Yves Klein: the Judoka
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Yves Klein: the Judoka

In judo there are 67 recognized throws for bringing someone to the ground. Last Thursday, during the École de Klein judo demonstrations, Dominique Tobbell and Danny Hutchinson–2nd degree black belt instructors from St. Paul’s Midway Judo Club must have shown at least 20 of them.

Dominique Tobbell and Danny Hutchinson Photo by Cameron Wittig

In the spirit of École de Klein, whose goal is to provide visitors with a better understanding of artist Yves Klein’s work and curiosities, it seemed necessary to have judo represented. Klein was a dedicated student of the martial art form– he earned his black belt from the Kôdôkan Institute in Tokyo in 1952 at the age of  24 and went on to teach at the Spanish Federation of Judo in Madrid, wrote the book Le Fondements du Judo (The Foundations of Judo), and opened his own judo school in Paris.

Yves Klein with a judo partner at the American Students and Artists Centre, Bd. Raspail, Paris, c. 1955
If there is one central fear that must be overcome to become a judoka, it’s falling. Would Klein have been prepared to take his Leap Into the Void without his judo training?

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