Henri Courtine (11 May 1930 – 20 February 2021) was a French

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 ...

ka.

Career

He studied with

Mikinosuke Kawaishi was a Japanese master of jujutsu and judo who achieved the rank of 7th Dan. He led the development of Judo in France, with Shozo Awazu, and much of Europe and is credited with introducing the colored belt system for differentiating early grades. ...

, and his assistant,

Shozo Awazu was a Japanese master of judo who achieved the rank of Kōdōkan 9th Dan. He led the development of judo in France. Biography Shozo Awazu was born in Kyoto in 1923. He came in France in 1950 and assisted Mikinosuke Kawaishi in introducing judo ...

. He received a bronze medal at the

1956 World Judo Championships The 1956 World Judo Championships were the 1st edition of the Men's World Judo Championships, and were held at the Kuramae Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan on 3 May, 1956. Medal overview Men Medal table References External links results on judo ...

in Tokyo, shared with

Anton Geesink Antonius Johannes Geesink (6 April 1934 – 27 August 2010) was a Dutch people, Dutch List of judoka#Highest grades, 10th dan judoka. He was the first non-Japanese judoka to win gold at the World Judo Championship, a feat he accomplished in 1961 ...

, after losing the semi final to winner

Shokichi Natsui was a Japanese judoka from the Akita Prefecture. He became the first world champion in judo, winning the title at the 1956 World Judo Championships in Tokyo, by beating Yoshihiko Yoshimatsu in the final. As there were no weight classes ...

. He was three times individual European champion (1952, 1958 and 1959), and four times with the French team (1952, 1954, 1955 and 1956). He served as sports director of the

International Judo Federation The International Judo Federation (IJF) was founded in July 1951. The IJF was originally composed of judo federations from Europe and Argentina. Countries from four continents were affiliated over the next ten years. Today the IJF has 200 National ...

(IJF) from 1979 to 1987. Henri Courtine was honored with the title '' jūdan'' (10th dan) in 2007, as the first ever French judoka. This title however is not officially '' recognized by the Kodokan''. Courtine died on 20 February 2021, aged 90.Tenth Dan judoka Henri Courtine passed away
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References

External links

* 1930 births 2021 deaths French male judoka Sportspeople from Paris Place of death missing 20th-century French people {{France-judo-bio-stub