Mindy Swanson, also known as Big Mindy, is a previous member and a friend of our Hawaii Tenri Judo family. Big Mindy came to Hawaii from Minnesota to pursue her Masters in Oceanography at UH Manoa. She trained and competed with us at the senior level from 2005 to 2009. Big Mindy is the first Hawaii Tenri Judoka to win the Senior National competition. She also competed internationally and at the 2008 Olympic Trials. After graduating with her masters, Big Mindy went on to teach science at HBA and slowed down her competitive judo training.

In 2013, Big Mindy left us to pursue missionary work in Indonesia – she lives there in a small village called Lubuk Linggau and teaches judo. Big Mindy’s judo club, Judo Kuat, reaches children between the ages of 8 and 18 through judo. Judo Kuat provides tuition free training and opportunities to travel to judo competitions for the students.

Judo Kuat has grown to serve more and more children over the past four years to a point where they are now in need of a larger dojo. Judo Kuat needs to raise $20,000 by May 10, 2017 to begin construction on their new dojo, per the restrictions of the fundraising website, StartSomeGood.

Please take a look at the fundraising site, Judo Strong – Build a Dojo in South Sumatra. You can learn more about Big Mindy’s mission and the Judo Kuat club. If you feel led to support the cause, you can make a donation at the website.