'I love combat': This 88-year-old judo black belt is an 'inspiration' to a Wellington dojo

WELLINGTON — At 88 years old, Donald Weiss can still bring his jiu-jitsu sparring partner to his knees with only the twist of a wrist.

Weiss has a black belt in judo. He spends every Friday afternoon at a martial arts dojo in Wellington, where he practices pull guards, arm locks and choke holds.

“Nothing is good without a little resistance,” said Weiss between laughs with sweat dripping down his neck. “I am a lifelong student.”

A Brooklyn, New York, native, Weiss relocated to Palm Beach County from New Jersey with his wife Gineen three years ago. He says the Gracie Elite Jiu-Jitsu Academy gave him the opportunity to practice combat again and a sense of community in their new home.

The instructors at the dojo, Weiss said, integrate him into group classes, teach him new techniques and combinations and are now his close friends.

Palm Beach International Raceway: Site near Twenty-Mile Bend targeted as replacement for track

Eric Monahan, who owns the dojo on South Shore Boulevard, says martial arts become a lifestyle and having Weiss in his class has inspired his youngest students and even himself.

"I want to be just like him,” Monahan said. “As long as I can make it to the school and walk on the mat, I’ll be on the mat.”

Life in martial arts began when wrestling pin failed him

Weiss has trained over five different martial art styles throughout his life, such as karate, tae kwon do and tai chi. He wrestled in high school and college but a spar at the age of 18 locked him into martial arts.

At the time, Weiss worked as a server at a restaurant and he wrestled with a coworker who practiced judo. Even though Weiss pinned him down with his muscles on a tight grip, the co-worker easily slipped out.

Impressed, Weiss decided to learn from George Yoshida, a judo “shifu," which is Mandarin for master. Yoshida made him watch classes for a year before even allowing him on the mat.

In 1957, at the age of 22, Weiss was drafted into the U.S. Army. By that time, he had already earned a brown belt and a year later, he won his army division’s judo championship.

Publix in Royal Palm: Grocer opens rebuilt supermarket that was scene of fatal shootings

Weiss came back home after two years in the military and received his black belt at 26. In 1962, he won the heavyweight Tri-State area judo championship.

“It’s listening to the way the body moves,” Weiss said. “If they push, you pull. If they pull, you push. You never go against the strength; you go with it and wait to break their balance.”

He got hired as an art teacher in a New York City school where he later became an assistant principal and gravitated towards Krav Maga, Japanese jiu-jitsu and tai chi.

At the age of 80, he began practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu, which is focused on taking an opponent down to the mat, securing a dominant position and using highly technical locks and chokeholds to force their submission.

“It is gratifying for me,” Weiss said. “I love combat.”

Search for dojo ended COVID isolation in South Florida

In 2019, Weiss and his wife received news that would change their steady life in Mansfield, New Jersey.

Their youngest daughter, who had moved to Florida, was having a baby. The couple sold their home and relocated to Palm Beach County to be close to their grandchild.

For Weiss, the move was exciting but tough.

The Mall at Wellington Green: What's new? Pop-culture toys, dinosaurs and soon an arcade

He had to leave the dojo where he'd trained for the last 15 years and the group of friends around his age who met to spar with weekly.

Upon their arrival, Weiss joined a boxing club in Delray Beach, but coaches kept him from sparring or would tell him to sit out most person-to-person contact exercises. Six months later, the COVID-19 pandemic forced everyone into isolation.

Weiss and his son-in-law bought a house in Wellington and decided to equip a home gym. He bought mats, weights, heavy bags, a punching bag he named Bob and another for grappling named Billy.

“But I didn’t have anyone to work out with,” he said. “I was doing stuff by myself, but it wasn’t the same.”

Restless, he decided to call dojos nearby. When Weiss said he was 88, most places thought he was calling to enroll his grandchildren or that it was a prank.

When Monahan picked up the phone at the Wellington Gracie Jiu-Jitsu Academy in late January, he was instantly impressed by Weiss' martial arts knowledge but also surprised by his age.

“I couldn't believe it,” Monahan said. “Then, he came in and now he is an inspiration.”

Not just a workout at Gracie Elite Jiu-Jitsu, but a community

Weiss showed up for class in his judogi, the traditional white uniform for judo, and a white belt.

After all, Weiss said, he had a black belt in judo, not Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and he didn't want to disrespect the dojo or the professors. Plus, he was there as a new student to learn.

Monahan watched him grapple and practice ground holds and they exchanged combinations. He asked Weiss to wear his black belt whenever he trained.

"It just feels good,” Weiss says surrounded by his instructors. “These guys are willing to work with me, and they don't lose patience. This is a community of people that understand what I am talking about.”

Wellington Environmental Preserve: Restoration a boost for wildlife, flood protection

At this point in his life, Weiss says, it's better for him to practice jiu-jitsu because he can grapple on the mat, unlike judo, where opponents throw each other in the air. Since enrolling in the academy, he's improved his ground fighting techniques and learned new chokeholds like the Ezequiel, the baseball and the rear naked.

Weiss suffers from Cryptogenic Organizing Pneumonia, a lung disease where small airways become inflamed and cause shortness of breath. So he sometimes stands on the side of the mat, takes deep breaths and goes right back in.

“I am fighting that constantly,” Weiss said. “It’s very frustrating but you can’t give up just to not give out.”

Martial arts closer to chess than brute strength for 88-year-old

Monahan, who also grew up wrestling, got into martial arts when he saw Royce Gracie, a slim jiu-jitsu practitioner, beat heavyweight wrestler champion Ken Shamrock in a UFC fight.

Mauricio Villardo, a local Brazilian jiujitsu master who earned his black belt from Gracie, trained Monahan. Villardo taught him that the combat sport was centered on thinking of different combinations of moves with which to attack your opponent that rely on technique and strategy instead of emotion and strength.

“It was like learning magic,” said Monahan, who took over the academy in 2019.

For Weiss, it’s like playing chess.

“If a guy grabs me, it’s on me,” Weiss said. “What did I do a minute or 30 seconds before? He should not be able to come into my space.”

'CityPlace of the West': Seven new restaurants coming to Royal Palm Beach's Tuttle Royale

At the start of every class, each student bows before the mat and the instructors before greeting each other. They start warming up with a jog around the mat, a stretch and abdominal crunches.

Before they jump into the technique, the instructors explain the theory behind each position and how they work with the body muscles. Then, they demonstrate the Brazilian jiu-jitsu takedowns, carefully showing the placement of their hands and feet and how to climb on top of the opponent to gain dominance.

The students follow by experimenting with the moves on one another. At the end of class, they work on rolling positions, where they start from a sparring position and apply what they learned that day.

After running the academy for three years, Monahan is proud to see the community forming around the dojo and said he wants to ensure it is a welcoming and encouraging environment for everyone.

"It's really cool to see they are not just coming here to like strangle people," said Monahan with a cackle. "People are making friends and developing relationships.”

For his part, Weiss said he not planning to take a break any time soon.

“I am just an old guy doing his thing. I plan to do it as long as I can,” Weiss said. “You can't give up. You just got to keep doing it the best you can.”

Valentina Palm covers Royal Palm Beach, Wellington, Loxahatchee and other western communities in Palm Beach County for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on Twitter at @ValenPalmB. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Judo black belt is 88 and still mastering moves at South Florida dojo