Harold Sharp

Harold Sharp
Born1927
Died2021 (2022)
StyleJudo
Rank10th Dan Judo

Harold "Hal" Sharp (1927 – March 21, 2021) was an American judoka and author of books on judo.

Personal life

Sharp was born in 1927.[1] Sharp was deployed with the army in 1945 to Japan and learned about martial arts.[2] He attended Los Angeles State College.[3]

Judo competition

He earned his first black belt from the Kodokan.[3] In Japan, he was assigned as being a body guard of Emperor Hirohito.[4] He was a student of Takahiko Ishikawa. He was the winner of the first Foreign Judo Championships in 1954.[2] He became captain of the 1955 US Goodwill Team.[5] Sharp though stated that the Captain was John Osaka and he was a member of the team.[6]

Author

He co-authored The Sport of Judo,[7] Boys' Judo: Sport, Defense,[8] and The Techniques of Judo (Tuttle Martial Arts). The Techniques of Judo, originally published by Tuttle in 1960, has been cited as one of the foundational English-language manuals on the art. It blends traditional Japanese instruction with modern explanations suitable for Western students.[9][10] These books sold over 250,000 copies.[1] He served as a technical advisor for "Mrs Judo", a movie about Keiko Fukuda.[11] 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)[12] He also served as instructor for Star Trek's William Shatner.[12] In 1968, Sharp attended a martial arts forum at Black Belt Magazine representing Judo.[13]

Honors

Sharp was inducted into the USA Judo Hall of Fame in 2019.[14] Sharp died on March 21, 2021.[1][15]

Further reading

Hal Sharp: My Life and Judo, Black Belt, November 1964

References

  1. ^ a b c "Harold Sharp". US Judo Federation. Archived from the original on May 17, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "A Martial Arts Love Affair - Fight Times Magazine". Magazine.fighttimes.com. 2004-12-01. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  3. ^ a b "Black Belt". Active Interest Media, Inc. 1 November 1964 – via Google Books.
  4. ^ "Harold Sharp Obituary (1927 - 2021) - Los Angeles, CA - Los Angeles Times". Legacy.com.
  5. ^ "Black Belt January 1965 - Google Books". January 1965. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  6. ^ "Black Belt February 1965 - Google Books". February 1965. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  7. ^ "Harold E. Sharp: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle". Amazon.com. 1989-12-15. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  8. ^ Sharp, Harold E.; Cook C Hadly JR (October 2011). Boys' Judo: Sport, Defense: Harold E. Sharp, Cook C. Hadly Jr., Bob Owen: 9781258128371: Amazon.com: Books. Literary Licensing, LLC. ISBN 978-1258128371.
  9. ^ "Judo Formal Techniques (9780804851480)".
  10. ^ Takagaki, Shinzo; Sharp, Harold E. (15 February 1998). The Techniques of Judo (Tuttle Martial Arts): Shinzo Takagaki, Harold E. Sharp: 0676251821123: Amazon.com: Books. Tuttle. ISBN 0804821127.
  11. ^ "L.A. Screening of 'Mrs. Judo'". Rafu.com. 2013-11-10. Retrieved 2015-03-14.
  12. ^ a b Goltz, Gary (March 23, 2021). "The Legendary Hal Sharp was a Real Mensch!" (PDF). Archived from the original on March 24, 2021.
  13. ^ Dreis, David (June 1968). Martial Arts Forum, International Convention, Why?. Black Belt Magazine. pp. 32–35.
  14. ^ "In Memoriam Harold Sharp". Archived from the original on 10 December 2022.
  15. ^ "The Life of Harold E. Sharp, judo icon and beloved member of Nanka Judo Yudanshakai". nankajudo.com. April 3, 2021. Archived from the original on December 10, 2022.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.