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Essential Principles of Judo by Kyuzo Mifune, judan Pliable action of mind and physique surpass stiffening and sturdiness. True spirit of Judo is nothing but the gentle and diligent free spirit. Judo rests on flexible action of mind and body. The word flexible however never means weakness but something more like adaptability and openmindedness. Gentleness always overcomes strength. To display best vitality in the worst plight. A danger is apt to be unforseen, and in such a case the worst possible plight will show itself. Judo should present its most substantial meaning in such a case. Judo's specialty is quick shifting disadvantage to advantage, and freedom of action in the worst situation by detecting the opponent's unguarded point quickly and changing your own position to overcome the danger. To be careless is equal to lack of fixed principle. You must give full attention and energy to studying Judo with zeal and sincerity. Shifting disadvantage to advantage is a subtle art and not an ounce of inattention is allowed. Never stick to a fixed idea, but be in a self-annihilating state. To be flexible requires a lack of consciousness of life and death. If you are not afraid of the stronger opponent but a naive mind of selflessness is maintained, your activity will be hindered by nothing, and infinite change and adaptability can be displayed. Never despise trifles but keep faithful mind. The mind, if slackened even a little, will cause defeat the same as fearing the opponent will make you unable to use full strength. If you are in a hurry to win the match, you will not grasp the truth of the moment. Truth is a free factor, not planned but found when the mind is in its natural state. It can be said that everybody is always with truth but your sincerity will enable you to get it without labor.
Kyuzo Mifune at age 70 executing a perfect Sumi Otoshi
"I remember during the early part of January, 1909, I went to a certain restaurant, accompanied by Mr. Kyuzo Mifune, a fifth Dan teacher of the Kodokan. We noticed in one corner of the room a group of thirteen young fellows drinking sake, while in an adjoining apartment there were an elderly couple and some other visitors taking food. The members of the first-named group were seen to be putting their heads together at frequent intervals and to be busily whispering, at the same time casting glances in our direction. I did not take any special notice of what was going on, nor did I suspect that they had any designs upon us. Mr. Mifune and I went on chatting over our drinks. Presently one of the rascals approached us, calmly picked up my overcoat and hat, and tried to make off with them under our very noses. Of course I remonstrated, when the thief, evidently bent on picking a quarrel, insisted that the coat and hat were his property. A warm altercation arose, in the midst of which he assumed a threatening attitude, and was speedily joined by half a dozen of his comrades from the other side of the room. There being no alternative, Mr. Mifune took a hand in the game. He avoided unnecessary roughness, but in less than a minute he had them all down with a succession of swift blows. Then the rest of the gang set upon me, but I knocked them down one after the other, and the affair was over in less than three minutes. As our victims regained consciousness they lost no time in making themselves scarce, but we detained one of them, and forced him to confess. He admitted that their object had been to extort money from us by intimidation. They had been misled by our good clothes and had imagined that we would be easy prey. We let the fellow go instead of handing him. over to the police, as we considered he had received punishment enough at our hands. After the rascals had gone the old couple who had been interested spectators of the occurrence told us that they had just witnessed for the first time in their lives a practical display of jujutsu and were amazed at the wonderful feats which experts were able to perform against such odds." Recorded by E. J. Harrison in The Fighting Spirit of Japan (1913). In the text, Sakujiro Yokoyama is relating the incident to the author. At the time of this occurrence Sakujiro Yokohama held the rank of 7th Dan, the highest rank awarded by the founder of judo, Jigoro Kano, as of that date.
Jigoro Kano Indeed, he was many things to many people. Like Sir Thomas Moore, a man for all seasons. His many worlds encompassed much of value to Japan. From scattered quotes taken from various sources close to him, we can only glimpse Jigoro Kano, the man: "He used to take an umbrella with him every day because he didn't like to worry about whether or not it would rain." "When he returned home, he would go straight into the living room, which meant on most days I would not see my father at all." "Just after I graduated from Waseda University, he sent me a cable: 'Your father has been looking for a wife for you. What sort of woman do you have in mind for a wife?' Less than three years later, I married his daughter." "He was very strict with us at school. I had to get up at 5 o'clock every morning and help clean the rooms and the garden." "He was so proud of his legs he used to pull up his hakama just to show off his big calves." "He wept when he heard of my sister's (his daughter's) death." He was a perfectionist, a disciplinarian and a traditionalist. But, at the same time, an innovator, an internationalist and a man of great generosity. More important, he was a famous educator and the father of modern sports in Japan. But above all, Jigoro Kano was the founder of Judo! When he first saw the light of day on Oct. 28, 1860, Japan's feudal period was rapidly drawing to a close. Across the seas in America, the United States was embarked on a tragic civil war. Just as today, it was a time of turmoil and change around the world. He was fortunate enough to be born into a family that was reasonably well off, at least well enough placed to get Jigoro into the elite Tokyo Imperial University. His grandfather had launched the family into the business of making sake in Nada, Shiga Prefecture, near the Biwa Lake in central Japan. In fact, it was this same sake-brewing clan that organized the other sake makers in the area to help finance the Fujimi-cho Dojo which served as the Kodokan in the latter half of the 1880s. Since Jigoro's father was not the eldest son, the sake business was not passed down into his hands. Even at that, his father did all right for himself at Kobe-Jigoro's birthplace-as both a Shinto priest and a high-ranking government official in charge of purchasing agents for shipping lines. It was this side of the Kano family that prompted the building of Japan's first steel ships, coastal vessels designed to carry sake.
