John Prough (1940–2013) was a respected figure in the martial arts world, remembered as much for his ability to connect people and traditions as for his technical skill. Over the course of several decades, he built a reputation as a cultural bridge, blending the precision of an engineer with the artistry of Japanese sword culture and budo in New York City and New Jersey.
Born in Detroit in 1940, Prough Sensei began his lifelong journey in martial arts while studying electrical engineering at the University of Detroit. He discovered judo in 1959, sparking a dedication that would carry him across the country and across oceans. From the Detroit Judo Club and the University of Michigan to YMCA classes in Alabama, and even aboard a ship traveling the North Atlantic and Mediterranean, he pursued training wherever life and career took him.
Along the way, he rose steadily through the ranks, taught students of all levels and left his mark on every community he touched. His professional life unfolded in parallel, beginning during the pioneering days of computing. He worked with early aerospace systems before moving into corporate environments, where he managed large-scale technical projects with the same precision and adaptability he brought to the dojo. His career spanned hardware and software, navigating a rapidly evolving industry with depth and ingenuity.
In 1968, while working at sea, Prough Sensei purchased two Japanese swords from an antiques dealer in Lisbon, an encounter that shifted the course of his life. Back in New York, he began studying iaido and jodo with the New York Iaikai, eventually becoming deeply involved in sword practice, collection and scholarship. His expertise found a home in the New York Token Kai, where he organized appraisal events that helped strengthen ties between Japanese and American practitioners while safeguarding the cultural legacy of the sword.
His passion extended further still. In 1982, he was introduced to naginata by Sugiyama Sensei at the New York Kendo Club, planting the seeds of a practice that would later flourish under the guidance of Sachiko Yamauchi Sensei. When Yamauchi Sensei reestablished naginata in New York and New Jersey in 1999, John became one of its strongest supporters, and in 2000, the two married cementing both a personal and martial partnership. Together, they taught iaido and naginata, nurturing a new generation of students across New York, New Jersey and beyond.
Prough Sensei believed that true understanding in martial arts came not from shortcuts, but from persistence, humility and self-directed practice. Students remember his dry wit, his thoughtful guidance and the quiet conviction that hard work always outweighed talent alone.
Beyond the dojo, John supported cultural organizations and remained deeply engaged with Japanese traditions. His life was defined by curiosity, commitment, and connection. Though he passed in 2013, survived by his daughter, his legacy lives on in the communities he helped sustain, in the students who still carry forward his teachings, and in the cultural bridges he so carefully built.