Far Travelling Pair Promoted Together

From Right to Left - Sensei Pohl, Ian Schaff, Jon Milliedge, Sensei Hilleshiem

Ian and Jon, regulars at Saturday open mats, have taken the next step on their journey into the Way of Gentleness, by being promoted to “gokyu” or orange belt. The duo normally spend several hours every Saturday developing their skills from approximately 9:30 AM until the open mat host is done the day or events demand they yield (usually around 12:40 PM), so they can work master what they learn training with each other during weekday. On May 3rd, 2025, they chose to forego training to instead demonstrate what they’ve learned in the pursuit of recognition of their hard won skills. Testing was overseen by Sensei Hilleshiem and Sensei Pohl, who determined the two passed muster, while a few stragglers looked on.

Ian, a student of jujitsu, bujinkan, and kali-silat in addition to Judo. As to be expected his “newaza” or “ground fighting” (the portion of combat that takes place after one or more of the combatants has fallen to the ground) is more developed than his “nage waza” or throwing techniques, he not only demonstrated competence with the required number of throws, but demonstrated an affinity for tai-otoshi, o-goshi, and uchi-mata. When not training, Ian enjoys tabletop roleplaying games, making mead, hunting, and spending time with his beloved dog.

Jon, a judoka with an MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and wrestling background, who also cross trains in jujitsu and bujinkan, has a more robust standing game of the pair, despite Ian having a better flare for technical details. Jon also posses boundless positivity and enthusiasm, which makes long training sessions go by and the blink of an eye. While his foot sweeps won him gold and silver in the Governor’s Cup earlier this year, and even earned praise from Sensei Parkhill, Jon chose to instead show off his o-soto-gari, ippon seoi-nage, and tani-otoshi, all of which he’s been drilling endlessly since March. When off the mat, Jon spends most of his time with his family, being married and a father.