In Memoriam
Kurai Ryu Jujitsu
I expect to pass through this world but once.
Any good therefore that I can do,
or kindness that I can show to any fellow creature,
let me do it now…
For I shall not pass this way again.
– The Road of Life
In Memoriam: Sensei Joe Mandese
1935 – 2003
The world has lost a great martial artist.
NEMAC has lost a dear friend.
Dai Sensei Joseph C. Mandese, Soke (founder) of Kurai Ryu Jujitsu, passed away suddenly on Tuesday, March 25, 2003. He was 67.
Mr. Mandese was born in New York City on June 18, 1935. On September 25, 1979, Joseph married Yamel Pablo in New York City. They moved to Dobbs Ferry in 1985.
Mr. Mandese owned a printing business, Status Press, in New York City. After his retirement from the printing business, he taught Martial Arts.
Sensei Mandese was in the martial arts for over fifty years.
Sensei’s training began at age 16, in the Yamato Ryu Ju Jitsu system. Upon receiving his black belt, his instructor was recalled to Japan. He advised Sensei to take other martial arts, and develop his own. Over the years he has studied multiple forms of Judo, Aikido, Ju Jitsu, Tae Kwon Do, Karate and Kung Fu. These studies led him to develop his present system: Kurai Ryu Jujitsu.
Over the years, Sensei held numerous seminars on his art, for fellow martial artists, law enforcement and corporate clients. Sensei taught Kurai Ryu at a dojo in Bronxville, and subsequently from his home in Dobbs Ferry. Most recently, he worked from a studio in Riverdale. Despite Sensei’s prodigious talent for the martial arts, and experience that spanned a lifetime, he was possessed of a humility and kindness that made fast friends of all he encountered. His modesty shall be his enduring example, and a lesson to us all.
Joseph had a tremendous love for animals, especially his dog “Harmony”. Sensei had a particular gentleness towards the world’s most vulnerable creatures.
Surviving, along with his wife are his children: Stephanie, Joseph, Richard, Vincent, Nicole and Justin; four grandchldren: Zoe, Luke, Josh and Noah; two sisters-in-law, Maritza and Marlene and his mother-in-law, Maria. Our sympathies go out to the entire Mandese family.
We will miss you, Sensei!