Shop Talk: Hanabi Judo
Six decades of building Albany’s “judo kids”
After 60 years serving Albany families, Hanabi Judo has become more than just a martial arts school: it’s a multi-generational community where children grow up, parents become friends, and 93-year-old neighbors drop by daily to watch classes.
Founded by Dan Augustine’s father, Mel, and originally housed at the Albany YMCA for 45 years, Hanabi Judo moved to its current location on San Pablo Avenue several years ago, fulfilling a decades-long dream of having their own dojo. Under Dan’s leadership, the school has expanded from traditional competitive judo to serve Albany families with classes for children as young as two, after-school care, summer camps, and adult programs.
What sets Hanabi Judo apart is its emphasis on character development alongside physical training. Students literally call themselves “judo kids,” understanding that being good at judo means being a good person. The dojo maintains a culture where respect, responsibility, and community support are as important as perfecting techniques.
We sat down with Dan to learn more about Hanabi’s role in Albany’s community fabric.
How has your vision for Hanabi evolved since taking over from your father?
When we first opened our current location, my goal was just to keep the doors open and pay the bills. But I’ve learned that families really value how we work with people, especially children. So we’ve expanded our services significantly: classes for children as young as two, adult classes, summer camp, after-school care.
My father emphasized competition, and we regularly had national champions. I’m proud we’ve continued that tradition. We currently have several national champions and a 13-year-old who placed third in the Pan American Championships in Cuba last year.
How do you balance maintaining Olympic-level standards with creating a welcoming environment for all skill levels?
We develop six different lesson plans every week for our six different class levels. A “Chibi” pre-judo class has elements you won’t find in our “Honto” real judo class. We teach to our students’ needs, which differ depending on their level and goals.
But we maintain a similar culture in every class. We want to be a place where you learn and are challenged, a place of respect that’s also fun. Though “fun” looks different for different levels. Five-year-olds think tug of war is fun, while fifteen-year-olds enjoy intense workouts that test their endurance.
Tell me about having your students lead and teach classes. What sparked that approach?
I know that the best way to prove you’ve learned something is to teach it to another. But I also know that giving children the opportunity to lead builds their confidence.
In judo, your relationship to your “sempai” (senior member) is important. The sempai helps junior members learn and benefit from their experience. Even at six years old, the older child knows they’re a sempai with responsibility to help the three-year-old. And they love helping.
I believe we don’t expect enough of our children. When my parents grew up, they worked in fields: my father in sugar-cane fields in Hawaii, my mother in corn fields in Minnesota. My mom was driving a tractor at 10. We all need to feel important and needed. When my six-year-olds help the three-year-olds, they know they’re important.
What can judo offer the Albany community that other activities might not?
Judo can make you physically strong and teach effective self-defense techniques. Our players often become champions at local, state, national, and international competitions. But I believe the confidence and emotional strength we build are the most important things we offer.
Judo is not easy, and that’s good. You’ll have difficulty learning to roll, you’ll be thrown when attempting to throw someone else, and competing means standing alone facing an opponent who wants to throw you. But with our instruction and support, students learn their techniques and develop confidence.
Most importantly, we offer community and friendship. Most students start young and grow up with us. We just had a student graduate from high school who started at five—Hanabi became like a second home filled with friends and a “big judo family.”
How does being located on San Pablo Avenue fit into Albany’s 15-minute city lifestyle?
Albany is wonderful because everything is so close. Being on San Pablo near Solano puts us at one of the busiest intersections in our little city. I think you can walk to Hanabi from most places in Albany in 15 minutes—even faster by bike.
How do you see students carry judo values into their daily Albany lives?
Our students literally call themselves “judo kids.” They understand that while they’re practicing the sport of judo, we expect them to act as respectful, responsible people—that’s part of being a judo person.
For example, if you play football and you score lots of touchdowns but don’t act politely, we might say that person is a good football player but not very polite. It doesn’t work that way in judo. If you are a champion in judo tournaments but disrespectful to others, we would say you are not a good judo player. A good judo player must be a good person.
All our students understand they’re expected to be respectful, and generally they are.
How has Hanabi become more than just a martial arts school for Albany families?
Friday night we had 45 students and their families attend our monthly in-class tournament. Nearly 100 people—students and families—enjoyed the event’s energy. That’s just one monthly event among many that brings people together as our “Big Hanabi Family.”
The children become friends, and parents who watch their children learn and progress, often for years, also become friends. For our 20 or so families with serious competitors, they travel to places like Atlanta, Dallas, Los Angeles, Hawaii, and Cuba to support their children.
We also have Albany neighbors who aren’t parents but love our community. Yasuko Sugimoto, who’s 93, comes almost daily to watch classes. She grew up in Japan but has lived in Albany for decades. She says watching our children gives her joy, and all our kids know to say hello and bow when “Sugimoto Obahsan” (grandma) visits.
After 60 years in Albany, what makes this community special for a family business like yours?
My small business and the community are intertwined. Our business is part of the community and the community is part of us. We have parents who attended our classes bringing in their children, and grandparents who attended bringing in their grandchildren. Being in a community like this for 60 years is very special.
What’s your vision for Hanabi’s next chapter in Albany?
I’m proud of what we’ve done in Albany. I’d like to continue growing our dojo and would love to have some senior-level competitors alongside our many juniors. Someday I’d love to have Hanabi classes as an after-school enrichment option at Albany elementary schools.
I’ll continue serving Albany’s evolving needs by listening to our members, especially parents. They tell me what they’d like, and hopefully we can offer those services. We’ve served our community for 60 years, and I believe we can do it for another 60 years into the future.
