r/judo • u/drutgat • Aug 19 '22
Kano's Vision for Judo as a Practical Martial Art
From ' A Judo that Incorporates Kendo: Jigoro Kano’s Ideas and Their Theoretical Development', by Fumiaki Shishida (link for free .PDF download, below)
The abstract states,
'Judo’s founder, Jigoro Kano, stated by the end of his life that in the future judo should integrate the principles of kendo (Japanese swordsmanship). He also often mentioned that his vision of ideal judo was present in the extremely fluid randori sparring practices that took place during the early years of judo. These statements will be unexpected for most modern judo practitioners, who practice a competitive judo as a sport and are largely unaware of Kano’s desire to make judo into a practical martial art. Kano’s hope of combining the principles of judo and kendo to make a practical martial art was not realized during his lifetime, but his goal was pursued by his student, Kenji Tomiki. Professor Tomiki defined the principle of kendo as the “technical theory of chop and thrust while avoiding being touched” and worked towards integrating it with judo’s throwing techniques. In particular, he noted that just as the proper moment to begin executing a sword technique is the moment of first contact between attacker and defender, the proper moment to begin executing a judo technique is also the moment of first contact between attacker and defender. Thus, the long periods of slow and indecisive wrestling that occur in modern judo tournaments after competitors have grabbed each other’s uniforms fail to meet Kano’s ideal. Instead, players should grasp lightly, move fluidly, and treat each moment as the moment of initial contact'.
EDIT
Apologies for posting the wrong link.
This link works - just click on 'FULL TEXT' to download the article
https://archbudo.com/view/abstract/id/10560
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u/fleischlaberl Aug 19 '22 edited Aug 19 '22
That's a little bid made up and exaggerated and one sided with intentions.
It also has a Manchurian touch of japanese Imperialism and militarism and Aikido overestimation :)
There was also pressure from the military to teach Judo as a martial art (bu gei / bu jutsu) - and not as a Way (ju-do) - because Judo was with Kendo the school sport mandatory for pupils and that sport should prepare the kids to become good warriors for imperial Japan (Bushido confucian Zen Samurai). More striking and kicking to vital points (fighting from a distance) and if going close stabbing or throwing instantly , choking or locking and stabbing.
http://sports-culture.cocolog-nifty.com/photos/uncategorized/2016/10/30/05.jpg
But it's true, that Kano wasn't satisfied with the development of Judo mid 20's into the 30's because Judo became more sportive focusing on winning fights and championships (All Japan was introduced in 1931)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tatsukuma_Ushijima
and therefore the focus went from Randori taking a grip and doing throw for throw from an upright posture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SiztYs--bjI
https://www.reddit.com/r/judo/comments/v8gvos/advice_for_learning_judo_from_yoshiaki_yamashita/
to more defensive and blocking and trying to shut down the opponent and winning at all costs.
Of course Kano didn't like that because of narrowing Judo from a Do (way) and a well rounded Martial Art with all techniques + Kata (including Atemi waza) to techniques specifically efficient in Shiai (contest with a specific rule set) and technically spoken not having an upright posture from where you can defend and attack and move easily and also wasting time with grip fighting, defensive posture and the goal of not falling (not efficient use of time for learning Judo).
That is still a good advice for todays randori:
How to do Randori (Free Practice / Sparring) in Judo
https://www.reddit.com/r/judo/comments/e5k0s8/how_to_do_randori_free_practice_sparring_in_judo/
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u/drutgat Aug 19 '22
Thanks for this, fleischlaberl.
I also just had an email exchange with Steve Cunningham about this, and his respons to the article.
I am encouraging him to do a video about his knowledge of the kinds of things mentioned in the article about Kano, and to correct some of the misconceptions in the article, as you have done.
He thinks not many people will be interested in that kind of video, but I think it is vital to get his knowledge out there.
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u/Otautahi Aug 19 '22
I think the judo world hasn't had anyone do the scholarly work in English to really make much sense of Kano's intentions. It's such a complex topic.
Lance Gatling's work is really foundational, but I think it will be some time before it's possible to meaningfully draw conclusions from the writings by Kano currently available in English.
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u/fleischlaberl Aug 19 '22 edited Aug 19 '22
There are trustworthy authors on Jigoro Kano all with an academic background:
- Alexander C. Bennett: Jigoro Kano and the Kodokan
- Niehaus: Leben und Werk Jigoro Kanos (unfortunately in German only)
- Dax Romswinkl: Grundwissen der Geschichte des Kodokan Judo in Japan
Basic Knowledge of the History of Kodokan Judo in Japan, no translation to english
https://www.nwjv.de/fileadmin/qualifizierung/dokumente/kodokan_judo.pdf
- Lance Gatling - as you said - does a great work too
There are also many articles in english written by Jigoro Kano on Judo
https://www.reddit.com/r/judo/comments/q7cb0b/jigoro_kanos_summary_on_judo/
Of course we are all waiting for "the" opus magnum from Carl de Creé (CK) on Judo.
