A PAIR of martial artists who were instrumental in founding the first judo club in Masterton almost 60 years ago have been awarded black belts -- one posthumously -- to help mark the fifth anniversary of the Masterton Judo & Ju Jitsu Academy.
Academy founder and head instructor Simon Ogden said Clive Thorne, who died on Saturday after a brief illness, had co-founded the Ichiban Judo Club with his brother Colin Thorne and Kelvin Henson at a store-room at Hood Aerodrome in 1958.
![NUMBER ONE: Ichiban Judo Club co-founders, the late Clive Thorne (right) and Kelvin Henson, at the initial home of the club, a store room at Hood Aerodrome in 1958. PHOTO/FILE](https://www.nzherald.co.nz/resizer/v2/5ZKJE37W4EG37V46SE4VQHJ7PQ.jpg?auth=d934cbc6ca009b63154ece32f84308412c17234836f6e09996ebbf6d6b110f15&width=16&height=25&quality=70&smart=true)
In 1959 Masterton man John Haigh started training in judo at Ichiban, after a shift to the Masterton Young Citizens Club, which had a history of Ju Jitsu instruction from 1955 by a former British army close combat instructor John Woods.
In 1960 Joseph "Bully" Kawana started training and in 1962 the YCC Judo club had its first students grade to brown belt -- Clive Thorne and John Haigh -- under Sensei Pat Toner from Wellington.