Sarah Mayer

Sarah Winifred Benedict Mayer (16 October 1896 – 19 March 1957) was an English actress and judoka. She was the first non-Japanese woman to obtain a blackbelt in judo.

Sarah Mayer
Mayer in her Judo Uniform
BornSarah Winifred Benedict Mayer [1]
(1896-10-16)16 October 1896
London, England, United Kingdom
Died19 March 1957(1957-03-19) (aged 60)
Barton-under-Needwood, England, United Kingdom
StyleJudo
Teacher(s)Gunji Koizumi
Kanō Jigorō[1]
RankBlack belt[2][3]

Biography

Mayer was born as Sarah Winifred Benedict Tapping near Battersea Park in London on 16 October 1896. Her father, Alfred Benedict Tapping was an actor and her mother, Alice Amelia Fishwick was an actress. The couple had three children, of which Mayer was the eldest. [4]

Mayer went into acting herself in 1906, joining her parent's productions, and by 1914 she was performing in the West End in Harley Granville-Barker's interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream. She enrolled in the Academy of Dramatic Art soon after.[4] Mayer first trained in judo by Gunji Koizumi at the Budokwai in the 1920s.[5]

She married twice, first to timber merchant, Sills Keith Gibbons on 29 January 1919, and then to barrister Robert John (Robin) Mayer on 17 July 1924. She went travelling throughout 1934, initially to India and then east through China and Tibet to reach Japan. There she trained with the local police force, and took an interest in judo. She trained with Ichiro Hatta and reached first kyū. She was even presented first dan by Prince Nashimoto before returning home.[4] In doing so, she became the first non-Japanese woman to obtain a black belt on 23 February 1935.[6][7][8]

After her trip, her second marriage broke down and they divorced shortly after. Mayer met Warwick Parker Ovington, an RAF officer, after the war and in 1951 she took his surname. They lived together in Barton under Needwood, Staffordshire until her death, caused by alcohol dependence on 19 March 1957.[4]

References
  1. "Woman's Judo". IJF. October 13, 2012. Retrieved 2014-11-21.
  2. "Sarah Mayer: The First Non-Japanese Woman Awarded Black Belt Rank in Judo". Judo. October 13, 2012. Archived from the original on December 17, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2014.
  3. Stevens, John (13 August 2013). The Way of Judo. ISBN 9780834829015. Retrieved 27 November 2014.
  4. Callan-Spenn, Amanda (8 August 2019). "Mayer [née Tapping], Sarah Winifred Benedict (1896–1957)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Retrieved 5 May 2020.
  5. Series Producer Ben Southwell, Director Andy Hall, Producer Andy Hall, Executive Producer Michael Poole (24 February 2013). "Everybody was Kung Fu Fighting: The Rise of Martial Arts in Britain". Series 12. Season 12. Episode 9. Event occurs at 19:43–22:00. BBC. BBC Four.
  6. "Sarah Mayer: The First Non-Japanese Woman Awarded Black Belt Rank in Judo – Judo Info". Judo Info – Online Dojo. 1918-01-26. Retrieved 2019-06-13.
  7. "6th International Science of Judo Symposium, Rotterdam". Judospace. Retrieved 2014-11-22.
  8. Williams, Jean (24 April 2014). A Contemporary History of Women's Sport, Part One. ISBN 9781317746669. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
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