Menomonee Judo Club / Wolf Judo

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Menomonee Judo Club / Wolf Judo

Menomonee Judo Club/Wolf Judo • www.wolfjudo.com Located in the heart of Chicago, the club consists of over 140 members ranging in age from 3-65. world Cup.

The Menomonee Judo Club is one of the top Jr Judo programs in the country and America's first Paralympic National Training Center. Our Paralympic classes are pioneering the future of Judo at Park District and Public Schools around the city. During the last year students have competed at local, regional, national and international competitions in 11 states. The club has earned 26 national or international medals in 2008. In 2011, 2 of our students competed in the Jr. This group is meant for any fans of the club or Judo in general. Join us and spread the word. Please visit us at: www.BrettWolfJudo.com

12/16/2025

Shared a very special evening at the dojo over Thanksgiving break with some current club members and a handful of our most accomplished alums. It was something that was long overdue, but certainly worth the wait! As a club we regularly honor the work and accomplishments of the thousands of athletes who preceded us by pushing hard each and every practice. While it doesn’t necessarily define us, the fact that we’ve produced an Olympian, a Paralympian, over 30 World Team members (Sr, Jr, Cadet and Para), more than 50 Pan Am Team members (Sr, Jr, Cadet, Youth and Para) and hundreds of National medalists, is something to be proud of, because they don’t come easy! Hoping this is the first of my alumni events to come! Wolf Judo - past, present and future!

12/12/2025

Lagging far behind on announcing recent belt promotions, but wanted to make sure that we congratulated both Nico Molina - Orange Belt and Letroy Jackson - Yellow Belt, on these well deserved accomplishments. Nico and Troy, who recently competed at his first Judo tournaments in Irving, TX, add a ton to our club. They both work very hard and have been showing improvement on a weekly basis. Hoping that they’ll stay involved and engaged long enough to receive many more belt promotions and accolades. Congrats, Nico and Troy, we’re proud of you!

12/11/2025

Earlier this month we ran our first in-club tournament of the Judo year. These are always fun events, where our younger, less experienced players, can learn about competitive Judo in a comfortable setting. Nearly 60 young Judoka competed, including a group of ten from Bridgeport Catholic Academy Judo, who we are always happy to host. All of the kids fought hard and showed improved skill and understanding. After more than 120 total matches, the competitors left with gold medals and personalized certificates. All in all a very successful day! Congratulations to everyone who competed!

12/11/2025

We are very sad to hear of the passing of Sensei George Kimura last month at the age of 88. Sensei George, a proud Marine veteran, was a player and instructor in the Chicagoland area for over 60 years. He taught at multiple clubs in the city, including the Buddhist Temple of Chicago, Irving Park YMCA and the New City YMCA, which was located less than one block away from our current dojo location. I was lucky enough to work with Sensei George when I began taking lessons at the Lawson YMCA. He and Sensei Hank Okamura made a heck of a coaching staff. Sensei George mentored thousands of people from all walks of life. I’m blessed to have been one of them. Sending prayers and condolences to Sensei’s entire family.

12/09/2025

It’s a couple of weeks late, but we want to congratulate all of the Wolf Judo athletes who competed at the two National tournaments in Texas late last month. The Dallas Open and USA Judo National President’s Cup are two of the largest and most competitive events held domestically each year. More than 1,200 Judo players converged on the convention center in Irving. Our group was relatively small and certainly inexperienced, but everyone fought well and certainly fought hard. We still have a lot of room for improvement (that will always be the case I’m sure), which is exciting, because we will improve, especially with added experience such as this. Congratulations to our athletes, we couldn’t be more proud of you!
USA Judo National President’s Cup
Sunday, November 23rd, 2025
Irving, TX
Gary T - Gold (elite, point division)
Eric M - Gold and Bronze (elite, point division)
Dylan Y - Silver
Isaac O - Silver
Johnny M - Silver
Jude M - Bronze (elite, point division)
Letroy J - 2 wins (1st ever tournament)
Dallas Open
Saturday, November 22nd, 2025
Irving, TX
Eric M - silver and bronze - 2 wins (elite, point division)
Isaac O - bronze - 3 wins, 3 ippons
Gary T - 2 wins (elite, point division)
Jude M - 2 wins
Dylan Y - 3 wins and 7 matches
Letroy - 2 tough matches
Johnny M - 2 tough matches (elite, point division)
Manny R did an excellent job of coaching our athletes! Great player and well on his way to being a first class coach!