The third son in a family of three boys and two girls, young Jigoro was physically weak in his early years. In fact, he was beaten up so often by local bullies he resolved to strengthen himself the best way he could. It was this unrelenting drive to learn how to defend himself that eventually led to his formulation of Judo. One wonders what would have happened had Jigoro Kano been a big brute of a man instead of the 5-foot, 2-inch, 90-pound weakling he was in his teens. Jujitsu was flourishing during Jigoro's boyhood. One might even term the mid-19th century the golden age of jujitsu. So it was with rather anxious expectation Jigoro looked forward to moving to Tokyo, where most of the jujitsu activity was going on. When he was 17, his father ordered him to go to the capital on board one of the sake-carrying steel ships, but he insisted on traveling by land. His father relented -- and a good thing, too, because the vessel he was to sail on broke up in stormy seas en route to Tokyo and sank.
Obsessed With Learning Jigoro enrolled the following year at Tokyo Imperial University at the age of 18. When he wasn't in class or studying, he would go off in search of an osteopath because they had all received jujitsu training. Apparently, he was still obsessed with the desire to learn the art of manly self-defense and concluded jujitsu offered him the best hope. His search finally led him to the door of a bone doctor in Nihonbashi named Teinosuke Yagi who promised to introduce him to a jujitsu teacher living in the neighborhood. Jigoro Kano had actually started his training in jujitsu at the age of 17, but his instructor, Ryuji Katagiri, felt he was too young for serious training. As a result, Katagiri gave him only a few formal exercises for study and let it go at that. The determined young man was not about to be put off so easily, however, and finally wound up at the dojo of Hachinosuke Fukuda, a master in the Tenjin-Shinyo School of Jujitsu who had been recommended by Dr. Yagi. Fukuda stressed technique over formal exercises, or kata. His method was to give an explanation of the exercises, but to concentrate on freestyle fighting in practice sessions. Jigoro Kano's emphasis on "randori" in Judo undoubtedly found its beginnings here under Fukuda's influence. The Kodokan's procedure of teaching beginners the basis of Judo, then having them engage in randori and only after they had attained a certain level of proficiency, teaching them the formal kata, came from Fukuda and a later sensei named Iikubo. In 1879, a year after Jigoro started working out at Fukuda's dojo, the jujitsu master suddenly became gravely ill and died at the age of only 52. The 19-year-old youth soon joined another branch of the Tenjinshinyo-ryu run by a 62-year-old jujitsu instructor named Masatomo Iso.
Located in the Kanda section of Tokyo near the center of the city, Iso's dojo was known for its excellence in kata. Iso, himself, was only 5 feet tall, but had a powerful body and an energetic personality. Over the next two years, Jigoro Kano ate, drank and slept jujitsu, practicing night and day at the point of exhaustion. Things got so bad he was even having nightmares about the martial art, shouting jujitsu terms in his sleep and kicking out at his quilt. The sensei saw his dedication and promise and soon made him an assistant. Jigoro instructed 20 or 30 students, starting with kata and then moving on to free fighting. By the time he was 21 years old in 1881, Kano had become a master in Tenjin-shinyo-ryu jujitsu. But Iso, like Fukuda before him, became ill and Kano decided to move on, feeling he still had much to learn and wanting to study rather than teach. The next step seemed almost inevitable. Jigoro Kano met Tsunetoshi Iikubo, master of the Kito School of Jujitsu, and began training at his dojo. Even when no one else showed up, Kano would work out alone. Like Fukuda, Iikubo put the stress on free fighting and he was especially skillful at teaching nage-waza.
Reforming Jujitsu It was during these early jujitsu training days Jigoro Kano worked out some new throws and turned his attention more and more to ways of reforming jujitsu into some kind of new system. While practicing at the Tenjin-shinyo Training Hall, he ran up against a big, 200pound bruiser named Kenkichi Fukushima. Outweighed by 100 pounds, the lightweight youth invariably lost to the bigger man. He wanted to beat Fukushima so badly he could taste it, studying everything he could get his hands on -- books on sumo techniques, training books from abroad, etc. Finally, Jigoro worked out a new technique. The next time he met his burly rival he charged in low, lifted Fukushima onto his shoulders, whirled him around and easily tossed him on the mat. He promptly dubbed his new throw "kata-guruma," or shoulder whirl. Other throws he worked out include "uki-goshi" (rising hip throw) and "tsuri-komi-goshi" (lift-pull hip throw). The original idea was merely to reform jujitsu rather than found a new system. Kano was well aware of the shortcomings, but felt these could be weeded out with the result that jujitsu could be beneficial to young men -- not only as a martial art, but also as a form of physical education as well as training and discipline of the spirit; in short, a valuable preparation for one's daily life. He dedicated himself to formulating a system of reformed jujitsu founded on scientific principles, integrating combat training with mental and physical education. He borrowed the "katamewaza" (mat techniques) and "atemi-waza" (throwing techniques) of Kito-ryu, holding onto those techniques that conformed to scientific principles and rejecting all others. All harmful and dangerous techniques were eliminated.
When 22-year-old Jigoro Kano took nine of his private students from the Kito-ryu Training Hall in February 1882 and set up his own dojo in Eishoji Temple, Judo didn't automatically spring into being. In fact, Kito-ryu master Iikubo came to the temple two or three times a week to help instruct Kano's students. So what they were getting was more jujitsu than Judo training. Two years were to elapse before the by-laws of the first Kodokan were drawn up. Eishoji Temple: the birthplace of Judo
Much has been written about those early days at Eishoji, and it is this temple that is generally regarded by most people as the birthplace of Judo. The transition from jujitsu to Judo was made slowly but surely, although it is difficult to pinpoint the day when what that handful of students were learning was no longer jujitsu, but Judo. It might have been the day when Kano first defeated Iikubo. Until then he had never managed to get the better of the Kito-ryu stylist. But that day in randori practice, Kano blocked every move Iikubo made, then called on his "uki-waza" and "sumi-otoshi" to throw the jujitsu master no less than three times. Kano explained: "Force your opponent to make his body rigid and lose his balance, and then when he is helpless, you attack." Iikubo replied: "From now on, you teach me." Iikubo soon retired as an instructor and Kano finally received his accreditation as a Kito-ryu master. Apparently, Iikubo was a vigorous fighter because every time he came to teach at the 12-mat dojo at Eishoji, training got a bit more violent than usual. And the tablets would come tumbling down!