Note:
Remarkably there is no book on the philosophy of Judo, as Jigoro Kano thought that the core principles of Judo "seiryoku zenyo" and "jita kyoei" are "universal principles".
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u/Otautahi Aug 19 '22
Thank you for the list!
I still think it is very hard to build up a useful picture in English. I think you need Japanese and German as a minimum. I also suspect that alot of source and original material hasn't been digested. It's just a hunch!
Late-19th C Japan is such a complex period. It's close enough to us that it somehow seems familiar - but the founding of the Kodokan is as close to us in time as to the 1750s.
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u/Lgat77 The Kanō Chronicles® 嘉納歴代 Sep 05 '22
I also suspect that alot of source and original material hasn't been digested. It's just a hunch!
The most detailed bibliography of Kano's writings misses scores of papers; it is a multipage list, useful, but he wrote so much it was easy to miss some.
I think I have almost everything he had published in Japan. I know there are some I've missed, but searching for over 10 years I have a pretty good idea where to look.
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u/Lgat77 The Kanō Chronicles® 嘉納歴代 Sep 05 '22
Remarkably there is no book on the philosophy of Judo, as Jigoro Kano thought that the core principles of Judo "seiryoku zenyo" and "jita kyoei" are "universal principles".
I'm not sure that it could be stretched out to book length and make it readable to more than a tiny number of specialized readers, but this is as far as I know the most detailed explanation of Kano shihan's judo philosophies.
I'm working on a book length manuscript in which this will be fleshed out a bit more.
"The Origins and Development of Kanō Jigorō’s Jūdō Philosophies
嘉納治五郎の柔道原理の原因と開発
Lance Gatling ガトリング•ランスThe paper linked herein was published in December 2021 in the International Judo Federation’s Arts and Science of Judo online ‘zine, Vol. 1, No. 2.
The Origins and Development of Kanō Jigorō’s Jūdō Philosophies
By Lance Gatling. Pages 50-64.
Kanō’s jūdō philosophies – Seiryoku zenyō Jita kyōei – adorn tens of thousands of judo dojo across the world, but what exactly do these phrases mean? They are typically translated as ‘Best use of energy / mutual benefit’, even this does not clarify the origins and precise meaning of the phrases.
精力善用自他共栄...."3
u/Lgat77 The Kanō Chronicles® 嘉納歴代 Sep 05 '22
There is too much missing from most of Kano shihan's treatments in English to make sense of much of it. This is why I reverted to original Japanese texts only - I only use good English texts written by fluent Japanese speakers / readers as a short cut to avoid the muda of retranslating a good work.
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u/drutgat Aug 19 '22
The only problem with Lance's stuff is that he describes a lot of his articles, but does not post them.
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u/Lgat77 The Kanō Chronicles® 嘉納歴代 Sep 05 '22
Too many irons in the fire.
I am finishing a couple of chapters in a new, major book on the Japanese martial arts; that has taken more time than intended and budgeted. I expect this will be a landmark book, a sweeping view of Japanese martial arts history edited by Dr. Alexander Bennett. He and I collaborate on one ground breaking section that is like nothing anyone has seen in Japanese or English to date.
I also want my articles to be right. There are so many that are simply wrong in multiple aspects, and I try to avoid that.
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u/drutgat Sep 06 '22
I can appreciate being busy, but I find it disappointing when I go to your website and want to follow up on one of your comments, only to find that there is nothing posted.
That has meant that I rarely check your website these days.
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u/Lgat77 The Kanō Chronicles® 嘉納歴代 Sep 06 '22
Simplest way to avoid that is to sign up for updates; you'll get an email when anything new is posted on the website.
Yes, I have any number of short articles in the works but frankly have shifted focus to longer essays, so the short ones are not a high priority. When I publish, there is solid research behind it. And that takes a lot of time and effort.
I'll post some longer essays for sale soon - just working out the details. They too have many details never addressed before. Some took years to collect resources, months to write.Cheers,
Lance2
u/drutgat Sep 06 '22
I think I did sign up at one point, but once again, found it hard to find anything (long or short) that fully followed up on the points you mentioned in the updates.
As a former professional, who occasionally wrote articles for my colleagues and others in my profession, and who was trained in that discipline when researching and writing my thesis during my Master's degree, I am familiar with the rigor and time involved in academic and professional writing, and I appreciate the effort it takes to produce scholarly pieces of work.
And I really appreciate people who get things right!
