By STEVE WALENTIK of the Tribune’s staff
Patrick Burris knows it sounds a little ridiculous now. But then he’s had almost 30 years since he walked off the Olympic judo mat in Montreal to gain perspective.
Burris
Burris
It wasn’t always so obvious.
"There was a point that because I didn’t achieve my particular goal, I thought that I was a failure," said Burris, a two-time Olympian. "What a silly thought that is, isn’t it? Here a guy goes to two Olympics, but he looks at himself as a failure because he didn’t medal or he didn’t do what he set his goals to do."
Burris, who will certify coaches and conduct a clinic beginning at 11 a.m. today at Gold’s Gym South, decided the only way to make up for his unrealized dreams was to help others attain theirs. So he got into coaching.
It’s his way of passing along a lifetime’s worth of knowledge about judo, a sport based on the ancient martial art of jujitsu founded by Dr. Jigoro Kano in 1882.
When Burris, now 55, was growing up, judo remained mostly a discipline of the Japanese. He credits his early exposure to the sport to his mother, a woman of Japanese ancestry born and raised in Hawaii, and his father, a marine.
His father learned the sport in the military and used to take Burris along to workouts. By age 5, he started participating. He trained throughout his childhood, even as his family moved from Hawaii to Southern California.
At age 16, Burris won gold at the USA High School Judo Championships and the Southern Pacific Judo Championships. He was also a standout wrestler as a teenager and competed at Santa Ana College, where he won a junior college title.
It was his wrestling success that earned Burris a scholarship to the University of Northern Colorado, where he won the Rocky Mountain Conference wrestling title.
Burris said the two sports share many similarities, right down to some of the takedowns used in each, though they go by different names.
"I think judo’s a little bit more of a defensive sport, where wrestling’s a little bit more offensive, a little bit more aggressive," he said. "I generally encourage any wrestler to come in and work out or take judo, especially young wrestlers in junior high and up. It will help their wrestling."
During Burris’ wrestling career, judo remained a primary focus. He spent several summers in college traveling to Japan to train at the Kodokan, the school founded by Dr. Kano. His parents helped finance these three-month visits, which cost at least $1,200 each.
They did it because they recognized his goal to compete at the highest level of the sport - a goal he achieved. Burris, a five-time national champion, made the U.S. Olympic team in 1972 and competed in Munich. He also competed in four Pan-American Games, three world championships and the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
His only regret was that he didn’t come home with an Olympic medal.
Burris tried his hand at teaching for a few years then got into real estate in Colorado, all the while coaching judo on the side.
He had a student from Oklahoma named Dr. Ron Tripp. Some weekends, Tripp, now the president of USA Judo and a chiropractor in Oklahoma, would travel to Colorado for training. Other times, Burris would head to Oklahoma.
In 1985, Burris sold his real-estate business in Colorado and moved to Oklahoma permanently. He settled in Moore and opened his first club. There, Burris helped Tripp reach the highest levels of international competition.
In 1993, he founded USA Stars. The clubs now operate in Moore, Okla.; Miami, Okla.; Granite City, Ill.; and Salt Lake City. The clubs train more than 400 students in judo and other martial arts.
"I decided I would give young people an opportunity to taste the sport of judo and other sports but on a different level, a very high level, where if they wanted to compete, they’d be trained very properly," said Burris, who returned to the Olympics as an assistant coach on the U.S team in 1996 and now conducts clinics across the country.
So much for failure.
Reach Steve Walentik at (573) 815-1788 or swalentik@tribmail.com.
Burris, who will certify coaches and conduct a clinic beginning at 11 a.m. today at Gold’s Gym South, decided the only way to make up for his unrealized dreams was to help others attain theirs. So he got into coaching.
It’s his way of passing along a lifetime’s worth of knowledge about judo, a sport based on the ancient martial art of jujitsu founded by Dr. Jigoro Kano in 1882.
When Burris, now 55, was growing up, judo remained mostly a discipline of the Japanese. He credits his early exposure to the sport to his mother, a woman of Japanese ancestry born and raised in Hawaii, and his father, a marine.
His father learned the sport in the military and used to take Burris along to workouts. By age 5, he started participating. He trained throughout his childhood, even as his family moved from Hawaii to Southern California.
At age 16, Burris won gold at the USA High School Judo Championships and the Southern Pacific Judo Championships. He was also a standout wrestler as a teenager and competed at Santa Ana College, where he won a junior college title.
It was his wrestling success that earned Burris a scholarship to the University of Northern Colorado, where he won the Rocky Mountain Conference wrestling title.
Burris said the two sports share many similarities, right down to some of the takedowns used in each, though they go by different names.
"I think judo’s a little bit more of a defensive sport, where wrestling’s a little bit more offensive, a little bit more aggressive," he said. "I generally encourage any wrestler to come in and work out or take judo, especially young wrestlers in junior high and up. It will help their wrestling."
During Burris’ wrestling career, judo remained a primary focus. He spent several summers in college traveling to Japan to train at the Kodokan, the school founded by Dr. Kano. His parents helped finance these three-month visits, which cost at least $1,200 each.
They did it because they recognized his goal to compete at the highest level of the sport - a goal he achieved. Burris, a five-time national champion, made the U.S. Olympic team in 1972 and competed in Munich. He also competed in four Pan-American Games, three world championships and the 1976 Olympics in Montreal.
His only regret was that he didn’t come home with an Olympic medal.
Burris tried his hand at teaching for a few years then got into real estate in Colorado, all the while coaching judo on the side.
He had a student from Oklahoma named Dr. Ron Tripp. Some weekends, Tripp, now the president of USA Judo and a chiropractor in Oklahoma, would travel to Colorado for training. Other times, Burris would head to Oklahoma.
In 1985, Burris sold his real-estate business in Colorado and moved to Oklahoma permanently. He settled in Moore and opened his first club. There, Burris helped Tripp reach the highest levels of international competition.
In 1993, he founded USA Stars. The clubs now operate in Moore, Okla.; Miami, Okla.; Granite City, Ill.; and Salt Lake City. The clubs train more than 400 students in judo and other martial arts.
"I decided I would give young people an opportunity to taste the sport of judo and other sports but on a different level, a very high level, where if they wanted to compete, they’d be trained very properly," said Burris, who returned to the Olympics as an assistant coach on the U.S team in 1996 and now conducts clinics across the country.
So much for failure.
Reach Steve Walentik at (573) 815-1788 or swalentik@tribmail.com.
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