Conversations with Philippe Morotti

Today we’d like to introduce you to Philippe Morotti.

Hi Philippe, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to an Italian Father and a French Mother. My Judo journey began at the age of 12.
I left Sweden at the age of 26. I lived in Italy and France for a while, before landing in Los Angeles. It was here that I one day stumbled on Hollywood Judo Dojo, a club that was founded in 1932. I have now been the head of this dojo for 16 years, and with a lot of help and effort from enthusiastic co instructors and board members, we now have 200 members and growing. I am proud of the fact that we have become a non profit organization, spreading the teachings and the philosophy of judo while serving our community. We are located at the East Hollywood Japanese Cultural Institute.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s never a smooth road. When I arrived to Hollywood Dojo, it was far from its glorious days. We managed to get some funding from the Ahmanson Foundation, we bought new judo mats, and we built a small gym area for our athletes.
Little buy little new members arrived, and we started competing on a local and national level. We went from having twice per week practice to now having classes 7 days a week. It took time to educate our instructors, get them nationally certified, and we also had to build our social media platform in order to get our message out.
Fortunately, we have an amazing team of instructors and board members, who brought us to where we are today.
Our members represent 22 different nationalities. We are the most diverse judo club in the country.
Our Mission Statement reads; Our mission is to teach traditional judo. We shall strive to provide a welcoming, safe and inclusive environment for people of all backgrounds, ages, and skill levels. The dojo will teach its members judo principles to develop their physical and mental abilities, so that they may in turn benefit their families and communities.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Judo has been my life from an early age, and it has been my passport to the world. I am also a personal fitness trainer at In Training Private Fitness in Los Angeles. As a Head Instructor at Hollywood Judo Dojo, I teach the advanced and the competitors classes as well as oversee all our programs. We have a great team of instructors, teaching kids and adults. We have beginners, intermediate and advanced classes, we are open 7 day a week. We have competitors both on a national and international level.
I am most proud of the fact that I see how people from all walks of life come together here at the judo club. They may be of different religions, different political views and yet, while practicing judo together, they find common ground.
Hollywood Judo is a place where you make new friendships.

What was your favorite childhood memory?
I was very shy and awkward as a child. I’m an only child I was very lucky to be exposed to different languages, to travel, and to experience different cultures at an early age. This taught me to be understanding ant tolerant of others, regardless if their life choices were different from mine. As I get older, memories are important. I spent a lot of effort, curiosity and hardship to create these memories. Maybe I’ll write a book about it one day.

Pricing:

• $80/month

Contact Info:

• Website: https://hollywoodjudo.com
• Facebook: Hollywood Judo Dojo Facebook

Image Credits
Philippe Morotti