I look forward to the book, and to your longer essays.
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u/Izunadrop45 Aug 19 '22
One of the worst things to happen to judo is that for a ton of people it became a religion
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Aug 19 '22
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u/MyCatPoopsBolts shodan Aug 19 '22
That isn't why he was skeptical about it becoming part of the olympics. Rather, he worried that competition represented only one element of Judo and that it's moral teachings would be left by the wayside. He also believed that if it was introduced to the Olympics Judo would become associated with nationalism (IE cold war era Team USA representing America against those godless commies) instead of the mutual betterment of all humanity, a goal that transcends borders and states.
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Aug 19 '22
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u/MyCatPoopsBolts shodan Aug 19 '22
Source? The only statement I have found from Kano makes no reference to worry about the actual technique of the art/the art not becoming Pseudo MMA.
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Aug 19 '22
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u/MyCatPoopsBolts shodan Aug 19 '22
Sorry for my unclear comment. I was referring to Jigoro Kano's reasoning for being skeptical of Judo in the Olympics, not his overall goals for the art. I don't believe that (highly informative) article includes information about the Olympics.
Here is the only statement from him I have found about Judo in the Olympics:
"I have been asked by people of various sections as to the wisdom and the possibility of Judo being introduced at the Olympic Games. My view on the matter, at present, is rather passive. If it be the desire of other member countries, I have no objection. But I do not feel inclined to take any initiative. For one thing, Judo in reality is not a mere sport or game. I regard it as a principle of life, art and science. In fact, it is a means for personal cultural attainment. Only one of the forms of Judo training, the so-called randori can be classed as a form of sport... [In addition, the] Olympic Games are so strongly flavoured with nationalism that it is possible to be influenced by it and to develop Contest Judo as a retrograde form as Jujitsu was before the Kodokan was founded. Judo should be as free as art and science from external influences – political, national, racial, financial or any other organised interest. And all things connected with it should be directed to its ultimate object, the benefit of humanity."
Note the lack of references to practicality. This is probably because it didn't take the Olympics to sportify Judo randori, and Kano knew it: that ship sailed in 1931 with the invention of the all Japan championships. Hence his reference to Randori as a sport.
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u/Lgat77 The Kanō Chronicles® 嘉納歴代 Sep 05 '22
he reason for the kinds of abuses that have arisen today is that people have forgotten that randori practice means fighting in earnest. If one fights in earnest, a stance in which you lower your hips, spread your legs, and tilt your head forward is extremely disadvantageous. Both your face and your chest are vulnerable to your opponent's atemi. [...] Atemi is not used in everyday randori practice only because it's dangerous, but you must nevertheless practice with the expectation that your opponent may attack using atemi at any time.
My sensei, who was born in the 1920s, noted that in the Kodokan of his youth it was not uncommon to have judoka simply smash their knee into your face if you insisted on a bent over, defensive posture. Just to help you remember that it's bad form, I guess.
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u/drutgat Aug 19 '22
Yes, I love that quote (which I posted here a couple of years ago), in which Kano says that he would not object to Judo becoming an Olympic sport, but that he also had some misgivings about it.
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u/Lgat77 The Kanō Chronicles® 嘉納歴代 Sep 05 '22
he wrote about that in a very precise way that tends to be forgotten.
He said that he would not object to judo in the Olympics if the participating Olympic countries well understood that judo is not a competitive sport, and that they understood the true spirit of judo.
In context, it seems clear to me that he wanted control of the event, and wasn't interested in abandoning it to the Olympic bureaucracy, which he understood very well.
In the event, judo was slated as a demonstration event, along with kendo and other budo, for the canceled 1940 Tokyo Olympics.
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u/drutgat Sep 06 '22
I think the actual quote is pretty clear regarding Kano's meaning about Judo not being only a competitive sport (although he does talk about it being partly a sport in some of his writings, particularly when mentioning randori).
I cannot see any confusion there if people read the quote properly - I think the problem is that people just latch on to the part of it in which he said he would not object, and then they ignore the subsequent, conditional part, in which he qualifies and clarifies what he means.
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u/MyCatPoopsBolts shodan Sep 06 '22
I think the opposite is true. People read it as an all-out condemnation stating "Kano was always opposed to the olympics."
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u/drutgat Sep 06 '22
Interesting.
I have had conversations with people in which they say that this quote shows he was in favour of Judo becoming an Olympic sport (with the emphasis on sport).
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u/MyCatPoopsBolts shodan Sep 06 '22
haha. I think it is an intentionally ambiguous quote (clever politicking from Kano) and people see what they want in it. Confirmation bias is a bitch.
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u/luxuslurch rokkyu Aug 19 '22
That link there links to your own harddrive.