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O-Sensei Philip S. Porter, 10th Dan Judo Master and Father of American Judo, founder of WWMAA
Portrait of O-Sensei Philip S. Porter, 10th degree black belt judo grandmaster and WWMAA founder

O-Sensei Philip S. Porter

Father of American Judo - 10th Dan Judo Master

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In Memoriam

Our founder, Philip S. Porter, passed away on August 7th, 2011 of cancer. O-Sensei Porter is considered by many "The Father of American Judo". O-Sensei founded the USMA, helped found the USJA, served as a Chairman of the AAU Judo Committee, Chairman of the U.S. Olympic Judo Committee, Secretary General of the Pan American Judo Union, and produced more than 1,000 national and international medalists in Judo over the past 50 years, 500 of them during the eight years he coached the National Judo Team.

Phil Porter graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1948, and served in the U.S. Army and Air Force for 25 years, retiring as a Major in 1967.

Phil will be greatly missed by his family and friends, and his legacy to the American Martial Arts will never disappear.

A Legendary Martial Arts Career

It is safe to say that there is no other person alive in the world today who has had so varied and comprehensive a career of achievement in Judo and the Martial Arts as Philip S. Porter. In every field of endeavor involved in Judo; from coaching, teaching and national and international leadership positions to writing, refereeing and building the theoretical framework of Judo, he has excelled. His competitive career spanned 50 years, culminating with four US National Masters Gold medals in winning which he never lost a match.

He may be the only person who has refereed the finals in the world championships and fought in the world masters championships as well. During his many years in Martial Arts training, Porter has lived, taught and competed in Europe for four years; and lived, studied and competed in Japan for two years. From Thailand to Germany, from England to Brazil, he has studied, refereed, taught, and competed for 65 years.

Early Life & Military Service

O-Sensei (Teacher of teachers) Philip S. Porter began his Martial Arts career as a boxer 65 years ago – in 1943 at age 18. He was later a member of the West Point Boxing Team; and in 1950, Light Heavyweight Boxing Champion of the Western Area of the Air Training Command, USAF. Porter graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1948, and served in the U.S. Army and Air Force for 25 years, retiring as a major in 1967.

O-Sensei started Judo, JuJitsu, and Karate training in 1951 while serving on a Strategic Air Command (SAC) combat crew at Travis Air Force Base, California. His first teacher was Sensei Walter Todd, 2nd Degree in Judo and the first American to be awarded a black belt in Shotokan Karate. Todd was later promoted to 8th Degree Black Belt in Shudokan Karate, and is now deceased. Because Porter was 27 years old at the time, he soon started teaching and coaching Judo as well as competing. Now, he is called O-Sensei because he is responsible for teaching and watching over the rank promotions of thousands of his Black Belt students and club leaders throughout the country in over 1,500 clubs of the United States Martial Arts Association.

Competition History

O-Sensei Porter started competing in Judo in 1951, and remained active in masters competition, a competitive career spanning over 50 years.

  • US Air Force USAFE Champion (1957)
  • Bronze Medal, US Senior Nationals (1963)
  • US National Masters Champion (1975, 1977, 1980, 1981) – Never lost a match
  • Two Gold and One Silver Medal, World Master Athlete Games, Ottawa (1998)

Coaching Excellence

Phil Porter's coaching achievements are legendary.

He has produced over 1,000 national and international medalists in Judo over the past 50 years, 500 of them during the eight years he coached the National Judo Team at the NJI (1984-1992). No other coach in America has even approached this record. His team won six medals with six athletes in the 1991 Pan American Games, including Kate Donahoo's Gold Medal. Kate Donahoo also won 5th place in the World Judo Games of 1989, 5th place in the 1992 Olympics, and won the Bronze Medal in the 1988 World Good Will Games.

Creative Works

Coach Porter considers that his most important contribution to Judo and the Martial Arts is the large number of books, magazine articles, videos and DVDs that he has created. Many of these works outline and explain his own original theoretical contributions to Judo. His videos alone have sold over 130,000 copies, the most important and popular Judo videos in English ever made in the world.