A Chiding Buddhist Priest It seems the converted dojo adjoined the main hall of the temple in which the image of Buddha was located together with hundreds of mortuary tablets presented by various worshippers. And every time Jigoro Kano and his students practiced, these clay tablets bounced up and down and banged against each other, several falling to the floor. This went on until one day head priest Choshumpo rushed into the dojo and declared: "He may be young, but Mr. Kano is really an outstanding man. What a fine person he would be if he would only leave this Judo alone." Despite the priest's occasional protestations, the practice sessions continued at Eisho Temple. Sometimes the training would be so rough the dojo floor sagged and even broke in some places. Nighttime would find the indefatigable Kano crawling under the floor with a lantern
repairing the broken boards. The year before, in 1881, Kano had graduated from Tokyo Imperial University and soon secured a position as a literature instructor at Gakushuin (Peer's School), an exclusive school for the children of high-born Japanese. His instruction at the dojo had to be sandwiched between his work at the school and the preparation for the next day's classes. It wasn't unusual for him to keep going into the wee hours of the morning. He was tough on both his academic and his Judo students, a disciplinarian of sorts. But he was also a very generous man, offering his Judo students barley tea and rice mixed with lotus roots at the temple. He provided his poorer students with practice clothes, which he even laundered for them. Priest Choshumpo finally came to the end of his tether and presented Kano with an ultimatum: "Either leave the temple or give up practice there." Being an enterprising young man, Kano made a deal for using an empty lot next to Eishoji and built a tiny training hall there measuring only 12 by 18 feet. But this was only a temporary move and Kano set up his next dojo in his own home in 1883. With 20 mats, it was the largest training hall up to this time. But 1884 was the key year when the Kodokan by-laws were drawn up. Kano declared, "Taking together all the merits I have acquired from the various schools of jujitsu, and adding my own devices and inventions, I have founded a new system for physical culture, mental training and winning contests. This I call Kodokan Judo." Randori and kata became firmly established and even made the subjects of lectures and debates as well as a part of education. But the big difference from jujitsu was the "do" in Judo -- finding the way. Kano saw Judo, then, as a way of life. He saw it in terms of a sport, whereas jujitsu was merely another of the martial arts, a method of defense. The dangerous techniques of jujitsu were eliminated from the Judo contests, but retained as part of Judo's defense system. This especially applied to "atemi." Another essential difference from jujitsu was Judo's application of "kuzushi," a theory devised by Jigoro Kano during his jujitsu training and used so successfully against Kito-ryu master Tsunetoshi Iikubo. "Using a minimum amount of strength, it is possible to throw your opponent if you force him off-balance by breaking his posture." According to Kazuzo Kudo, kudan director of the Kodokan and author of Dynamic Judo, "Jigoro Kano's fame and greatness are based on this principle just as much as they are on him as the founder of Judo."
Fierce Rivalry Springs Up
As might be expected, a fierce rivalry sprang up between Judo and jujitsu. The martial art had been steadily declining toward the end of the 19th Century and its masters were getting desperate to hold onto their students who were beginning to trickle away to Judo. Kudo says reports of street fighting by Judo and jujitsu students jealous of their own prowess were exaggerated. Critics claim jujitsu had a bad reputation for terror tactics by goon squads and it made rowdies out of youths. Yoshitsugu Among the now-famous pupils of Kano in those early Yamashita days were Yoshitsugu (Yoshiaki) Yamashita, who later taught Judo to President Theodore Roosevelt; Tsunejiro Tomita, father of the noted author of the Judo novel "Sugata Sanshiro"; Seiko Higuchi; Shiro Saigo, who became a student in 1884 at the age of 16 and developed into a kind of Judo genius, especially noted for his "yamaarashi" and "harai-goshi"; and Sakujiro Yokoyama who was such a fighting demon he was known as "Devil Yokoyama." Sakujiro Yokoyama
These students were Kano's Judo stalwarts in the early contests with the police and other jujitsu dojo. The first "shiai" probably started informally in the Kodokan, but by 1884 the first Red and White Contest was inaugurated, continuing biannually until the present day. The following year the Kodokan won its first shiai -- against the police, who had adopted jujitsu. "Kagami-Biraki," or Rice-Cake Cutting Ceremony, was instituted in 1884 and has been observed ever since on the second Sunday in January. Tsunjiro Tomita
By 1886, Kano changed the Kodokan once again from his home in Koji-machi to the Fujimicho residence of the Meiji Era magnate, Baron Yajiro Shinagawa. And it was here during the next three or four years that Kodokan Judo achieved supremacy over the rival jujitsu schools. Although he was a man of many interests, Jigoro Kano always thought in terms of Judo. To him, a kyudoka was a Judoman using a bow and arrow and a kendoka was a Judoka with a sword. Once the Kodokan was firmly established, Kano's thoughts turned toward the spread of Judo on a nationwide basis and eventually throughout the world. In fact, Kano went on his first overseas visit in 1889 to spread the good word about this new Japanese sport. In the latter 1880s Yajiro Shinagawa, a magnate of the Meiji Period, was appointed ambassador to England and asked Kano to take care of his house at Koji-machi while he was gone. The young Judo master agreed, but was soon tempted into turning the house into a Judo dojo. Thus, Ambassador Shinagawa's home became the next Kodokan, with 40 mats available for practice. Fortunately, Shinagawa was a generous and broadminded man. By 1892, there were still less than 100 Judo students practicing at the Kodokan. Kano preferred tachi-waza (standing techniques), to ne-waza (mat work), at which he was less
