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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

CdA man on way to world jujitsu competition


Phil Recanati, left, spars with Jason Johnston Aug. 31 at Kenpo Karate in Coeur d'Alene. 
 (Brian Plonka / The Spokesman-Review)
Jacob Livingston Correspondent

Most people know Phil Recanati as an easygoing father of three who works nights as a local newspaper deliveryman. But the 37-year-old’s hardy 5-foot 5-inch frame shows subtle signs of an unseen ability – a world-class jujitsu competitor, set to play a part on Team USA’s gold-medal bid at the upcoming World Council of Ju-Jitsu Organizations’ World Championships later this month.

Some of those markings are less visible. Like the bones he’s broken in his hand, the pulled hamstrings and various twisted body parts. But one gives it away.

“When I wear sunglasses, people are like ‘Your glasses are crooked,’ ” Recanati said. “No man, that would be my face.”

Recanati, a Coeur d’Alene resident who moved from California in 2002, will join Team USA’s four other male and two female competitors Sept. 28 through 30 in Jersey, an island in the English Channel just off the French coast of Normandy, for the three-day event. Teams from around the world will gather for Friday’s opening ceremony and then take part in international group competitions on Saturday, with individuals squaring off on Sunday.

“I think it’s fun, it’s great; you are the representative of your country,” he said. About the competitions, Recanati added, “There are no beginners. Everyone’s a black belt.”

This year’s World Ju-Jitsu Championships marks the second Team USA outing for Recanati, as he earned bronze medals in the 2001 competitions for both the team trials and his individual lightweight performance. Contestants are judged in two consecutive two-minute matches featuring opponents fighting to knock one another to the mat through a myriad of moves including throwing, grappling, punching and kicking, all the while being awarded points based on their style. While jujitsu, an ancient Japanese martial art designed around unarmed combat, can be brutal, today’s take encourages good sportsmanship and competitor safety.

“It’s not like “Ultimate Fighting” where you are trying to clean each other’s clocks,” said Recanati, who’ll be fighting in the middleweight category this year. “You are trying to score points. Most people have to go to work Monday morning anyway.”

The North Idahoan, who trains at Northwest Kenpo Karate, became part of Team USA after the head coach took note of his performance at a national jujitsu competition in the late 1990s. The head coach, Larry Cary, and assistant coach, Monua Cary, wanted individuals who could not only defend themselves, but also compete with style.

“He was a perfect fit,” Monua Cary said in a phone interview from the USA Jujitsu and Martial Arts Training Center in Reno, Nev. “His jujitsu is well-rounded … Having the ability to calmly focus and fight, and with that kind of balance, is not something you see a lot.”

Back in 1989, well before the worldwide competitions, Recanati decided to join a gym out of self-defense because, as he said, “you get tired of people picking on you.” Since then, the California native, who holds three black belts, believes his mix of kickboxing-based freestyle and commitment to long-standing martial art traditions has imbued in him a sense of serenity.

“I think when you’ve been doing it long enough, you learn to help people,” he said. “I think it’s made me a nicer person.”

Team USA is a nonprofit organization and doesn’t receive any government funding, so competitors must pay for the roughly $3,000 trip themselves. Anyone who wants to help the national team by making a donation can call Recanati at 664-1312.