Page 72 - ISSUE 2

BOOKS TO

ROLL BY

THE JUDOKA BY
W.D. NORWOOD JR.

What makes a classic, classic? Whatever the medium
might be, film or a printed text, or in today’s world a digital
application, or whether the genre might be fiction, non-
fiction, or bukake, and regardless of if the art form is ballet,
Jiu-Jitsu, or Judo, truth has to resonate from it. Arguably, a
classic should have mass appeal.

I actually had a potential Dead Poets Society moment
back in high school arguing that point. I argued the merits
of Stephen King’s “It” in Stan “The Man” Williams’ English
class, and we had a good roll, but he eventually made me tap.
His point was that a classic has to resonate with the reader,
and it has to resonate over time. Mass appeal, however, well
he didn’t think people were all that smart.

The Judoka, was written by W.D. Norwood Jr. and first
published in 1973. I was first lent the book in 1997, when I
was training Danzan ryu jujitsu. Even then the book was out
of print. It wasn’t back in print until years later, long after the
author’s death in 1998.

Written By:
DAVE KIPPER

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