The story of the 1st woman black belt in Judo. Sarah Mayer was born October 16, 1896, in London, England. She was an actress before becoming a #judoka first in London then in Japan in the ‘30’s. Mayer refused to train in the women’s only classes, instead #training with the men which was unusual at the time. In 1935, Mayer became the first non-Japanese woman to earn a black belt in Kodokan #Judo. Happy International Women’s Day! | Texarkana Jiu Jitsu