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Roosevelt's White House Judo Course
ホワイトハウス柔道稽古
categoryCourse
calendar_month1904-03/1904-04
location_onWhite House, Washington, D.C. USA
Also known as
Yamashita Teaches Theodore Roosevelt (1904)
Description

The judo instruction Theodore Roosevelt received from Yamashita Yoshiaki in the White House. The naval attaché Isamu Takeshita arranged the meeting in March 1904; impressed by the demonstration, Roosevelt engaged Yamashita on the spot, and during March and April 1904 he practiced judo three afternoons a week in a ground floor White House office, then occasionally through the summer before the elections. His training partners included his sons, his private secretary, Takeshita, Secretary of War William Howard Taft, and Secretary of the Interior Gifford Pinchot.

Part of
Professor Yamashita in America
Participants (3)
  • Yamashita YoshitsuguInstructor
    expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
     2 sources
    fact_check
    The Svinth article, drawing on Roosevelt's own letters and contemporary press, documents Yamashita teaching Roosevelt three afternoons a week in the White House during March and April 1904.
    assessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    "in the words of the New York World, Yamashita and his partner "caused Mr. Roosevelt to quit winking and gasp. They showed him what jiu-jitsu really is and they were engaged on the spot.""
    — Joseph R. Svinth, "Professor Yamashita Goes to Washington", Journal of Combative Sport, Oct 2000link
    "during March and April 1904, Roosevelt practiced judo three afternoons a week, using a ground floor office in the White House as his workout space."
    — Joseph R. Svinth, "Professor Yamashita Goes to Washington", Journal of Combative Sport, Oct 2000link
  • Theodore Roosevelt Jr.Student
    expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
     1 source
    fact_check
    Roosevelt's own letters (quoted in Svinth) describe his training, bruises and progress; his participation as the course's principal student is unambiguous.
    assessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    "I am very glad I have been doing this Japanese wrestling... Still I have made good progress, and since you have left they have taught me three new throws that are perfect corkers."
    — Joseph R. Svinth, "Professor Yamashita Goes to Washington", Journal of Combative Sport, Oct 2000link
  • Takeshita IsamuStudent
    expand_morefact_checkassessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
     1 source
    fact_check
    Takeshita arranged the meeting and took lessons alongside Roosevelt at the White House
    assessed by FSMverified
    Frederico Muñoz
    Researcher, Martialis
    "we, Mr. Roosevelt and I, used to take lessons in jiu-jitsu very often in his library on the second floor of the White House."
    — Svinth, Joseph R.. (1999). Aikido Comes to America - September 1935. Journal of Combative Sportlinkinfo
Styles (1)
sports_martial_arts
Kōdōkan Jūdō
講道館柔道
Referenced by (1)
Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
1858-10-27 - 1919-01-06
Tags
kodokanwhite-house theodore-roosevelt
Sources
"in March 1904, he also arranged for Professor Yamashita to meet with President Theodore Roosevelt in the White House."
— Joseph R. Svinth, "Professor Yamashita Goes to Washington", Journal of Combative Sport, Oct 2000link
"So, during March and April 1904, Roosevelt practiced judo three afternoons a week, using a ground floor office in the White House as his workout space. Then, for the rest of the summer, he practiced occasionally. He stopped training during the elections."
— Joseph R. Svinth, "Professor Yamashita Goes to Washington", Journal of Combative Sport, Oct 2000link
Linked data
data_object JSON-LDdata_object Turtle
https://martial.is/entity/01M19SYYS3VTD98FGQQXEEMMJW
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