journeyjjbluebelt

Mata Leon. In Portuguese and Spanish, it means lion kill.  This is a very powerful choke.   I don’t know the japanese word for it.   The Mata Leon is when you get your arm in a vice grip around the throat and squeeze until unconsciousness.  The other arm blocks the opponent from escaping.   How romantic.   During this weeks fundamental class while relearning this move, Lesson 6, I had a flashback.   When I was a kid, Norm Miller,  http://www.judoinc.com/main/ji/Judo7.htm, invited another Judo club to our dojo for an in-house tournament.   This was in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1978.   In the tournament, I defeated my opponent with the mata leon.   I wasn’t able to win with a throw.   The referee stopped the match.  The other kid was holding his throat and crying.  I felt bad about the crying.  They gave me a trophy.

A week later, at school, St. Mary’s, Elm Grove, Wisconsin, I had told someone about my judo win.  On the playground, my friends were asking me to try the mata leon out on them.  “Please..please..try it out on me,” they asked me.  I totally didn’t want to do it.   After a lot of nagging by this kid named, Danny Lipscome,  I gave in.  I put the choke on him.   He turned red, started choking, tears came running down his face.  I let him go.  He ran off as soon as I let him go.     A few minutes later, two nuns marched from across the parking lot and stopped right in front of me.  They were not pleased.  ” To the Office. Right Now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”  one screamed at me.   They wanted to expel me.   My mother was a teacher at St. Mary’s.  I told them I would NEVER do that again.   I was let off with a very stern warning.