Jacks jump for joy over judo instructor
By: Jesse Williams
Issue date: 3/5/07 Section: News
With his calm demeanor, no one would guess this man was dangerous. This never-just-a-book-by-its-cover motto came to mind as he talked about his most fond judo memories.
One of his favorite moments was when a girl with a height of about 5'1" tossed five taller and heavier men on their backs in practice. They lunged at her in consecution, in which she threw each to the ground using only her feet. He said size doesn't matter in judo.
He also said judo was about turning someone else's power against him or herself.
"It's a defensive sport," Rigsby said. "I think it is appropriate behavior. I never wanted to go around and beat people up, but I definitely wanted to protect myself and anybody who was with me."
Rigsby's family hasn't strayed from tossing bodies to the mat either. His thumb-
breaking wife, Dawn, is a green belt and his eldest son, Ben, 23, is a second-degree brown belt. His daughter, Kristin, 17, has studied some self-defense and his youngest son, Daniel, 14, has "played with it" as well.
His favorite martial arts movies are the ones where the credits roll Jackie Chan's name across the screen.
"He's not the smack 'em karate guy out to beat up everybody," Rigsby said. "He has more of a defensive style."
Rigsby's only regret is that he didn't spend more time with judo during his 10-year stay in Houston, where he wrote information systems for refineries and chemical plants.
However, these projects allowed Rigsby to travel to places such as Asia, Malaysia, the Arctic Circle, Canada, Norway, the Middle East, Venezuela, France, Belgium and other exotic places.
Right now, he is preparing for his club to go to San Antonio for the Texas State Championships. His goal for this semester is to bring in as many students to experience how beneficial judo can be to their body, mind and spirit.
"My education got me to where I am," Rigsby said. "Judo gave me more confidence to reach beyond my contemporaries who are afraid to do something."
jwilliams@thepinelog.com
One of his favorite moments was when a girl with a height of about 5'1" tossed five taller and heavier men on their backs in practice. They lunged at her in consecution, in which she threw each to the ground using only her feet. He said size doesn't matter in judo.
He also said judo was about turning someone else's power against him or herself.
"It's a defensive sport," Rigsby said. "I think it is appropriate behavior. I never wanted to go around and beat people up, but I definitely wanted to protect myself and anybody who was with me."
Rigsby's family hasn't strayed from tossing bodies to the mat either. His thumb-
breaking wife, Dawn, is a green belt and his eldest son, Ben, 23, is a second-degree brown belt. His daughter, Kristin, 17, has studied some self-defense and his youngest son, Daniel, 14, has "played with it" as well.
His favorite martial arts movies are the ones where the credits roll Jackie Chan's name across the screen.
"He's not the smack 'em karate guy out to beat up everybody," Rigsby said. "He has more of a defensive style."
Rigsby's only regret is that he didn't spend more time with judo during his 10-year stay in Houston, where he wrote information systems for refineries and chemical plants.
However, these projects allowed Rigsby to travel to places such as Asia, Malaysia, the Arctic Circle, Canada, Norway, the Middle East, Venezuela, France, Belgium and other exotic places.
Right now, he is preparing for his club to go to San Antonio for the Texas State Championships. His goal for this semester is to bring in as many students to experience how beneficial judo can be to their body, mind and spirit.
"My education got me to where I am," Rigsby said. "Judo gave me more confidence to reach beyond my contemporaries who are afraid to do something."
jwilliams@thepinelog.com
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