Business Spotlight: Hayashi No Dojo in Saginaw advertorial

Hayashi No Dojo in Saginaw offers family-oriented classes for ages 5 to 55, providing children, their parents and grandparents the opportunity to participate in the same judo or jujitsu class.

It is very powerful to be a part of a young person's growth as they learn about hard work and standards instilled through family tradition. My school is a place where young and old can challenge themselves mentally and physically in a safe environment.

Hayashi No Dojo was established by Gene Esala in the late 1980s, and I met Gene in the mid-'90s. I earned my Nidan in 2001 and started helping with the Community Ed and college jujitsu classes that Gene taught. Throughout my time helping Gene, he moved the school to various buildings around Cloquet. I decided to take over the school over 2019 because Gene wanted to retire from running a school.

The school now has a permanent address, at 5005 Highway 33 in Saginaw. The mats are now permanent, with a 28-foot by 30-foot space with 2 inches of foam covering a spring floor. The greatest thing about a spring floor is that it is very forgiving for beginners, as well as those who are aging, including me.

Technology has been a big help with training, making it possible for me to be a distance learning student of Jimmy Pedro's American Judo. I can watch videos of how to execute various techniques, practice, video myself and to go over improvements with my instructor, Rian Russo. I was in Boston twice and tested twice, and it was an incredible experience. I met Jimmy Pedro, a world champion and two-time Olympic bronze medalist. I also met Travis Stevens, an Olympic silver medalist. Just being on the mat with such incredible people was exciting and life changing. Shortly after Rian left Jimmy Pedro's American Judo, I met Steven Cohen, an Olympian and an Olympic coach. In working with him, all the things that I thought could happen in Judo did. It is a lot of work to learn a technique at the highest level. I recently earned my Shodan at Cohen Brothers Judo in Vernon Hills, Illinois.

From both of these schools, I learned it takes a family to raise a human being. The founder of Judo said, "The focus of Judo was to promote personal growth and make better citizens." I try to live that.