At 42, Judo Coach Still Competes and Brings Home Medals

West Belfast, Northern Ireland, was a rough area when Dympna Doherty grew up there in the ‘70s and ‘80s. But unlike many young girls her age, she knew how to handle herself. At age 9, she took up judo after an older sister brought home a fancy license from a nearby youth club entitling her to enter judo competitions.

“I thought it was the coolest-looking thing ever, something like a James Bond license,“ she remembers. “I definitely wanted one.”

She signed up at the club the next chance she got and that year won her first Northern Ireland Judo Championship, the youngest winner ever. It was the first of 12 championships she took home. 

“I took to judo right away,” she remembers.

She went on to earn a black belt at 15.

Now living in San Mateo, married to a Dublin-born Irishman, and the mother of three boys, Doherty coaches young people at on San Mateo Avenue and competes in masters events for the club.

Recently, San Bruno Patch talked with Doherty, who works as a pediatric nurse educator at Stanford Hospital, about judo and its role in her life.

San Bruno Patch: Besides making you strong, what else can you tell me about judo?

Dympna Doherty: I was shy and introverted as a kid, and judo was a step toward independence and feeling good about myself. I look back and say, "Thank goodness I went to judo." My life would have been different. Because if you are trained in judo, you can really take care of yourself. Not that you go around and throw everyone all over the place. But you can go out the door and stand straight because you have an ability that other people may not have and that makes you kind of special. And it builds your self-esteem.

San Bruno Patch: Did anyone else in your family excel at judo?

Doherty: My older sister who brought home the judo license gave it up after a few months. My youngest brother—there were eight of us, and I was the second youngest—became interested when he saw that I was getting special treatment at home, but he didn’t really like it once he tried it. My father loved sports and he used to come to practices and every competition with me even though he had to work extra to pay for gas and entrance fees. It was good father–daughter time.

San Bruno Patch: Are any of your three boys interested in judo?

Doherty: All my three kids go to Cahill’s. Like any kids, they have their days, and say, “I don’t want to go today,” but I feel it’s an important part of their life—as important as arithmetic and English—because it’s a life-long skill. I don’t want them to turn into bullies, and judo doesn’t promote that in any way. Judo is the gentle way, a defensive martial art rather than an aggressive one. I tell them that they prove themselves in the dojo and that they don’t have to prove themselves with other kids outside.

All my kids have memories of me competing in judo and winning. It’s kind of cool. They’ll see a woman on TV kicking butt and say, “That’s Mom.” They’re proud of me.

San Bruno Patch: How would you encourage more young people, especially girls, to learn judo?

Doherty: It would be the best thing if more parents got their daughters into judo. Parents now are very selective. Girls play softball and soccer. I would say come to Cahill’s and try it. You will love it. The learning curve is steep, but you achieve a lot in a small amount of time.

And judo not only affects your physical well being, but also your mental well being. It just has that effect. It makes you feel real good about yourself.

San Bruno Patch: How did you start going to Cahill’s?

Doherty: When I moved here in 1997, I looked in the telephone book for judo clubs and I saw Cahill’s and I thought with that name it must be an Irish club, so I went down there to see if I could practice. When I got there, I met Willy Cahill, not Irish at all. The club had so many judo players of good caliber, many who were fighting internationally, that I started practice there.

When you go to a club, you don’t want to be able to throw everyone around because that’s no challenge. There was plenty of challenge at Cahill’s and still is. I came from a judo club in Ireland that was like a family and Cahill’s is just like it.

San Bruno Patch: How did you start entering competitions here?

Doherty: I was teaching and training at Cahill’s and Willy encouraged me. But I also think it’s important to have a goal when you’re training to increase the intensity of your practice.

So in September 2009 I entered the U.S. Open Championships and won a gold medal for my weight class and age category.  And then in November, I won a gold at the Pan American Masters Judo Championships. Unfortunately I tore my ACL in early 2010 and have been building myself up since though I plan to enter an all-women judo competition in Denver in May.

As part of my training, I go running straight after work. I keep it short and quick and try to beat my time. I don’t like the gym. I have some dumbbells at home, but when you do judo it’s a weightlifting session in itself. You use every muscle in your body.

San Bruno Patch: What’s it like being a judo coach to young kids?

Doherty: I didn’t set out to be a coach, and it’s been a learning experience—developing patience and knowing how to motivate kids and not getting mad at them. But it’s very rewarding. When they learn throws, I want to throw them up in air it makes me so happy.

And it's good for the girls to have a woman there encouraging them and saying, "You can take him" when they're wrestling with boys and getting sweaty.

San Bruno Patch: How do you fit everything into your life?

Doherty: I think it’s important to keep learning and to keep busy. Besides everything else, I’m working toward my bachelor’s in nursing, (a lot of my coursework in Ireland wasn’t accepted here) and hope to get a master’s. I’m enjoying it, but I regret that I didn’t do this when I was single and had a lot of free time.

San Bruno Patch: How do you see judo in your future?

Doherty: I think judo will always be part of my life and my children’s lives. I live in San Mateo, and I see a lot of kids mulling around here, kind of like the way it was where I grew up.

I’d like to see if we could get a club started here (in San Mateo) to give these kids something to do. Sometimes kids just need an opportunity. It doesn’t have to cost money. It’s more about sharing the knowledge, and I’d be happy to share the knowledge with anybody. Give me a hall and a couple of judo mats, and I’ll do that.