Doug Newcomer Judo Bio and GOD
I started Judo when I was 7 years old. Why? I don’t know, my dad said so. Judo is a very competitive sport and so was my dad. My brother (age 5) and I started together.
My first tournament did not go well, the referee gave the “begin signal” and suddenly I was looking up and the match was over. My second match went a little longer, but with the same result. My dad was not happy (way understatement). My second tournament was a month later and was the State Championship. Same result for me as the last one, but my brother won 3rd (his first tournament). Not off to a good start. My dad was determined to make me win, by going to as many tournaments as possible. For over a year (16 tournaments), I lost every single match except one. I used to cry every Friday night before a tournament. I cannot express with words what that felt like. I begged to quit Judo. During this time my brother and I would sometimes play tournament in the house, I would win, and he would be nice enough to award me one of his trophies (my brother was very successful at judo from the start).
Finally when I was 9 ½ years old I won first place at the AAU Jr. Olympic district meet. I also cannot tell you the great feeling I had there, but I can still feel it as I write this. I still have the patch and medal from that event. After this I started doing better. I often (not always) came home with a second or third place trophy. I had stopped begging to quit at this point, but would have if given the opportunity I think.
As time went on, Judo did become part of my identity. By the time I was 12 or 13, my/our goal was to place at the nationals, pretty big goal. I competed in the Nationals at age 15 and tied for 4th place, but that’s not placing. Again at 16, did not even do that well, and a few times as a youth player, I just could not do it. I did win several state championships over those years up through college (10 golds and some silver and bronze), but could not win at the nationals. (Not winning was not due to lack of prayer, I prayed very hard for this, but the answer was “NO” or what I did not know was “NOT NOW”
I wanted to place at the nationals championships so much I changed sports. I learned and loved the sport of Powerlifting. I got pretty strong and finally had another opportunity to win at the national level. I should have placed 2nd in the national Powerlifting championship that year, but got a bad night’s sleep the night before, and finished 6th. Interesting side note, this excuse lead to my Thesis for my Master’s degree. Again, my failure at national placement was not because of lack of prayer, I prayed a lot for this event.
My next thought was someday the National Judo championships will come back to this part of the country and I can try again in the masters (over 30) category. Finally, after 7 years off of judo waiting for this opportunity, the National Championships were in Houston. By this time my life had changed a lot from the old days of being a kid and youth and wanting and praying to win the nationals. I now had a family, a wife and small son. I started back into the sport in the early fall before the national tournament. I trained hard (adult style) and prayed harder than ever before. It was a hard tournament season, with very hard emotions to deal with and hard losses to deal with. I was also dieting very hard to make my fighting weight, which was 40 lbs less than my powerlifting weight.
Just like when I finally placed in my first tournament (first place) I won first place in the Nationals. Wow, again I cannot tell you that feeling, but I can feel it as I write this. As a side note, my father won 3rd place at this championship also, but it was not his first time to place at nationals.
Contentment: temporary. As I said, I had a small boy, time to have fun. At 1 ½ years old we used to play on the mat after judo practice every week.
My Sensei put me up for promotion later that year, which required me to learn a new kata. (Kata is a presentation of the forms/techniques of Judo) most people only do kata when required to do so for promotion, and up to this point so did I. I learned Katame no kata, and since I needed a partner, my dad and I did it. I entered a kata tournament the next year, and won 2nd place. A mentor of mine said “you won, and you don’t hurt, how do you like kata now?” I said “I like it.” I did get back to fighting however, it stays in your blood after a certain point.
I spent the next 7 years fighting, and competing in kata with my father. My father and I competed in the Nationals in kata twice. Again, the goal was to place, but God has his own calendar. Those 7 years (Plus 4 more of doing Demo katas at tournaments, since at this point my father was 84 years old) were the most fun and most wonderful years of judo for me. It included 5 state Championships together. During this time I had learned another kata, and began to compete with my Wife. This too, was a wonderful experience for me. Very few people get to be State Champions with their spouse, and we won 6 state championships in a row. Maybe some more someday, but she is retired for the moment.
When my father retired from active Kata Competition my brother took his place. I also had another partner by then. I have worked very hard with both of these people, and in the 2012 National Championships I won second place medals with both of my partners in kata (we competed in two different kata’s) I also placed second in my Shiai (fighting div.) A few months later we got invitations to compete at the World championships. Wow! What a compliment. But we were not able to go, as the time was short and that is very expensive.
