Sarah Winifred Benidict Mayer(née Benedict) (16 October 1896 – 19 March 1957) was an English actress and

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"). ...

. She was the first non-Japanese woman to obtain a blackbelt in judo.

Biography

Mayer was born as Sarah Winifred Benedict Tapping near Battersea Park in London on 16 October 1896. Her father, Alfred Benedict Tapping was an actor and her mother, Alice Amelia Fishwick was an actress. The couple had three children, of which Mayer was the eldest. Mayer went into acting herself in 1906, joining her parents' productions, and by 1914 she was performing in the West End in

Harley Granville-Barker Harley Granville-Barker (25 November 1877 – 31 August 1946) was an English actor, director, playwright, manager, critic, and theorist. After early success as an actor in the plays of George Bernard Shaw, he increasingly turned to directi ...

's interpretation of

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict amon ...

. She enrolled in the Academy of Dramatic Art soon after. Mayer first trained in judo by

Gunji Koizumi , known affectionately by colleagues as G.K., was a Japanese master of judo who introduced this martial art to the United Kingdom,Budokwai in London is the oldest Japanese martial arts club in Europe.Budokwai: The history ...

in the 1920s. She married twice, first to timber merchant, Sills Keith Gibbons on 29 January 1919, and then to barrister Robert John (Robin) Mayer on 17 July 1924. She went travelling throughout 1934, initially to India and then east through China and Tibet to reach Japan. There she trained with the local police force, and took an interest in judo. She trained with

Ichiro Hatta was a Japanese judoka and wrestler. He was instrumental in founding the Japanese Amateur Wrestling Association and bringing the 1964 Olympics to Japan. Biography Originally a judo specialist and a secretary to Kanō Jigorō he helped popularize ...

and reached first kyū. She was even presented first

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by Prince Nashimoto before returning home. In doing so, she became the first non-Japanese woman to obtain a black belt on 23 February 1935. After her trip, her second marriage broke down and they divorced shortly after. Mayer met Warwick Parker Ovington, an RAF officer, after the war and in 1951 she took his surname. They lived together in Barton under Needwood, Staffordshire until her death, caused by alcohol dependence on 19 March 1957.

References

External links

Richard Bowen Judo Collection at the University of Bath Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Sarah 1896 births 1957 deaths Sportspeople from London English female judoka Judoka trainers English theatre managers and producers Women theatre managers and producers 20th-century British women writers English actresses 20th-century English women 20th-century English people 20th-century English businesspeople