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Join MemoriesVery sorry. He was a big part of my sons growing up. He will be missed. With Greatest Respects
I am sorry for your loss.
Very sorry for the the loss of Bull sensei. He meant a lot to me and all of his students. He gave me the nickname Lukimata and is still used to this day. Rest easy Bull we will all miss you down here. One more thing Bill . I do walk like you now. Hahaha.
Bill was passionate about teaching judo, from the hundreds of kids he taught in Omaha, Nebraska and Norwich, Connecticut, to the elite players he helped to train, like John Saylor, Jimmy Martin and Robin Takemori. He was strongly influenced by Geoff Gleeson, whom he met in his early years as a coach, and with whom he carried on a correspondence for years. When he moved to Connecticut, he worked with Sid Kelly to put innovative judo teaching methods into practice in the dojo. He became a mentor to many other instructors, through his efforts with the USJA and the International Judo Camp. He was a positive influence on many judoka, and will be very much missed.
So sorry to hear about Sensei Bill, he was a great coach, and teacher while I was practicing Judo in high school.
My deepest condolences to you and your family. I have a lot of fun memories of Bill at camp and I think he always enjoyed hanging out at Club Zen. RIP Bill.
I was not allowed to call Bill ‘Sensei.’ Bill insisted I call him Senpai, and he was. I have not had many mentors over the past 20 years who have made such an impact on my life. I would probably never have taught judo were it not for Bill. He would argue with you just to make you think about things. Bill, for more than a decade you have promised to save a throw for me. I will still collect it in the future.
Over the too short time that we trained with Bill and Joan at Norwich Judo we came to like and respect both a great deal. After being forced to leave CT, Bill stayed in touch with Robert and formed a friendship that each valued. I will miss my near weekly conversations with Bill greatly.
A friend and a mentor who helped guide me down to becoming a better coach, teacher and person. Many memories are held by me as well as my son who he always asked about/checked on. Every time I see a judo mat or video, I think of him and his opinion (or what I believe his opinion would be), which inevitably would give me insight and a chuckle. I will miss you my friend.
Bill was generous and valuable with his suggestions to me on training , weightlifting and judo at Washington Judo Club in the early 1980’s. I regret that our paths did not cross again. But I took with me and applied his lessons.
BIll was a dedicated teacher and a wonderful, caring person. He taught judo to my son when he was a student at St. Thomas More. The discipline and the art of judo was an invaluable part of his education.
I have fond memories of Bill at camp and I’ll miss seeing him there. May he rest in peace.
You were such a good friend through the many years of our Judo careers. It will be treasured. As you always said, "I will be talking to you, dear friend" and we will again in a time to come.
I don’t remember with precision, but it must have been about 50 years ago that I met Bill. We were fortunate to have him in the Washington Judo Club for several years, including some of his competition career and some of mine. We had memorable randori sessions back then, and memorable conversations back then and on and off for the rest of Bill’s life. He was a good one and will be sorely missed.
Im sorry for your loss he was a great man And a great role model