skillful and, thus, avoided whenever possible. Indeed, he had a tough time of it when he was forced onto the mat. To compensate for this, his assistants and students trained especially hard in ne-waza in order to beat jujitsu rivals. Ninety-one-year-old Saburo Nango, a nephew of Jigoro Kano and 18 years his junior, remembers doing randori with his uncle in those early years. "He was small, but a very good technician," Nango recalls. "He was also fast and very strong." Nango also occasionally thinks back to the first Judo kangeiko when students ran from the dojo at Kami-ni-bancho to Toranomon and back again in the dead of winter -- a distance of six or seven miles. The first kangeiko was launched in 1894, while the first shochugeiko (midsummer training) began two years later in 1896. Management of the Kodokan was handled by Kano himself until 1894 when a consultative body, the Kodokan Council, was set up. To say that Kano was busy would be putting it mildly. He usually rode to work in a ricksha as headmaster of Gakushuin, or Peer's School, but only after spending two hours instructing at his own Kobun Gakuen (a school organized by Kano for Chinese students). After work, he would go to the Kodokan and supervise the training. Then late at night, he would prepare his lectures for the following day. Kano became headmaster of Gakushuin at the age of only 25. It customarily admitted only the children of the Imperial family and titled, upper-class families, but after Kano took over, enrollment was enlarged to include pupils from other social strata, including commoners. According to Kazuzo Kudo, Kano ranks along with Shain Yoshida as one of Japan's modern educators. As headmaster of both Gakushuin and the Tokyo Teachers Training School (the present-day Tokyo University of Education) off and on for more than a quarter of a century, Jigoro Kano laid the basis of modern education in Japan. He turned Gakushuin into a boarding school, allowing his students to go home only on weekends. He refused to go along with the commonly accepted notion that the highborn were inherently superior in mental potential and opened the doors to commoners -- a revolutionary move at the time. He also had his students perform menial tasks in order to discipline them and teach them humility. Thus, the entire environment changed under Kano's administration, and not too surprisingly the parents of the students were full of admiration for the wonders being worked at Gakushuin.
Unusually Strict with Students Nango remembers Kano as unusually strict. "When I was a student under him," Nango explained, "I had to get up at 5 o'clock every morning and help clean the rooms and the garden."
Dr. T. Morohashi, today one of the leading professors of Chinese culture at Tokyo University, called Kano sensei a "confident and broad-minded president." When he entered Tokyo Teachers Training School in 1904, Kano was 44 years old. He called in a few of the students and asked them to speak their minds frankly. Noting the meager resources of the library, Morohashi insisted improvement of the library should take precedence over building a big dojo. Kano replied one could read anywhere, but one certainly couldn't practice Judo any old place. Even at that, the next time he met with the vice minister of education, Kano pushed hard for a boost in the school library budget. Jigoro's feelings about education are summed up in a statement he made at the Kodokan's 50th anniversary in 1934. "Nothing under the sun is greater than education. By educating one person and sending him into the society of his generation, we make a contribution extending a hundred generations to come." Kano often was at odds with superior authorities in the field of education, but never once submitted a letter of Prof. Kano addressing a group of Judo students at Kodokan resignation over the matter. That's promotion ceremony about 1907. because he never thought he was wrong! Dr. Morohashi also accused Kano of delivering boring lectures, recalling once when only three students showed up for one of his lectures. Kano was so angry he cried: "Everyone in this course is dropped!" It was in August of 1891 Jigoro Kano married Sumako, the eldest daughter of Seisei Takezoe -- onetime ambassador to Korea. They had nine children -- six daughters and three sons, including Risei, who became head of the Kodokan and the All-Japan Judo Federation. A typical "kokushi" father, Kano ruled his family with an iron hand; his word was law and disobedience unthinkable. The eldest daughter, Noriko, wrote of her reminiscences of her famous father. Tall and pretty with a well-shaped nose, she was the favorite of her parents and perhaps closer than the others to her father. Even at that, she writes: "When he returned home, he would go straight into the living room, which meant on most days I would not see my father at all." Risei Kano remembers his father as broad-minded and a man with an international outlook. He learned Judo techniques from his father at the home dojo, but simply wasn't the athletic type. Although Jigoro Kano was a strict disciplinarian, he also had an emotional, warmhearted side. "He wept," Risei recalls, "when he heard of Noriko's death." Although Kano provided his children with fine training and a good education, he was so busy most of the time his family must have been lonely without him. "He left the children almost
entirely to the mother," Noriko writes in her "Recollections of My Father". Sometimes, all they would see of their father was when they lined up at the entrance of their home to welcome him back -- "O-kaeri-nasai mase" -- before he disappeared for the day into the living room.
