Felix De Smedt
Born
1923-08-16, Schelle
Died
2012-08-02, Mechelen
Description
Belgian judo pioneer, credited with introducing the sport to Belgium. Studied judo formally for the first time in Berlin in January 1941 at the school of Erich Rahn, the first Belgian to do so, continuing until 1943. Founded the first Belgian judo club, the Judo and Jujutsu Academy Bushido-Kwai, at Schelle on 20 May 1946; a Mechelen branch followed on 14 March 1951 and in 1996 the club became the first in Belgium to be granted the Royal predicate. Promoted to shodan in September 1952 and from that year a first-generation, dedicated student of Tokio Hirano. Pioneer of judo instruction to the Belgian police from the early 1950s and of children's and women's judo programmes. His notable students include Carl De Crée and Jeannine Meulemans. The city of Mechelen named its new combat sports hall after him in October 2012, following his death in August of that year.
Teachers (3)
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Erich Rahnsports_martial_artsJūjutsu ConfirmedConfirmedDe Smedt joined the Jujutsu and Judo Verein Erich Rahn in Berlin in January 1941 and practised there until 1943; the Bushido-Kwai club's own history page independently corroborates his instructor diploma from Rahn's school.The evidence establishes the claim: it is sufficient and consistent, and any conflicting evidence is resolved.(1941–1943)
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
2 sources expand_moreFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkDe Smedt joined the Jujutsu and Judo Verein Erich Rahn in Berlin in January 1941 and practised there until 1943; the Bushido-Kwai club's own history page independently corroborates his instructor diploma from Rahn's school.“In January 1941, he studied judo formally in Berlin, and was the first Belgian to have done so. [...] De Smedt was impressed the demonstration and in January 1941, he became a member of the Jujutsu and Judo Verein Erich Rahn [...] He continued his practice until the movie theatre was bombed in 1943.”
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Jean de Herdtsports_martial_artsKōdōkan Jūdō ProbableProbableEnglish Wikipedia records that De Smedt increased his expertise under Jean de Herdt, who promoted him to blue belt 2nd kyu in November 1949 and to brown belt 1st kyu in June 1950.The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.(1949–1950)
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source expand_moreFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkEnglish Wikipedia records that De Smedt increased his expertise under Jean de Herdt, who promoted him to blue belt 2nd kyu in November 1949 and to brown belt 1st kyu in June 1950. -
Hirano Tokiosports_martial_artsKōdōkan Jūdō ProbableProbableEnglish Wikipedia states that De Smedt was introduced to Tokio Hirano by Ger F. M. Schutte and became a first-generation and dedicated student of Hirano from 1952 until Hirano left.The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.(1952)
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source expand_moreFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkEnglish Wikipedia states that De Smedt was introduced to Tokio Hirano by Ger F. M. Schutte and became a first-generation and dedicated student of Hirano from 1952 until Hirano left.
Lineage
Ranks (1)
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military_tech2 dan ProbableProbableEnglish Wikipedia records that at his death De Smedt held the judo rank of nidan (2nd dan), to which he had been promoted by Tokio Hirano and which had been recognized by the Belgian Judo Federation through its technical director Ichiro Abe. The date of the promotion is not recorded.The evidence favours the claim and nothing credible contradicts it, but it falls short of establishing it.Dan-Kyu Systemgranted by Hirano Tokio
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
1 source expand_moreFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkEnglish Wikipedia records that at his death De Smedt held the judo rank of nidan (2nd dan), to which he had been promoted by Tokio Hirano and which had been recognized by the Belgian Judo Federation through its technical director Ichiro Abe. The date of the promotion is not recorded.“At the time of his death De Smedt held the judo rank of nidan (second degree black belt) to which he had been promoted by Tokio Hirano and which had been recognized by the Belgian Judo Federation through its technical director Ichiro Abe; he also held the rank of 6th degree black belt in his club's Judo-Karate fighting system, based on a combination of Kodokan judo and Ashihara karate.”
Students (1)
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Carl De Créesports_martial_artsKōdōkan Jūdō ConfirmedConfirmedDe Crée's own Judo Pour Tous biography names Felix De Smedt as his principal teacher at the time he obtained his black belt at 16; independently corroborated by the English Wikipedia biography of De Smedt, which lists Carl De Crée among his students.The evidence establishes the claim: it is sufficient and consistent, and any conflicting evidence is resolved.
fact_checkassessed by FSMverified
2 sources expand_moreFrederico MuñozResearcher, Martialisfact_checkDe Crée's own Judo Pour Tous biography names Felix De Smedt as his principal teacher at the time he obtained his black belt at 16; independently corroborated by the English Wikipedia biography of De Smedt, which lists Carl De Crée among his students.visibilityFirst-hand
Sources
Identifiers
https://martial.is/entity/01KZXXSBA3FJP0S8FFBH3972MP
Cite and reuse
CC BY-SA 4.0expand_more
Plain text
Muñoz, Frederico (YEAR_PLACEHOLDER). Felix De Smedt. In Martialis: Martial Arts
Lineage Database. https://martial.is/entity/01KZXXSBA3FJP0S8FFBH3972MP - CC
BY-SA 4.0. Accessed ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER.
BibTeX
@incollection{martialis_01KZXXSBA3FJP0S8FFBH3972MP, author = {Muñoz, Frederico},
title = {Felix De Smedt}, booktitle = {Martialis: Martial Arts Lineage
Database}, year = {YEAR_PLACEHOLDER}, url =
{https://martial.is/entity/01KZXXSBA3FJP0S8FFBH3972MP}, urldate =
{ACCESSED_DATE_PLACEHOLDER}, note = {CC BY-SA 4.0} }
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