AnnMaria De Mars facts for kids
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Birth name | AnnMaria Waddell | |||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | The Animal | |||||||||||||
| Born | August 15, 1958 Scott Air Force Base, St. Clair County, Illinois, U.S. |
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| Died | Not recognized as a date. Years must have 4 digits (use leading zeros for years < 1000). (aged Error: Need valid year, month, day) | |||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Washington University in St. Louis (B.S.) University of Minnesota (M.B.A.) University of California, Riverside (Ph.D.) |
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| Occupation | CEO of 7 Generation Games CEO of The Julia Group |
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| Weight | 56 kg | |||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) |
Ronald Rousey
(m. 1985; died 1995)Dennis De Mars
(m. 1997) |
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| Sport | ||||||||||||||
| Country | United States | |||||||||||||
| Sport | Judo | |||||||||||||
| Rank | 7th dan black belt | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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AnnMaria De Mars (born August 15, 1958) is an American expert in technology, an author, and a judoka. A judoka is someone who practices judo, a Japanese martial art and sport.
AnnMaria De Mars made history as the first American to win a gold medal at the World Judo Championships. She achieved this amazing feat in 1984. She competed in the -56 kg weight class, which means she weighed 56 kilograms or less.
Today, De Mars is the chief executive officer (CEO) of two companies: 7 Generation Games and The Julia Group. She also works as a consultant who uses statistics to help others. She has written many important proposals for programs that help Native American communities. Before leading 7 Generation Games, she was a Vice President at Spirit Lake Consulting Inc. This company helps the Spirit Lake Tribe on their Indian Reservation with education and job training.
In 2013, Forbes magazine recognized AnnMaria De Mars. She was on their list of "40 Women to Watch Over 40." This list celebrates women who are making big professional contributions after age 40. In 2016, she was honored by being added to the International Sports Hall of Fame.
Contents
Early Life and Judo Beginnings
AnnMaria De Mars grew up in a small town called Alton, Illinois. She started her judo journey at age 12. She began training at a local YMCA, which is a community center.
Early Judo Success
When she was 16, De Mars won her first big competition. This was the USJA Junior Nationals. In the same year, she started college at Washington University in St. Louis. She studied business there. At 18, she went to Japan as an exchange student. She trained in Tokyo at Waseda University under a famous teacher named Sensei Osawa.
She finished college with her business degree in 1978. That year was very successful for her in judo. She won the US Senior Nationals, the US Collegiate Nationals, and the US Open. At that time, there were no women's judo world championships. So, she decided to stop competing for a while. She went on to study for her Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree at the University of Minnesota.
De Mars earned her MBA in 1980. She missed the first women's world championships while she was in graduate school. But in 1981, she won a bronze medal at the British Open. She also won at the Tournoi d'Orleans. In 1982, she was ranked number one in the USJI rankings. She also won the US Open again. However, she did not compete in the second women's world championships. This was because her daughter, María, was born.
AnnMaria De Mars continued her education later on. She earned a Master of Arts (MA) and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Educational Psychology. She got these degrees from the University of California, Riverside. This knowledge helped her teach her daughter, Ronda, how to prepare mentally for fights.
Becoming a World Champion
De Mars had more success in 1983. She won at the Pan American Games and the US Senior Nationals. In 1984, she won the Austrian Open and the Canada Cup. She also won the US Senior Nationals again. She decided to come out of retirement to compete in the 1984 World Judo Championships. She won, becoming the first person from the United States to win a World Judo Championships. Her name at that time was Ann-Maria Burns.
Life After Competition
In 1995, AnnMaria De Mars's husband, Ronald Rousey, had a serious sledding accident. He suffered a broken back and had long-lasting pain. He later passed away due to health complications. After this, De Mars moved her family back to Southern California. They settled in Santa Monica, where she taught her children at home.
After moving, De Mars remarried. She also helped coach her daughter, Ronda Rousey. Ronda went on to win a gold medal at the 2004 World Junior Judo Championships. She also won a bronze medal at the 2008 Olympics. Ronda Rousey later became a professional mixed martial artist. She was a former champion in the UFC.
AnnMaria De Mars often coaches and practices judo at a gym in Los Angeles. She remembers a time when Ronda broke her wrist while practicing a throw against her. De Mars always tells young judo students, "Don't reach for the mat" when you fall. This helps prevent injuries.
In 2013, De Mars and Jimmy Pedro Sr. wrote a book together. It is an instructional book about judo called Winning on the Ground.
De Mars believes in an offense-focused approach in judo. She says, "The best defense is a good offense." This means if you are attacking your opponent, they have to spend half their energy defending. This makes them less effective at attacking you. She learned this because of a serious knee injury she had when she was young. She had to take her opponent to the ground quickly before her knee gave out.
Teaching and Technology Work
AnnMaria De Mars started working with the Spirit Lake Reservation in 1990. She wrote the first federal grant for tribes to track early childhood development. She also created and taught the first course offered online by a tribal college. While there, she helped evaluate many programs. These included programs for finding talent, vocational training, health careers, and family literacy.
De Mars founded 7 Generation Games because she believes many children struggle with math early on. She feels this can limit their opportunities later in life. She noticed that if kids don't understand fractions or decimals, they might decide math isn't for them. This can lead to them dropping out of high school. She wanted to find a way to help.
Her idea for 7 Generation Games came from her love of statistics and helping communities. She learned that in some schools, when students spent more time learning about their culture, their math scores went down. This was because math instruction time was reduced. Her partner, Dr. Erich Longie, wanted to find a way to combine math and culture.
So, they designed a game. It is a 3-D virtual world where kids face challenges like wolves and enemies. They have to use math to solve problems and continue playing. For example, a villain might ask, "I dug a pit every 3 feet. It's 33 feet to the lake. How many pits are there?" If the player answers correctly, they move on. If not, they get a chance to study and take a quiz to get back into the game.
In 2008, De Mars worked as a statistical consultant for the University of Southern California. She has over 27 years of experience working with a statistical software called SAS. She has also shared her knowledge through many online articles and blogs.
Personal Life
AnnMaria De Mars is the mother of Ronda Rousey. Ronda is an Olympic bronze medalist in judo. She is also a former world champion in the UFC. De Mars is also the mother of María Burns Ortiz. María is a sports journalist who writes for ESPN.com and Fox News Latino.
AnnMaria De Mars is a Catholic.
See also
In Spanish: AnnMaria De Mars para niños