Commands Instant Obedience Those were the days of Meiji (1868-1912) when the father was a benevolent despot, when children were seldom seen and rarely heard, when they were not allowed to venture into the living room if he were there, when they were not allowed to take their meals with him, when they feared and respected rather than loved him and when his commands elicited instant obedience from them. Jigoro Kano teaching uki goshi
Both Kudo and Nango remember visiting Kano at his home, usually in the morning. Kano was not always burdened with weighty matters, for Kudo recalls they often talked of trifling things. "Kano sensei never smoked, but he liked his sake and his face got red quickly when he was drinking." He refused to indulge in the Japanese tradition of exchanging sake cups with fellow drinkers and drinking from theirs. Since this custom was greatly admired in the rural areas, farmers invariably wanted to swap sake cups with Kano, but he considered it to be an unhealthy practice and grew angry when they asked him. Jigoro Kano only stood five feet, two inches but he weighed over 165 pounds. He had broad shoulders and chest and big calves. Kudo says "Shihan was so proud of his calves he was always pulling up his hakama to show them off." Kudo was also amazed at Kano's speed. "I was surprised at how quickly he threw me." According to Kudo, Jigoro Kano was always smiling, even when he was angry. "He laughed deeply when he was pleased." Takasaki, his son-in-law, confirmed this by saying Kano had a keen sense of humor, and although easily angered, he was also quick to laugh. Takasaki also remembers Kano liked sake, but knew his limit and usually stopped before he had too much. "If he over-imbibed, he invariably got sick."
In his active days no one practiced harder than Jigoro Kano. He kept at it until he was a mass of wounds, barely able to stagger home. His Judogi is on display at the Kodokan and is made of brown linen on the outside and cotton inside. He repaired it himself with kite twine. With the bottom in tatters, the Judogi is discolored with oil and sweat -- mute testimony to Jigoro Kano's strength and fierce fighting spirit. In 1907 Kano had the sleeves and pants of the Judogi fully lengthened to cover the arms and legs and protect the elbows and knees. The jacket was also shortened. Thus, the Judogi assumed the final form in which it is still used today. This was in sharp contrast to the early days when Judoka wore shorts and a jacket that left half the arms as well as the knees and legs exposed. By the time Kano was 60 he gave up wearing a Judogi, simply putting on a haori (formal shirt) and performing his kata in that way. The Kodokan officially became a foundation in May 1909, and two years later in April 1911 the Judo Teachers' Training Department was set up. Then in 1922, the Kodokan Dan Grade Holders Association was organized, followed by the Judo Medical Research Society in 1932. When Kano called Judo "a way of human development understandable by people all over the world," he was attempting to formulate an idea he had of organizing an international Judo federation to spread interest in Judo. By 1912, the Shihan had made no less than nine trips abroad to create interest in the new Japanese sport. By this time, many foreigners -- mostly sailors and merchant seamen -- were training at the Kodokan. Books on Judo in foreign languages were being written. Thus, before the outbreak of World War I, dojo had been set up in the United States, Britain, France, Canada and India as well as in Russia, China and Korea. A Russian by the name of A. Oshichenikov visited Japan in 1911 and spent six years training at the Kodokan. Before he returned home in 1917, he had been promoted to nidan. He not only proceeded to teach Judo techniques to the Red Army and the secret police, but was also instrumental in organizing Russia's Judo-like sport of sambo in the 1930s. Yoshitsuge Yamashita's staging of a worldwide jujitsu meet at the Japan Police Ministry in 1893 must have started Kano thinking along the same lines for Judo. But first he had to spread it throughout Japan. Nango recalls Kano lecturing him along the following lines: "Japan is a small, mountainous and highly-populated country, short of resources, and so we Japanese must perform to the utmost of our ability. We must mutually support one another and make the best use of energy to keep Japan independent." Here are embodied two of his key Judo principles, "the best use of energy" and "mutual prosperity." Besides his association with Gakushuin and the Tokyo Teachers Training School (later known as Tokyo Education College), Kano was responsible for founding Kobun Gakuen, a special school for Chinese students which was attended by Sun Yat-sen.
Just before the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, the Chinese Premier invited Kano to visit China at the bequest of the Empress in order to lay the basis for educating young Chinese in Japan and thus strengthen China. Kano made a thorough study of the situation, communicating with Chinese officials by the written language of kanji which is used by both nations (although the oral language is completely different).
School for Chinese in Japan Kano recommended Kobun Gakuen be set up in Japan, but suggested Prince Saionji be consulted first since he was the Japanese Minister of Education. This was done, and in 1902 Saionji asked Kano to organize the school using professors from Gakushuin and Tokyo Educational College. The Japanese government helped support the new Kobun Gakuen which educated several hundred Chinese during the seven years of its existence. Needless to say, Judo was an integral part of the school's athletic activities. Although Kano was devoted to Judo, he was interested in all of sports. Just as he laid the basis of modern education in Japan, he also became the father of modern sports in the country. In 1911 he founded the Japan Athletic Association (JAA) and became its first president. About the same time, he was named Japan's first member of the International Olympic Committee and attended the Fifth Olympiad in Stockholm in 1912 -the first Olympics in which Japan took part. In promoting sports and physical education in Japan, Kano got a wealthy lawyer by the name of Kishi interested in sports, resulting in Kishi donating a great deal of money to the JAA. Today, the Kishi Kaikan is the headquarters for the JAA. Kano continued as JAA president until 1922, when he resigned and became honorary president of that organization. Kazuzo Kudo entered the Kodokan in 1917 and started training under Kano the following year, continuing until the Shihan's death two decades later. He learned kata personally from Kano and sometimes joined with him in demonstrating kata. Takasaki, who was captain of the Waseda University Judo team, graduated in 1925 and immediately joined the Army's Imperial Guard unit. A short time later he received a telegram from Kano: "Your father has been looking for a good wife for you. What sort of woman do you have in mind for a wife?" "Less than three years later," Takasaki said, "I married his youngest daughter Atsuko." When the first All-Japan Judo Championships were held in 1930, 71-year-old Jigoro Kano's son-in-law, Takasaki, emerged the winner.
Reminiscence of Nango Nango, 91-year-old nephew of the Shihan (Nango's mother was Kano's elder sister), also learned Judo under Jigoro Kano. He studied Judo for eight years and went as high as nidan. He still remembers doing randori with the Judo master at the "Kano Juku" (dojo). In later years he lent financial support to the Kodokan and continued his close association with Kano right up to the time of his uncle's death.