Notable Works

  • "The 65 Throws of Kodokan Judo" (world standard for Judo)
  • "The Secrets Of Winning In Judo"
  • "The Counters of Judo"
  • "Judo Grappling Techniques"
  • "Judo From The Beginning"
  • "Championship Judo Drill Training" (with Ben Campbell)
  • "The Basic JuJitsu Manual"
  • Junior and Senior Rank System Manuals for American Judo (hundreds of thousands of copies printed over 40 years)

He also created and was the editor of the magazine "American Judo" for 35 years.

Leadership Legacy

O-Sensei Porter is called "The Father of American Judo" because he helped found the USJA in 1954, and personally built it into the largest Judo group in America, as well as the largest non-profit Martial Arts organization in the country, over a period of 41 years.

Founding The National College Judo Movement: In 1962 Porter hosted the first National Collegiate Judo Championships at the US Air Force Academy, wrote the constitution and bylaws of the first National Collegiate Judo Association (NCJA), and was elected as its Secretary. Later he was elected for a term as President of the NCJA.

Porter founded and became President of the U.S. Martial Arts Association in late 1995. The USMA is the only non-profit American organization devoted to unifying the Martial Arts in our country, and recognizing all Martial Arts.

National Leadership

  • •National Chairman, AAU Judo Committee (1961-1964)
  • •Chairman, U.S. Olympic Judo Committee (1964-1968)
  • •President, U.S. Judo Association (1980-1995)
  • •Editor, "American Judo" (1960-1995)
  • •President and Head Coach, National Judo Institute (1980-1995)
  • •Founder, United States Martial Arts Association (1995)

International Leadership

  • •Secretary General, Pan American Judo Union (1964-1967)
  • •Technical Director, Pan American Judo Union (1967-1969)
  • •Consultant, IJF Contest Rules (rewrote rules in 1967)
  • •Referee, World Championships Finals (1965, Brazil)
  • •Consultative Committee, First Judo Olympics (Tokyo, 1964)

Martial Arts Rank & Recognition

O-Sensei holds the 10th Dan or higher rank in more than 15 Martial Arts. The six arts in which O-Sensei holds 10th Dan and which he considers earned ranks:

Judo: Judan (10th Degree)

One of only five 10th degrees in the world. Personally promoted to 4th Dan by Sumiyuki Kotani, 9th Dan of the Kodokan.

JuJitsu: Judan (10th Degree)

USJA (1st-9th degrees), USMA and Beikoku Mizu Ryu JuJutsu (10th degree, 1997)

Beikoku Mizu Ryu JuJitsu: Judan

By the Beikoku Mizu Ryu JuJitsu Association

Budo Taijutsu: Judan

1998 by Dr. Masaaki Hatsumi, 34th Soke of the Togakure Ryu

Jun Kin Shin: Soke-10th Degree

JuJitsu ryu founded by O-Sensei from his law enforcement and military experience

Taiho Jitsu: Judan

1997 by Mid-Atlantic Self Defense Association

Hall of Fame Honors

  • World Martial Arts Hall of Fame – "Heritage Award of Excellence" (April 1997)
  • International Karate & Kickboxing Hall of Fame (April 1997, Cleveland, Ohio)
  • World Headfounders Council – 18th member inducted out of 3,219 applicants (July 1997)
  • Martial Arts Masters, Pioneers and Legends Hall of Fame – "Legend" category (May 1998)

O-Sensei's Teachers

Porter says, "I was blessed with the greatest teachers a man could ever have."

While in the Air Force, his first teacher was Walter Todd (later 8th Dan). In 1953, Sumiyuki Kotani (later 10th Dan) and Tadao Otaki (later 9th Dan) both accepted him as their student.

Then O-Sensei trained in England at the famous Budokwai in London for a period of four years (1954 to 1958). At that time his teacher was Trevor P. Leggett, until his death the only 9th Degree in Judo in Europe, and one of only a few 9th Degrees in Judo outside of Japan.

O-Sensei insists that his teachers are still with him, and that now his O-Sensei is the Lord Christ.

Legacy of Excellence

O-Sensei believed that at age 83, his theoretical, teaching and coaching work in Judo was just beginning. He said, "My creative ability in Judo seems to increase over the years. I am developing more new concepts, teaching methods, and technical applications of Judo now than ever before. The next 30 years promise to be a very rich experience!"

Though O-Sensei Porter passed in 2011, his vision, teachings, and legacy continue to inspire martial artists worldwide through the WWMAA and the thousands of students he trained throughout his remarkable life.

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