Mr_Cole

Mr. Harry Cole

Kitei-Shodan Black Belt

Danzan Ryu Jujutsu / Hikari Ryuza Ryu Jujutsu®

Hikari Ryuza Ryu Do Kan®

Mr. Cole

I was born August 31, 1937 in a farm house outside the town of Piggott, Arkansas. My parents were sharecroppers with my Grandfather and Uncle. It was a good hard life until World War II when my father left the farm to go help with the war effort. He was not able to enlist, so he went to work at Small Arms Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri making ammunition for the armed forces. I was still in Arkansas at this time and in 1943 had to be transported to Children's Hospital in St. Louis for an operation. My father then decided to move the whole family to be with him.

When the war was over, the Small Arms factory was taken over by Carter Carburetor Corporation were my father worked until he retired. Our house was down the street from the factory and the old Busch Stadium where we went and saw the Cardinals and the Browns play. We lived there until 1950 when my Mother, myself and three brothers moved back to Piggott as a cost saving effort while Dad stayed in St. Louis and commuted down on the weekends. We moved back to St. Louis in 1952.

While attending high school were I graduated in 1955, I worked at a drug store and upon graduation the owner offered to pay for me to become a Pharmacist. I had had enough of schooling and did not accept his offer. I worked at a greeting card company to have money to fill my gas tank so I could travel up and down both sides of the Mississippi River doing whatever. I went to work as a milling machine operator for MacDonnell Aircraft Corporation making parts for aircraft. A recession caused layoffs so I decided to enter the Navy in 1958. I took basic at Great Lakes Naval Station and then went to machinist school in San Diego. I was stationed aboard a Repair ship in Long Beach. I asked my girlfriend from back home to come and get married in 1959, but two cruises overseas, duty stations in Alameda and Bremerton was not conducive to married life and we decided to divorce in 1962. I got out of the Navy in February 1962 when the temperature in St. Louis was below zero, so I decided to stay in California until Summer. I never moved out of California.

I went to San Jose and went to work for FMC Corp. making parts for tanks. When the General Motors plant opened I went to work for them until the plant closed in 1982. I did some Space Flight training for NASA and other jobs until I went to work at Marriot's Great America as a roller coaster mechanic. I left as Director of rides maintenance when I moved to Penn Valley. I also was a Pesticide applicator at LWW (Lake Wild Wood) golf course taking care of the greens and tees. I went to work for the Pleasant Ridge School District where I retired as Director of Maintenance.

I met and married my wife Beverly in 1965 and we have been married for 44 years. We raised five children, three natural and two adopted. Our adopted girl died as a result of an automobile accident when she was eighteen. We have seven grandchildren. Our children were involved in many activities such as camping, YMCA, baseball and roller-skating (they were competitive skaters). Watching them skate, I decided to try it. I found I enjoyed it so much, that I competed all over the state with a dance partner. We were good enough to go to Nationals in 1981 in Dallas/Fort Worth. I have a Bronze medal for roller-skating . I retired my skates in 1982 but, still have them.

I have been a volunteer for my church for 15 years in facilities maintenance and have overseen and taught the 3 year old class for 14 years. I have been involved with the Masonic organization for 25 years. I still find time to do maintenance and handy-work for some of the older generation.

When I finally retired in 2003, I decided to become a volunteer for the Nevada County Sheriff's
Department. While attending the Academy one of our classes was on self-defense. On May 20, 2004, we were invited to Grandmaster Crimi's Dojo to witness a class on personal self-defense. He demonstrated various moves and counter moves of Jujutsu, then invited any student to participate in his Thursday evening law enforcement class. I accepted his invitation and started attending. I found his class interesting and informative and something I wanted to continue with. As with other areas of my life, this was a commitment and responsibility I wanted to pursue.

Grandmaster Crimi has continued to teach me humility, responsibility, honor, humor and love. He is a true master of life and has the patience and perseverance to work with my faults to allow me to continue on this path I have chosen. I am honored and blessed to be his student. At the Dojo we not only get lessons in Jujutsu, but lessons in respect, love , companionship, spirit and awareness. Grandmaster Crimi does not teach Jujutsu for the numbers he can claim, but teaches for those who have the passion to continue to learn the true art of Jujutsu. His passion is real and he instills it in his students. Not only has Grandmaster Crimi taught Law Enforcement Jujutsu, but with Professor Geary has gone into the schools to teach Jujutsu, obedience and respect for others.

As a friend once said "I am proud of who I am, but I must not rest. I must strive to be better than myself and better than my efforts of yesterday". I thank Grandmaster Crimi for continuing to push me forward. On January 24, 2009, Grandmaster Crimi was holding black belt examinations and I was petrified because I did not think I was ready to receive a Black Belt. Grandmaster assured me I was and presented it to me at the Hikari Ryuza Ryu Do Kan® Dojo my Kitei Shodan/Black Belt at the age of 71 years.