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VIDEO NEWS: Taking philosophy to the mat

David Gonnerman '90 and Juan Yanqui R. '14
February 15, 2012

For most of their class periods in January, by the time students in Interim's Philosophy 127: Zen and the Art of Judo finally settled down to discuss philosophy, they had already spent a few hours grunting through a variety of physical conditioning exercises and throwing each other in the Skoglund Center wrestling room. After writing papers and practicing techniques all month, the men and women in the class earned a yellow belt when they passed their final exam.

"[Judo] allows people of any size to be competitive," says a petite Alexandra Best '15, a mathematics major who found a bonus in getting to learn about the martial art's biomechanics.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.