the essential The historic judoka of Ei Do Kan Castres judo ju-jitsu passed away after a final fight against illness. And 42 years of life on the tatami mats, which have built a solid reputation.
A monster of Castres sport has passed away. Jean-Marc Desestret, 66, died suddenly on Sunday of a devastating cancer. The shock wave quickly spread through the Tarn dojos and among the families of the judokas of Ei Do Kan Castres judo ju-jitsu, with whom he had established unwavering ties since 1981.
That year, following the death of his teacher Christian Calmet, he found himself propelled to the head of the club he had joined at the age of 11, then frail and shy.
“For 42 years, he will do everything possible to develop Ei Do Kan,” confides Patrick Soum-Morere, the president of the Castres club. “He was very attached to the training of children and adapted sports: throughout his career he trained more than 120 black belts. Jean-Marc was very demanding on the transmission of the ethical values conveyed by the moral code of judo. His honesty and outspokenness made him a respected and listened to person. »
120 black belts trained in 42 years
Since the start of the week, a shower of tribute has poured in on the death of Castres. The Tarn committee had its say, as did the “Tarn judo veterans” commission: “Jean-Marc was always attentive, full of kindness, not shy of advice, a fine technician and above all imbued with humility and modesty. Another sensei who left too soon to join the stars of Tarn judo.”
Although he did not experience the start of the sports season in September, he will have celebrated this summer with all the members of the club, the 70th anniversary of Ei Do Kan, of which he will remain the emblematic teacher and sports director. “The Eidokan finds himself today an orphan, we all feel a great void, he was a driving force for the club, a source of proposals, always enthusiastic for a new project. He was a man of transmission and leaves the club a beautiful legacy,” continues the president, who presents on behalf of the 150 licensees sincere condolences to his wife Anne, his children, Benjamin and Paul, to his grandchildren Louis and Augustin as well as to all his loved ones.
“He was the excellence of what a sports educator could be”
A life on the tatami mats shared for several years with Sylvain Gau, who should continue teaching at the club. “I had known him for 33 years, when at the beginning he was my PE teacher at primary school,” says the 38-year-old instructor. “Jean-Marc is the sports educator par excellence: he had the kindness and pedagogy that was needed. Above all, he believed in the potential of the children he had and helped them reach it. Beyond sport, he accompanied them in their lives through the values in which he believed and which he instilled. »
In 2015, his protégé had the chance to share a great moment in Jean-Marc’s life as a judoka: obtaining his 6th dan, which allowed him to enter the very closed circle of the top ranks of French judo. “I was his partner for part of his performance. He wouldn’t run after it but it was still a consecration of which he was proud and he could be.”
The religious ceremony will take place this Friday, November 3 at 1:30 p.m. in St Jaques church, followed by the cemetery at St Hyppolite. Faithful representative of the club’s adage (“judo as a means of education, judo for all…”), Jean-Marc Desestret, a man of integrity and uprightness, with an impeccable lifestyle, has forged many Castres (es) in their adult life. In them, there is a little bit of him and that is, in a certain way, what makes him immortal.
2023-11-01 10:08:24
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