Prof. Kano (front row, fourth from left) with several other jujitsu masters teaching at the Kodokan in 1921.
Nango's impressions of the Shihan were of a sincere, well-mannered man who didn't drink too much and was not especially humorous during the times they were together. He was strict and serious when dealing with children, Nango remembers, and attempted to be completely fair-minded. "Keichu Tokugawa, son of a former shogun, was treated no differently in Judo training than any of Kano's other students." Kudo saw him as responding easily to others, not quickly angered -- an apparent contradiction to the way Takasaki recalled him. He listened patiently to others, never interrupting them, and then won them over to his way of thinking by logical argumentation. Kano always fearlessly carried out what he thought was right, according to Kudo. He was extremely generous, Kudo recalls, and opposed to killing anything -- even insects. Dr. Morohashi viewed Kano as a person with a many-sided personality. "He was a man of few words; once visited a hospitalized friend and spent the entire day with him without speaking a word." Other things Dr. Morohashi remembers: "He used to take an umbrella with him every day because he didn't like to worry about whether or not it would rain. He also had the same lunch-soba (noodles) every day simply because he hated to bother his head about such trifling matters as what he could eat. And there were times when he was so poor that when he had to entertain important guests at his home he first had to go to the pawnshop and get his formal kimono out of hock." Although Kano was a confirmed patriot he was never a nationalist of the same ilk as Mitsuru Toyama or Morihei Uchiba. In contrast, he took the international view and was a liberal, cut from the same cloth as Prince Saionji.
In the last few years of his life Jigoro Kano concentrated on the educational and spiritual aspects of Judo until the systems reached a level of intellectual and moral education as well as an athletic activity and method of combat. Actually, he referred to Judo as a sport with the three aims of physical education, contest proficiency and mental training. Its ultimate object was "to perfect oneself and thus be of some use to the world around oneself." Kano taught kata until a very old age, sometimes demonstrating its techniques with his assistants. His method of teaching Judo varied according to the age and experience of the student. Although he stopped doing randori at a much earlier age, he continued to stress it over kata. His idea was to have the students engage in free practice and assimilate kata naturally. Kudo once asked Kano his reaction to proposals for dividing Judoka by weight classifications for tournament competition. Kano replied, "now a small man can easily throw a big man, but if small men want to be classed by weight, I'm willing to give the proposition favorable consideration."
Prof. Kano teaches a woman's self-defense class at the Kodokan.
Opposed Subsidies Kano was opposed to the idea of government subsidies, but felt if the Kodokan rejected it, other foundations would not be in a position to receive grants. To keep from hurting the chances of other groups, he agreed to receive a subsidy although it was quite small. The Shihan was actually short of money and sought financial aid from the Kano clan in Naha. The Kodokan, then located at Suidobashi, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1934 at an impressive ceremony held in the presence of an imperial prince and with high-ranking members attending from all over Japan. It was at this time Jigoro Kano presented cash gifts to the memorial plaques of each of his departed teachers and voiced gratitude for all they had done for him. The money eventually went to the families of those instructors.
As a member of the International Olympic Committee, Kano attended every Olympic Games from the Fifth Olympiad in 1912 in Stockholm to the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, including the 10th Olympiad in Los Angeles in 1932. Kudo asked Kano if Judo should be included in the Olympics and the Shihan replied: "If the IOC asks Japan to include it, then Japan will consider it." In 1913 Jigoro Kano, accompanied by Takasaki and S. Kotani, now international secretary of the Kodokan, went to Geneva to offer Tokyo as the site for the 12th Olympiad in 1940.
Jigoro Kano at historic moment of 1936 Olympics in Berlin when American Jesse Owens was awarded a gold medal in the decathlon after defeating Germany.
In 1935 Kano received the Asahi Prize for outstanding contributions in the fields of art, science and sports. Three years later he went to an IOC meeting in Cairo and succeeded in getting Tokyo nominated for the site of the 1940 Olympics at which Judo was to be included as one of the events for the first time.
It turned out to be the Shihan's crowning achievement although a cataclysmic world war was to force its postponement for another quarter of a century. On his way home from that momentous conference on board the SS Hikawa Maru on May 4, 1938, Jigoro Kano died from pneumonia. He was 78 years old. Another dream, an International Judo Federation, plans for which Kano revealed in 1933, came true in 1952. Today, more than six million persons practice Judo in over 30 countries around the world. In October of 1969 thousands of Judo fans watched the sixth World Judo Championships in Mexico City-vivid proof of Jigoro Kano's prophetic statement, "When I die, Kodokan Judo will not die with me because all things can be studied if these principles (best use of energy and mutual prosperity) are studied." By Andy Adams, 1970
Jigoro Kano and The Kodokan by Kazuzo Kudo, 9th dan (1967) The puny prodigy In 1871, at the age of eleven, Jigoro Kano came with his father from Hyogo Prefecture to live in Kakigara-cho in Nihombashi, Tokyo. He began studying calligraphy at Yanokura in Ryogoku and English with Shuhei Mizukuri, in Kanda. In 1873, he finally left his parents' wings and became a student at a private school in Karasumori, Shiba. Though he was known as a child prodigy and was second to none in his studies, his body was weak, and his classmates used to bully him. Despite his success with his school work, this physical weakness caused him a great deal of anxiety, and he spent long hours day and night trying to find some way to remedy the situation.