We missed the 2013 Nationals, but had friends go to the World championships.
In 2014 we again won the USA Judo National Championships and again were invited to represent the USA in the World Kata Judo Championships in Malaga, Spain. This time we (my brother and I) were able to compete. Wow! What a trip down memory road. But it doesn’t end there.
In 2015, we again competed in the National Championships. Again, winning with my partners was a thrill, but remember the 1 ½ year old son? He was now 16, and we had learned a new kata. He and I competed at the Nationals together. Next Generation. My son, Douglas, and I won 3rd in the Nationals together. Again, that choked up feeling I keep getting writing this Bio. My son and I had done what my father and I were not able to do. Proudest moment ever.
To top that off, another partner and I were invited (and accepted the invitation) to represent the USA at the 2015 World Judo Kata Championships. In 2015 we placed higher than the previous year, (I guess we learned a lot). I was also able to fight in shiai at the World Championships and place 9th. How cool is that? I have gone from not being able to win a match in 16 tournaments to winning the nationals, to representing the USA at the World Judo Championships.
In 2016 my brother and I won first place at the National Championships and my son and I won a 2nd and a 3rd in our katas. My son and I were invited to represent the USA in the Pan American games in Havana, Cuba. (Wow it keeps getting better!) What a wonderful experience just to go. My son and I placed 2nd there, in both of our Katas) This is the only time I have placed at an International tournament, and I did it with my son. Again, Wow!
And in 2017 my son and I placed 2nd in 2 kata divisions at the Nationals.
In 2018, I got to start a new story. I started training with another new, young, hard working partner. We worked very hard all year, and competed in two katas at Nationals. We placed 2nd in one kata and barely missed 3rd in the other one. This gave both of us a desire to work harder, learn more and come back stronger the next year.
My brother and I won 1st in 2018 and were again invited to represent the USA in the World Championship in Cancun, Mexico. We missed finals by 3 points and ended up 7th place in the World Championship.
In 2019, my brother was not able to go to the National Championship. However,Ray Cox, one of my son’s best friends, (who had been doing judo and kata with my son for the last several years) stepped up as my newest partner and worked really hard, along with my new partner from 2018. Both partners worked so hard. We worked so well as a 3 person group. It was great to go to and compete at the National Championship with them. The hard work paid off. We were so excited (not even close to a strong enough word).Ray and I won 1st place (by a large margin) in Katame no kata. It was his first national event to compete in.
The moral to my story is, that if GOD had said “YES” when I prayed so hard earlier in life, I would have missed this great adventure, and the great adventure for my family, and friends.
I often say I have had two different Judo Carriers, the second one very successful. If GOD had allowed my first career to be more successful, I and my family and friends would not have had a second one.
Thank GOD for the “No’s”. They might just be “Not now’s” because he has a bigger plan for you.
I was not a great student in school. Many students with my grades don’t make it. I had learned the hard way early in my judo carrier to grit your teeth, cry if you need to, and never quit. I learned to keep going and finish. Not just from the story above, but from inside the story, the seconds inside many judo fights. The time when you just want to drop, quit, give up, but you have to keep trying to win, no matter how much it hurts, or you feel you just can’t make it. If God had not taken me through these trials and hard lessons, I would not have made it through College, or other life obstacles. I can tell you that when God was teaching me these lessons I did not appreciate it. Now, much later, I understand. There have been (and will be more) things that come up in life that I can deal with better because of the hard lessons I learned in judo, including just getting through those teenage years.
The immediate effect Judo has had on my life, and through the course of my Judo carrier, is obvious. And, how God has used judo to develop my character outside of judo also becomes more obvious as I get older.
I was asked what judo means to me, this only touches the edge.
I was asked what going to the World Championships means to me. It shows me that if I wait and keep going with the right attitude, that God Can/Will bless you, more than you can imagine, however it Will be on His terms.
I have made it a tradition to put a little wooden cross on each medal I win, my partners win, or anyone else on my team. It comes with the explanation and reminder that God wins and this time he let us have the glory. I must always remember It’s not me, I’m not that good. God gave it to me. (I still must do my part though.)
A good friend of mine has two words that sum it up: “Perseverance and Tenacity”, and I will add one more, “Patience”.
Doug Newcomer
6th degree black belt
12 time National Champion
3 time World Judo Team
7th place World finish 2018
Proud Judo DAD
Denton Optimist Judo Club
