The European Judo Union has been sadly informed of a loss of a member of our Judo family. Mr. Emilio Serna, 9th Dan, passed away yesterday morning at the age of 91. Mr.Serna was one of the developers of judo in Spain, he was a pupil of Henri Birbaum who was one of Jigoro’s Kano follower.
Emilio Serna was a competitor, a coach and a referee.It’s such a hard lost for the judo family and specially for the Catalan and the Spanish Judo Community. The Catalan Judo Federation President, Mr. Fermin Parra Berguices, wanted to thank Serna for all what he did for the Catalan Judo Federation, and said to the Spanish media that without Serna’s job, the Catalan Judo wouldn’t be as developed as it is nowadays.
Yesterday morning, during the Catalan Cadet Championship there was a minute of silence in Serna’s memory before the start of the final block. It was announced that today, the Catalan Judo Federation will visit the family and will give a flower crown on the name of the Federation.
PHOTO: From 2012, Serna received the 9th DAN wich was given by Fermin Parra.