The decision to practice jujutsu One day, he recalled that when very small he had heard of a thing called jujutsu that brings strength to the weak, and he decided to follow jujutsu training. It was Kano's own fierce determination not to give in that lead him to make this decision. Among the people who frequented Kano's home was a certain Umenari Nakai, a former vassal of the shogun, and a man fairly advanced in the study of jujutsu in the Kyushin school. Kano badgered this man to teach him jujutsu, but Nakai would only laugh and pay the boy no attention. At the Kano's summer house in Koishikawa a certain Ryuji Katagiri would sometimes show him some jujutsu formal exercises but would only laugh and say that the boy was too young to try any serious jujutsu training. Jigoro also turned for instructions to Genshiro Imai, another friend of the Kano house who studied the Kyushin school of jujutsu, but once again met with no help.
Entry into the Tokyo Imperial University The more people refused to be his jujutsu partners or teachers the more determined Kano became to pursue his course, but he came to the conclusion that relying on others would never spell the fulfillment of his dream. He resolved to search the city for a teacher for himself. Meanwhile, Kano had reached the age of 18, and at the foundation of what was formerly the Tokyo Imperial University (today's Tokyo University), he entered that school's literature department with its second group of students. He remained convinced that God helps those who help themselves, and one day he learned that osteopaths were former jujutsu men. When he had time off from his studies, he would go about searching for osteopath signboards, find one, go in, and ask whether the man was a jujutsu practitioner.
Perseverance pays off One day as Kano was walking in Ningyo-cho in Nihombashi he spied an osteopath's signboard, went in, and found himself in the house of Teinosuke Yagi.
Yagi listened to Kano's request for assistance, sat and thought a while, then said, "I will introduce you to a good man. In Moto-daiku-machi, in Nihombashi, is a man who studied with me named Hachinosuke Fukuda. He should be running a training hall. Go see if you can find him." Kano immediately did as he was instructed and found the place, a room of about ten tatami mats, one mat of which was taken up with a staircase, and the other nine mats of which doubled as a jujutsu training hall and as a waiting room for Fukuda's osteopathy patients. At last, Kano was on the road to realizing the wish of his heart. He began studying jujutsu with Fukuda.
Formal excercises follow freestyle fighting Hachinosuke Fukuda, at that time 47 or 48 years old, was better at the techniques than at the formal exercises. His teaching procedure was to give a once-through explanation of the formal exercises and then to feature only practice freestyle fighting in his instruction. The Kodokan practice of teaching beginners the basic elements of judo, having them practice freestyle fighting, and only then, when they have reached a certain degree of proficiency, to instruct them in the formal exercises arose probably from Kano's experience with a later teacher named Iikubo. In fact, rather than begin with the formal exercises, as most of the jujutsu schools of Kano's time did, beginning with freestyle fighting is much more interesting.
The blessing of good teachers In August of 1879, Fukuda, then 52 years old, fell ill and died. Immediately after that, Kano entered the Masatomo Iso jujutsu school. Iso, as the third master of the Tenshinshinyo school, ran a training hall in Kanda, Tokyo, and at that time 62 years old, was a small man only 5 feet tall but with disciplined arms and legs as strong as steel and a personality in keeping with his mystical purposes. Kano himself praises the Tenshinshinyo training by saying that no other was as good in the formal exercises. When we think of it, we can see how really fortunate Kano was in his teachers. First Fukuda gave him outstanding instruction in freestyle fighting, and later Iso taught him the formal exercises. The man doing the instructing is of inestimable importance in deciding whether a pupil will succeed or fail in judo. Perhaps the kind of good fortune in teachers that Jigoro Kano enjoyed naturally comes to anyone with a will as strong as his.
The need for constant austerity While at the Tenshinshinyo training hall, Kano continued his discipline till he achieved the title shihan, or master. As he has written himself, at first he would instruct 20 or 30 people in the formal exercises then move on to freestyle fighting. This continued day after day, till late at night when Kano was at the point of exhaustion. When practice was over and he started on the homeward path, he would have to stop every ten or twenty paces and rest. Once he got into bed, dreams of tomoe-nage and kata-guruma wracked his brain. He would call out in his sleep or kick out the sliding panels between his and the next room and give his fellow lodgers the surprise of their lives.
In 1881, Iso took ill, and later Kano met Tsunetoshi Iikubo, a teacher of Kito Jujutsu.
The story of the kata-guruma Jigoro Kano never missed a day going to Iikubo's training hall, and if his teacher could not for some reason or another hold practice, Kano would practice alone or with any other of the pupils who happened along. Together with Kano at Iikubo's training hall was a strapping young man named Kenkichi Fukushima, who weighed about 208 pounds to Kano's very puny 99 pounds. Although Kano had no reason to think he could beat Fukushima, he wanted to throw him more than anything. He studied sumo and physical training books from other countries, until one day he came up with an idea he thought he would try. He lifted hefty Fukushima onto his shoulders and tossed him down as nice as you please. The technique he used was what we now call the kata-guruma. Judo practice suits of those days had short sleeves that did not come below the elbow and pants that left the whole kneecap exposed. Everyday in his rough training sessions Kano would scrape and scratch his body till he was a mass of wounds and till the men at the university lodgings dubbed him the "medicine man." Just when the judo suit assumed its present form is not clear, but we know that, in about 1907, Kano ordered a new suit designed out of reasons of dignity and good health.
The move to the temple In February of 1882, Jigoro Kano, then a 23-year-old literature teacher freshly graduated from the Tokyo Imperial University, took his private students, a certain young Yamada and others, with him when he moved to a temple called the Eishoji in Inari-machi, Shitaya, Tokyo. Yamada was to become a member of the house of Tomita, take the name Tsunejiro Tomita, and become the father of Tsuneo Tomita (sixth dan), the author of Sugata Sanshiro, a famous novel. Tsunejiro was four or five years younger than Kano. Kano believed that judo demands daily practice, but be was unable then to find a suitable place in which to work out. Since he could do nothing else, he decided to quickly convert a fairly large (12 tatami mats) study in the temple into a training hall.
