Having served with the police in Germany, his home country, for many years, Johannes Daxbacher retired recently and now plans to devote himself even more to developing judo and spreading its values.
For decades, Daxbacher worked as a police officer while always maintaining a strong connection with judo. "Combining sport and service, I thought that was great," he said. He occupied several functions in the police, "I was a squad leader, diver, instructor in various disciplines, operations manager, duty and training planner and developer, specialist teacher, and many more roles. I was also able to complete an incredible number of exciting training courses."
Johannes Daxbacher's sporting career was also marked by some memorable events. He was a bronze medallist at the world championships for police, and was veteran world champion, and throughout his life made several appearances with the German national team.
Certainly though, what motivated Daxbacher more than anything was the task of bringing the police and judo together as partners. Through his network, he was keen to utilise the potential of judo values within his police duties. To be concrete and active in the field, Johannes Daxbacher founded the judo department at the Königsbrunn Police Sports Club at the age of 19 and has now been its chairman for 42 years. He still coaches on the tatami, several times a week.
For many years, he served as the judo and ju-jutsu specialist for the Bavarian Police Sports Committee. Since 2015, he has also held this position at the German Police Sports Committee (DPSK). As a member of the Technical Commission of the European Police Sports Federation (USPE), he continues to contribute to the development of the sport. As a consequence, he has pioneered an agreement between the police and the German Judo Federation for close co-operation. It is the first and, to date, only sports association to finalise such an agreement with the police.
Daxbacher did not limit himself to the national level and has been involved internationally for a long time. His involvement spans many countries including Italy, Japan, India, Bhutan, Ethiopia, and many other African countries, where he, usually with his wife Regina, who is a teacher, advocates for development aid, equal rights, sports and education. All of this has been recognised with numerous awards.
At the beginning of 2025, Johannes Daxbacher retired from the police force after more than 45 years in the service. However, he will continue to be involved in judo and will also promote his close ties to the police and convey the judo values. He has been a member of the IJF Military and Police Commission since 2011 and has been the chair of the IJF Police Commission since 2020. Johannes Daxbacher also strives to promote judo in numerous countries worldwide with the slogan, "Judo as a means of more elegant conflict resolution for the police."
"I will continue to cultivate my contacts around the world and continue working with the German Judo Federation and the IJF. But I also want to take time for myself and my wife, play chess, and maybe just do nothing sometimes." We wish Johannes Daxbacher a good retirement and we are looking forward to seeing him again on the tatami for more development.
Source: Birgit Arendt