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At the end of 2020 I was looking to move and retire in Hilo Hawaii. Andrew Kinchen reached out and talked me out of retiring and starting a judo program at Carlson Gracie Winter Haven. I told myself if I started teaching judo again I would help everyone I could. At 60 years old at a time when one thinks about slowing down and retiring, I work HARD at my craft every day. I teach more judo than I ever have. My body racked with pain every day despite this I keep going.
My books have been successful and the Winter Haven freestyle judo program has been steadily growing. The scrimmages are becoming more and more popular among legitimate grapplers of all styles, Judo, BJJ, Folk style and Greco roman wrestlers have attended my scrimmages and freestyle judo clinics.
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You just never know who may be watching what you're doing and how you're doing it. Barron Shepherd Judo has been garnering more and more attention because of its progressive, dynamic and ballistic nature. This hasnt happened over night, it has taken years of dedicated training and commitment to what has become over the yeas, my craft and a lifestyle.
Out of the blue one day, a Hollywood fight choreographer contacted me. It seems a friend of his had told him about my style of Judo. The next thing I knew I was on a video call. This fight choreographer and stunt coordinator works on a certain Tv series that has been on a streaming Network platform for multiple seasons. He has since kept in constant contact. They are interested in me training the show’s star in my style of Judo so he can use it for the show’s main character’s fight style. He and the star of the show want to train extensively with me because they like my ballistic style of Judo. Details about it will come out later.
Several years ago when I was 51, I sustained permanent life altering injuries from being hit and run over, while on foot, by a semi truck. My body was literally dragged underneath the semi and crushed in the accident. No one could believe I was still alive after that. The many doctors and specialists I saw contributed one thing to my survival...JUDO. The years and years of taking repeated impacts from various judo throws had prepared my body and my mind. It was the only logical and medical explanation.
I never really fathomed that a life long personal dedication to judo would not only save my life but create such opportunities for me now at this point in my life. It is exciting to think of the possibility that my style of judo might play a major part of the main character’s fighting style in a TV series in a new season of the show.
