arts reached the height of their popularity outside Japan.
Also, Bennett credited him with being one of the people most
responsible for the fact that “there are far more budo prac-
titioners in total outside Japan than there are in Japan.” He
pointed out that Draeger actively worked to get many non-
Japanese into different budo and koryu arts so they would be
spread far and wide outside Japan and have a better chance
of surviving.
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closest students, judo and koryu martial arts master Phil
Relnick. It was delivered on a different level than the others
because, in spite of his fame in martial arts circles and his
many books, Draeger revealed little about himself. What
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ing martial artist was like as a person.
Relnick started by describing the end of his 20 years with
Draeger. It was an emotional account of accompanying his
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for medical treatment. The martial arts icon had been ex-
periencing persistent pain in his gut after a research trip to
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he was in denial about his illness and tried to carry on as
usual. “In some ways, he was a very stubborn man,” Rel-
nick recalled.
But after six months of physical deterioration, Draeger
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ments for treatment. While planning the trip to Hawaii, he
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it to each other,” Relnick said, trying to keep his emotions in
check, “but I knew and he knew that it would be the last time
we saw each other.”
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to the beginning. He talked about things he learned posthu-
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setting local swimming records as a child — records that still
stand — and about his introduction to judo at age 8 courtesy
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long interest in weight training, underlining that he possessed
a supple strength and likening judo mat work with Draeger to
trying to grapple with a snake. In addition, Relnick credited
him with introducing weight training to competitive judo in
Japan, pointing out the strength coaching he did with 1964
gold-medalist Isao Inokuma.
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The American lived a frugal life, inhabiting a two-room apart-ment without heating or air conditioning. This frugality was
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Relnick recalled. “He had probably three sources of income.
That was a partial military pension, teaching English and
what he earned from his books.”
But Relnick also attributed the Spartan lifestyle to the fact
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with the samurai of the past,” he said. “He was very strict on
manners and warrior etiquette, which he had learned from
the Japanese teachers, and that was inside of the dojo and
outside of the dojo. He was a Marine [and] he was like a
samurai, seven days a week and 24 hours a day.”
That presence, combined with his deep knowledge of the
martial arts, drew people to him. “When Donn did talk to
us, it usually had meaning,” Relnick said. “He had an air of
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as a teacher to us. You followed him and did what he did and
listened to what he said.”
Relnick pointed out that none of the stories about Drae-
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WHFKQLFDOÀJKWLQJVNLOOVERWKDUPHGDQGXQDUPHGDQGQHYHU
neglected minor details.”
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perfect. “Donn told me a number of times that his books are
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and that he was sure he had made mistakes in them,” Rel-
nick recalled. “He said that he [was] depending on the next
generation of committed martial artists — us — to make any
corrections necessary.”
Draeger also made mistakes in the dojo, and Relnick said
that Draeger had told him many stories about them. He
shared one in which Draeger interviewed a koryu master in
his dojo and noticing some bo leaning against a wall. When
the master excused himself for a moment, Draeger took the
opportunity to put the bo on some empty racks. When the
master returned, his good humor vanished. He demanded
to know how the bo got on the racks. Draeger confessed to
KDYLQJSXWWKHPXSEHFDXVHKHZDVDIUDLGWKH\·GZDUS7KH
master looked scornfully at him and said, “Those bo have
been leaning against that wall for 100 or 200 years. If they
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Left to right: Phil Relnick, Liam Keely,
Hunter Armstrong and Alex Bennett.Donn F. DraegerOCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 BLACKBELTMAG.COM 11