By Marley Seaman
Sandi Blais was nationally ranked in judo when she was a high school student. After a 20-year layoff, Blais appears to be as good as she ever was.
Blais is one of three West Hempstead bronze medalists in judo at this year's Empire State Games. All three of the competitors, as well as a number of past medalists, meet weekly at the West Hempstead Police Athletic League to practice.
A few years after taking home the open division bronze in the first Games, in 1978, Blais took a break from the sport. She resumed five years ago, and since then, she has picked up two bronze medals (this year and 2002) and two silvers (2003 and 2004).
"My kids got started, they wanted to play," Blais said of her return to the sport. "I started helping out at the West Hempstead PAL, and it just grew from there. My kids don't play anymore, but I have continued."
To reach the Empire State Games, Blais and fellow West Hempstead residents Jen Broschardt and Joe Tamburello had to win open tryouts to prove they were the best on Long Island in their respective divisions. At the Games, they competed against the top judoka (judo practitioners) from the six New York regions. Tamburello was last year's gold medalist, and had to settle for the bronze this year after breaking his arm in his last bout. He is clearly anxious to return to normal practices.
The West Hempstead PAL is home to more than 40 judoka of all ages and skill levels, and this year's medalists are not the only successes. The sempai (senior), Charles Schweitzer, won bronze in the Games five times. Nancy Panula holds a gold medal and two bronzes, and Claire Chadderton also has a pair of bronzes.
At the PAL, Blais practices sparring (free practice is called randori) with people her own age on Thursday nights, and on Mondays she helps train high school-age judoka. In competition, she said that younger opponents give her more trouble.
"Now I'm not as big a competitor as an 18-year-old," she said. "[Older judoka] have to get up on Monday morning and go to work, so we're there to play the sport, not get the medal so much. We've done our medaling." But her competitive fire has not gone out entirely: she remarked that she should have won the gold this year.
The group's sempai, or elder, is Elmont's Charles Schweitzer. He spends two nights a week with his students, and has been with the West Hempstead PAL since 1997. He is also training, and expects to attain the rank of sensei in the near future. He competed in the Empire State Games seven times, winning five bronze medals in the process. His final Games appearance was in 2003.
"I have students who need me more as a coach than they do as a competitor," Schweitzer said.
The time he spends with them is paying off. Next year, Blais will probably have her first chance to become a black belt. Tamburello, though he is only 16, already competes as an adult and is a second niku brown belt, one rank behind Blais. Broschardt is a green belt.
Belts in martial arts are awarded not only on the basis of achievements in competition and the mastery of moves, but for character development.
"I've grown a lot from it," said Broschardt. "My whole attitude toward life has grown, and I also just love it."
Mary Molloy contributed to this story.
Comments about this story? MSeaman@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 205.
