Harold "Hal" Sharp (1927 – March 21, 2021) was an American

judoka 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"). ...

and author of books on

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 ...

Personal life

Sharp was born in 1927.https://www.usjf.com/2018/02/harold-hal-sharp/ Sharp was deployed with the army in 1945 to Japan and learned about martial arts. He attended Los Angeles State College.

Judo competition

He earned his first black belt from the Kodokan. In Japan, he was assigned as being a body guard of

Emperor Hirohito Emperor , commonly known in English-speaking countries by his personal name , was the 124th emperor of Japan, ruling from 25 December 1926 until his death in 1989. Hirohito and his wife, Empress Kōjun, had two sons and five daughters; he was ...

. He was a student of Takahiko Ishikawa. He was the winner of the first Foreign Judo Championships in 1954. He became captain of the 1955 US Goodwill Team. Sharp though stated that the Captain was John Osaka and he was a member of the team.

Author

He co-authored ''The Sport of Judo'', ''Boys' Judo: Sport, Defense'', and ''The Techniques of Judo (Tuttle Martial Arts)''. These books sold over 250,000 copies. He served as a technical advisor for "Mrs Judo", a movie about

Keiko Fukuda was a Japanese American martial artist. She was the highest-ranked female judoka in history, holding the rank of 9th ''dan'' from the Kodokan (2006), and 10th ''dan'' from USA Judo (July 2011) and from the United States Judo Federation (USJF) (S ...

. He is a 10th dan in Judo, promoted by the Nanka Judo Yudanshakai on October 31, 2020. His final book was "The Road To Black Belt".

Judo career

Sharp had a number of Judo friends including that of

Charles Palmer (judoka) Charles Stuart William Palmer (born in Ealing, West London; 15 April 1930–17 August 2001), OBE was a British martial artist. Palmer was a judo instructor, President of the Budokwai, President of the British Judo Association (1961&ndash ...

https://blackbeltmag.com/hal-sharp-judo He also served as instructor for Star Trek's

William Shatner William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship USS Enterpri ...

Honors

Sharp was inducted into the

USA Judo USA Judo (officially known as United States Judo, Inc.) is a non-profit organization which represents all areas of U.S. judo practitioners, including athletes, coaches, referees and others. The organization is managed by a staff of seven at the US ...

Hall of Fame in 2019. Sharp died on March 21, 2021.http://www.nankajudo.com/the-life-of-harold-e-sharp-judo-icon-and-beloved-member-of-nanka-judo-yudanshakai/

References

1927 births 2021 deaths American male judoka American judoka {{US-judo-bio-stub