Par Writing Ploermel
Published on
Pascal Samson is a emeritus judoka, an example of perseverance and determination. Passionate about this sport from an early age, he became black belt at the age of 57, after 40 years of break, with his club of Meneac (Morbihan).
In 1974, a budding passion
Le Meneac Judo Club was born in 1963 and at the same time, Pascal Samson also points the tip of his nose. He spent his childhood in Ménéac with his friends and in 1974, he started judo with the Pichon brothers. If the latter have never left the mats, to the point of always being judo teachers within the club today, Pascal Samson stopped in 1978 when he was blue belt. He will not put on his kimono until many years later.
Two girls judokas
Because before putting on a kimono, two of her daughters, Célia and Caroline, step onto the tatami mats. In 2003 for Célia, in 2006 for Caroline. The father follows them in all their competitions for many years: local, departmental, regional and then national. They each get their black belt in turn in the local club. A much higher level than their father, who had stopped at the blue. But the story does not end there.
At the head of the club
Passionate about their sport, his daughters harass him to resume judo. In 2015, he became president of the Judo Club of Ménéac: “It was a wish of the judokas and the volunteers of the club. Pascal was always present at the club, at competitions and always invested. It was therefore natural for him to take the reins of the association ” , then indicated André Pichon, the club’s teacher.
And in 2016, at Christmas, a funny gift arrives under Pascal Samson’s tree: a kimono. Santa Claus, or rather his three daughters, could no longer see him looking at the tatami mats rather than climbing on them. Neither one nor two, Pascal Samson has returned to judo.
The black belt at 57
After years of work, effort and competition, Pascal Samson obtains his black belt in 2022. Despite a long break linked to covid: “I was no longer within two years” , he jokes. At 57, he therefore became a first dan in judo. “The deserved reward of a great work for many years” says his teacher.
Judo in the skin
Now a black belt, he wants to focus more on the club and encourage the young people who are part of it.
“Judo is also about the club, the people, the human relations. I love going to follow the judokas in competition, to encourage them. And being a black belt at 57 also means showing these young people that anything is possible and that you should never give up. ”
A judo club like no other, then. With about sixty licensees today, the association has trained hundreds and hundreds of judokas for years. Pascal Samson will probably not be the last; but the oldest, perhaps.
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