11/19/2025

In spite of a couple of nagging injuries and quite a few scheduling conflicts, Wolf Judo will be sending a strong group to the two national tournaments in Irving, TX this weekend - Dallas Open and USA Judo President’s Cup
The club has had many memorable moments at these prestigious events over the years, including Max Schneider winning the most outstanding Sr competitor at the Dallas Open in 2016. The players have trained hard and we know they’ll do a fantastic job!
Best of luck to:
Jude M
Johnny M
Isaac O
Dylan Y
Troy J
Eric M
Gary T

11/18/2025

Congratulations to Mikey R on his promotion to Blue Belt yesterday and on his 14th birthday no less! Blue belt is an extremely high rank at our club and can only be earned with years of dedicated training and commitment. Congrats Mikey and happy birthday! well deserved!

11/11/2025

Wishing all of our Military Veterans a happy Veterans Day and more importantly, thanking them for their service. Working with our Military Veterans is something that we’re extremely passionate about at Menomonee Judo. We’ve partnered with the Chicago Park District since 2010 to offer weekly Judo classes to our local Vets. Those classes take place at McKinley Park every Thursday afternoon. Putting a spotlight on our current members at the club - Howard, Mikki, Chris, Kevin, Jim, Sonia, as well as anyone in your families who have served.

10/29/2025

Happy World Judo Day!!

10/27/2025

Congratulations to everyone who competed at the Cohen Brothers Judo Classic today in Vernon Hills! What a way to start the tournament season. It’s very early on in the Judo year and most of our players have been competing in and focusing on other fall sports, limiting their time on the mat at the club. As always, we’re extremely proud of the effort, sportsmanship and technique that our kids displayed throughout the day. Job well done by the entire team!
4 - Gold Medals (Johnny, Jason, Fox and Zack)
4 - Silver Medals (Jude, John, Jovie and David)
1 - Bronze Medal (Milly)
Thanks to the parents and family members for spending their morning out in Vernon Hills. Also want to thank Cohen Brothers Judo for hosting this fun and worthwhile event. It’s much appreciated!

10/21/2025

While it’s important to live in the moment & also to look towards the future, we must remember our past to understand how we got here. At Menomonee Judo, that history includes the legendary founder of the dojo, Sensei Henry “Hank” Okamura. Sensei Hank, as he was affectionately known to thousands of us, was my first Sensei at Lawson YMCA on Chicago Ave. Lawson was one of a handful of dojos that Sensei Hank ran in & around the city. He literally taught & mentored thousands of students over the decades. Sensei Hank started Judo at the Menomonee Club in the mid 1980’s, partnering with Neal Bader, the club’s new executive director, to bring the Japanese Olympic sport, to neighborhood children. Over the years, under Sensei Hank’s leadership, the club produced Jr National Champions & eventual Senseis, Tony Dangerfield & Danielle Tanimura. A four-time United States National Judo Champion, Sensei earned the rank of 8th dan - at the time, the highest-ranking black belt in the United States, officially awarded by the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo in 1995. Seemed like a good day to introduce you to my Sensei and the reason that Judo at Menomonee exists.

10/16/2025

So good to be back in São Paulo, which feels almost like a second home at this point. The gracious invitation to come work with some of their top Cadets and Juniors came directly from the most decorated Paralympic Judo player of all time and close personal friend, Tenório Silva, four time Paralympic Games Gold medalist (six time medalist). The man is such an inspiration. Although he turns 55 next week, he still trains like the absolute champion that he is. 90 minute sessions of non stop randori, going with people in most cases half or even a third of his age. Tenório is a marvel! Wonderful to see 60 teenage players together on the mat, not for a training camp, clinic or a special event, but because it’s Wednesday. The passion for Judo here is palpable. And just something I noticed, for what it’s worth, not a single player was on their phone once during the entire practice. They were checked in and engaged throughout. As a coach, I loved seeing that. Back on the mat later today.

Address

1535 N Dayton Street, 60642
Chicago, IL
60614

Website

http://www.wolfjudo.com/

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