( ...
where he earned his blackbelt.
Harris had a long involvement with military judo in the United States Air Force, and later served as president of the
United States Judo Association
The United States Judo Association is a sports association in the United States. It was formed in 1969 following a reorganization of the Armed Forces Judo Association, and is one of three national judo associations in the United States, the othe ...
.
Mr. Harris starred in the late-1970s martial-arts film, "The Year of the Gentle Tiger", a forerunner to "The Karate Kid". He also appeared on talk shows and was twice a guest on "To Tell the Truth".
References
Sources
*Nishioka, Hayward (2000) ''Judo: Heart and Soul'' Ohara Publications.