Okuri Judo Club

Okuri Judo Club is led by Sensei Kim Mesa. Her judo career started early when she was introduced to judo at the age of 5 by her father, Skip Laney. She competed in her first tournament in 1975 and still has her trophy for the 3rd place finish, there were only 3 competitors, but everyone has to start somewhere. Sensei Mesa earned her first black belt at the early age of 16. She competed as a child through her college years, but never pursued it seriously. After graduation of high school in 1986, she entered the University of Texas at Arlington. It was at this time she decided to start teaching judo on her own. Sensei Mesa and Nathan Nance started a judo club at UTA. Both were attending UTA at the time and started the club with about 10 students. Her judo program thrived, winning many Collegiate State Championship medals, including her own 3rd place finish at the 1988 National Collegiate Championships. In the Fall of 1990, Sensei Mesa began teaching an additional class at the Eastside YMCA in Fort Worth, TX. After Sensei's graduation in December 1990, she was no longer able to teach the UTA class because she was no longer a student. She decided to combine the two programs and the name Okuri Judo Club was adopted. In 1990, Sensei Mesa suffered a non-judo related back injury that put her competitive shiai career on hold for 6 years. During those 6 years, Sensei Mesa concentrated on teaching judo and in the early 90's focused on kata competition. She and her partner, Lisa Book, attended week long training camps at the Olympic Training Center in Lake Placid, NY with Keiko Fukuda learning the fine points of kata. They competed in several National Championships and placed in the top 4 several times. In September 1991, Sensei Mesa began working for the City of Dallas in the Parks and Recreation Department. OJC moved all classes to the Dealey Recreation Center. Several of the members who started playing judo at Dealey are still with the club today. In May 1992, Dealey was closed and turned back into an Elementary school. Sensei Mesa was transferred to the Campbell Green Recreation Center and OJC moved with her. Shortly after moving to Campbell Green, Sensei Sheridan Simmond moved to Texas from New Jersey and joined OJC as an assistant instructor. His contribution to the club has been wonderful. Sensei Mesa's judo career came to a turning point in 1995. For the previous 3 years she had pursued a Masters degree. She graduated in 1995 and found quite a bit of free time on her hands. In September 1995, she was co-director of the USA Judo National Ladder Tournament. After seeing the competition, she was bit by the competition bug once again. In 1996, she placed 3rd in the same USA Judo National Ladder Tournament she had hosted the previous year. This win earned her "Elite Athlete" status and she was on her way. In 1997, Sensei Mesa placed 5th at Senior Nationals. It was also at this event she sustained her first serious injury. Unknown to her and her doctor, she had sustained a mild concussion the week before the event. During the event, she sustained another concussion, complicating the first injury. Upon her returned she immediately contacted her doctor and was scheduled for a MRI. Sensei Mesa had a condition call Double Impact Syndrome which can be life threatening if the brain is not allowed time to heal. She was sidelined until she competed in the 1997 USA Judo National Ladder Tournament. She improved her standing by winning the Silver. Through out the next year,she traveled everywhere possible to compete. She trained hard for the 1998 Senior Nationals, but drew a very hard draw. In the first round, she drew the USA #1 rank player and lost, sending her into the losers' pool. Her next fight was against a 1992 Silver Olympic medallist. When attempting to escape a throw, she was thrown on her head, sustaining yet another concussion. After healing, she went on to finally win the Gold at the 1998 USA Judo National Ladder Tournament. The 1999 - 2000 tournament season was a tough one for her. It started off well for a 2nd place finish at the 1999 USA Judo National Ladder Tournament, however it was short lived. She sustained two more concussions until her doctor advise her it was in her best interest not to continue playing judo. Since 2000, Sensei Mesa has concentrated on healing and coaching. She enjoys her new role as coach and has logged many miles traveling with her students, including her husband, Jorge Mesa. In 2000, one of her students won a gold medal in their age and weight category at Senior Nationals. In 2001, two students competed in kata and missed placing 3rd by one point and another student won a silver medal in shiai. In 2002, Jorge won silver at the Pacific International in Vancouver. In 2003, OJC won 4 medals in shiai and two in kata. OJC looks forward to future and continued success. In November 2000, the club moved its main dojo to the Hurst Recreation Center. OJC meets three times a week in Hurst and is quickly building membership. However, after 11 years teaching within the Dallas Parks & Recreation Department, OJC regrettably closed the class at Campbell Green Recreation in December 2002. With the Campbell Green class closed, the Hurst Recreation Center has spoiled OJC by providing a permanent 42x42 mat area, putting down and picking up mats is a distant memory. Not only has Sensei Mesa shared her knowledge of judo locally, but has been active in building judo in Texas. She was Vice President of Texas Judo and Editor of the Texas Judo News for six years. She is an USA Judo certified Level C coach and has conducted coaching clinics in Texas to certify local coaches in her area. She was also instrumental in organizing events. OJC held the first Lone Star Classic Judo Tournament in January 1992 at the Walnut Hill Recreation Center. The tournament attracted 75 judo players and was held on two playing areas. The 2003 LSC attracted almost 400 judo players from 8 states and was held on four playing areas. The LSC has grown to one of Texas' premier judo events. Since establishing Okuri Judo as the official club name, OJC has had many proud moments. The club has sponsored approximately 25 judo tournaments, two of them being the 1995 and 2000 USA Judo National Ladder Tournament. The club has also organized clinics and training camps with Mike Swain, Matsumura, Ogasawara, Pat Burris, Tommy Dyer, Jimmy Pedro, and others. The efforts of Sensei Mesa, Sensei Simmond, and the many club members make all of these accomplishments possible. OJC looks forward to many, many more accomplishments in the future.