The kimono as a second skin. The belt, red and white, tight at the waist. In his life, Yann Dody has probably spent more time in his judoka outfit rather than in jeans. “I started at the age of 6, in this same dojo of Judo Club 56 in Vannes,” recalls the man who is now 60 years old.
From all these years of practicing martial arts, Yann has learned lessons, and it is unthinkable to leave this club which forged him and of which he is today one of the teachers. “There is a soul here…”, he confides at the dawn of the club’s 70th anniversary, on March 30, 2024.
“When I started in 1970, I was impressed to see the judo holds where the smaller ones go under the older ones to knock them out,” says Yann, pointing to the exact spot where he observed the fights. . It was Pierre Pautler, the founder of the club, who formed it. Yann makes no secret of it, “with him, it was old-fashioned training, the hard way! But he was a very good teacher.”
Mastery of technique, sporting commitment, taste for martial art: Yann discovered competition at the age of 11. “That’s where I liked it,” says the athlete. I only thought about the competition! “.
In life, as in judo, you must persevere, take responsibility, move forward and do it with others
He opens the doors to the national level at 15, and will not close it until he is 40. He’s not a full-time judoka, but that’s it. “I trained three times a day,” says Yann. Jogging in the morning, muscle strengthening session at lunchtime, and judo in the evening, in addition to my work! »
He has many competitions: eleven participations in the French championships, nine podiums in the Brittany championships, including three victories. He did not stop there with obtaining his sixth dan in 2016, awarded by the Japanese master Shozo Awazu. “I have just applied to pass the seventh,” reveals the judoka who, during the week, wears the belt of general director of the ADMR du Morbihan.
“Judo and this club helped me in life”
In homage to his first “randoris” (fights), he was always licensed to Judo Club 56, even when he lived elsewhere than in Brittany. In 1995, he in turn chose, as his first teacher, to teach judo. But not just anywhere, obviously. “I like to pass on and see the students of Judo Club 56 progress,” explains Yann, who is the father of four children who have practiced. And even as a teacher, I never stop learning about this martial art! »
When you make your passion a part of your life, you inevitably learn lessons from it. Yann Dody has no trouble using the principles of judo in his personal and professional life: “In life, as in judo, we do not always win, we must persevere, take responsibility, move forward and do it with the others “. At any time, during a conversation, he lets it be known how much “judo and this club have helped me in life, it’s like a second family”.
2024-03-13 13:18:54
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