For Pep Mascaró, judo is more than a sport. At the age of 22 he stood on the mat for the first time. “I haven’t missed a training session since then,” said the 64-year-old. Judo is his passion, his profession, “yes, even my second wife“, he says. And it’s a way of life. It was never about medals or fame, but about passing on the teachings to others and growing from them. He has succeeded in both. Today Mascaró is the most important judoka in Mallorca, trains up to 300 students a year and was awarded the eighth Dan in December in Madrid.
From the outside, Mascaró’s Renshinkan judo school in Manacor doesn’t give the impression of being the most important of the Balearic Islands. The sign with the name is simple, the building is inconspicuous. But anyone who expects pomp and showmanship is wrong in the world of judo anyway. “Living judo means being humble and peaceful, sharing and cooperating”, found Pep Mascaró.
As a trained carpenter, he built the wooden front door and the wooden cabinets opposite it himself. They are full of trophies and yet appear simple. Mascaró doesn’t hide his success, but he doesn’t emphasize it either. Four dan awards hang on the wall. “I haven’t even attached the others yet,” says Mascaró, as if it had just occurred to him.
Followed the masters
“Renshinkan is Japanese and means house where you teach with your heart,” explains the Mallorcan. He has already been to Japan twice and also trained in the Kodokan school, where judo originated. Mascaró’s thirst for knowledge about oriental physical training seems inexhaustible. As a delegate of the Balearic squad, he has attended numerous national and international competitions as a visitor over the past decades. “And every time I learned something new. It is fascinating to watch professionals practicing the techniques or the trainers teaching them.”
22 is not exactly young to get into a sport – in his judo school Mascaró accepts students from the age of three. “But judo can be practiced by anyone, regardless of age, physical or mental ability.” The fact that people with disabilities also take part in his courses – and are quite successful – has been a matter of course for Mascaró for decades and far removed from inclusion debates.
“I’ve actually been a judoka all my life, even at school I loved fighting, not fights but duels.” When he was twelve, a classmate gave him his first judo book. Mascaró was captivated – for the first time he was able to rediscover his attitude to life in a philosophy. “But then my father had only been dead a few years and my mother didn’t want me to do judo. Also, I was too shy to go alone.”
Founding of the judo schools in Manacor and Cala Ratjada
It was more by chance that he found access ten years later, back then in the judo club Dojo Orient in Manacor, where a friend of his was registered. Less than two years later, in 1982, he was already employed as an assistant teacher and founded a branch in Cala Ratjada with the then chairman, who resigned a little later and left Mascaró to manage it. Then in 1985 the coaching title, in 1987 the founding of the Judo school Renshinkan with locations in Manacor and Cala Ratjada.
It was too late for Mascaró to show off in competitions, but two Japanese judo teachers from Palma in particular inspired him to keep improving his technique over the years. “The oriental judoka in particular rely much more on technique than on fitness and strength, and that also suits me.” Mascaró fought his way up to the black belt in 1984 and then on to the eighth of a total of ten dans in December – that’s how far it has come none brought to the islands. “My best teachers are my students, because they constantly challenge me, and there is no better training method than imparting one’s own knowledge to others in a goal-oriented manner”, he finds.
Judo means not looking for a fight
Judo also plays a permanent role in his everyday life away from the mat. “Judo means not seeking arguments, staying calm, and achieving maximum effect with minimum effort, including verbally.” That’s exactly what he wants to convey to his protégés – not to see them on the winner’s podium, but to give them values for their lives.
For Mascaró, judo is not even a martial art in the traditional sense. From the first moment he drills into his protégés that the techniques in the schoolyard or on the street are taboo. “However, judo is ideal for women’s self-defense. With the right technique, a woman can trip an attacker, even three times her weight, by harnessing his power.”
A question of personality
Ultimately, however, it is all about shaping and consolidating the personality of the protégés. The sporting success comes directly afterwards. No judo club in the Balearic Islands has so many participants national championships spawned like Mascarós Renshinkan. The 64-year-old also offers judo clubs at primary and secondary schools throughout the east of the island, with a total of up to 300 children and adults registered via Renshinkan.
Only none of Mascaró’s judo students made it to the Olympics. “It is almost impossible to have international success in the Balearic Islands”, says Mascaro. Above a certain level, the athletes would inevitably have to move to the mainland. He himself also took his preparatory courses for the eighth Dan mainly in Madrid, because it was in the Balearic Islands no offers for this performance level are. “As far as that goes, the island location is a disadvantage.” Still, standing still is out of the question for the judoka.
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