The tumbling mortuary tablets The room next to this study-training hall was the main hall of the temple, where on either side of the main image were lined up hundreds of Buddhist memorial mortuary tablets donated by worshipers. When Kano and his students would begin judo practice, these tablets would start a sort of helter-skelter freestyle battle of their own, dancing around, falling over, and
tumbling down. When a throw was particularly violent and the resulting fall a strong one, down came the memorial tablets clattering against the wooden temple hall floor. Sometimes the floor in the training room would give way, and at night Yamada would tie a towel around his head, creep under the cobweb covered porch, and with Kano holding a paper lantern and pointing first to one place then another, crawl around under the floor making the necessary repairs.
The head of the temple had a sour face The head of the temple, a man named Choshumpo, as we might expect, looked decidedly askance on these proceedings. Though he was a man of strong will and fortitude, he finally reached the end of his tether and marched into the room where four or five of Kano's students were gathered. He stood for a minute, then muttered, "He may be young, but Mr. Kano is really an outstanding man. What a fine person he would be if would just leave this judo alone!" The priest turned and left. Soon spring came to the Eishoji, then summer passed, and Kano and his students continued their daily training. In those days, Kano occupied the important position of principal of the Gakushuin, a well-known school for the children of the well-to-do. Every morning he would ride to work in a jinrikisha, then a fashionable mode of transportation, but before he went he would have to spend two hours instructing at his own Kobunkan, an institute he created not only for judo, but for other studies as well. Everyday after work at the Gakushuin -- judo practice. Then, at night -- lecture preparations for the following day. Since he had no other time to do it, he would work at translations until one or two in the morning.
Randori at the Kodokan in 1913
Small training hall on a vacant lot Jigoro Kano would sometimes prepare a sweetened barley tea to give his students to drink or have the old lady who prepared food at the temple make a mixture of rice and lotus roots, taken from the pond in front of the study room, to give them to eat. He would provide students who could not afford them with practice clothes which he also had laundered. Yamada and the other students who lived with Kano were in charge of the laundering. Two or three times a week, Tsunetoshi Iikubo would come to the Eishoji to instruct. When he did, training became even more violent, until the head of the temple came to Kano and told him that he must either leave the temple or give up practicing judo there. Fortunately, Kano got permission to use a vacant lot adjacent to the temple, and there, in the early autumn of 1882,
he built a tiny training hall, two bays (approximately 12 feet) by three bays (approximately 18 feet).
The student throws the teacher In September, 1883, Kano moved from Imagawa-koji to a part of town called Koji-machi to a new training hall twenty tatami mats in size. Since the days of the Eishoji, Tsunetoshi Iikubo had been coming to the hall to instruct in Kito-style jujutsu. He was a man of fine character and lofty views who had instructed Kito jujutsu for the shogunate at the end of the Edo period. Kano met him through Seio Motoyama who also taught for the shogunate and who was also a follower of the Kito style of jujutsu. One day, following Iikubo's example, Kano was taking part in a particularly violent freestyle practice fight. On this occasion Iikubo had not managed to throw Kano a single time. In fact, using his uki-waza and his sumi-otoshi, in both of which he was very good, Kano had already thrown Iikubo three times. Until then, Kano had never gotten the better of Iikubo, who was dumbfounded and could not imagine what had happened.
The title of teacher changes hands Kano then explained, "From what I have learned in practicing with you I have been thinking. It came to me that when you push or pull your opponent -- of course you must move yourself -- you force his body to lean in one direction or another and to fall into an unstable position. You then use his lack of balance to apply your technique. To be able to easily down your opponent you must force him to shift his weight off of the part of his body that is actually supporting it. Of course, to do this you must get yourself into a position from which it is easy to work. Your opponent will then tighten his body, straighten it out like a ramrod, and reach that point of no return from which he can neither advance nor retreat. This is when you attack. In other words, you force your opponent to make his body rigid and to lose his balance, and then he is helpless. I have been training and studying up till today to see if this theory would work in actual practice." Iikubo listened in silence, then when Kano was finished, said, "From now on I will be the one whom you teach. I cannot keep up with you. From this day on I want you to discipline and train by yourself."
The secret of kuzushi Very soon Iikubo gave up teaching, and in October of that same year, Kano received his accreditation in Kito jujutsu. In this way Kano discovered the great law of kuzushi, or the way to force your opponent off balance, and when I comment on his fame and greatness it is to this that I refer. Although people all over the world recognize Jigoro Kano as the founder of judo, not many of them give him his just due as a truly great judo expert, because his discovery of this vital principle -- a discovery that his predecessors could not make -- is not as well known as it should be.
The birth of judo
As Kano gave still further thought to this principle and attempted to extend its applications he became confident of the possibility of creating and developing what is today called judo. It was after this that the name Kodokan (the hall where the way is taught) and the terms Japanese Kodokan judo first came into being. In 1884, the hall bylaws were drawn up, though students names in the register date back to 1882. Heading the list is Tsunejiro Tomita, and following his name is that of Seiko Higuchi (who later became a viscount). The famous Shiro Saigo entered the Kodokan, in August of the same year, at the age of sixteen as the eighth member. From that time on, the activities at the hall followed one right after the other. There was the New Year's Morning Ceremony, (no longer observed), the Kagamibiraki ceremony (still held on the second Sunday of January), The Great Red and White Meets in the spring and fall, the Tsukinami Meet, and the promotion ceremony.
The fiftieth anniversary of the founding In 1934, at the Suidobashi Tokyo training hall, the Kodokan celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its founding. Members came from all over the country to participate in a great ceremony held in the presence of an imperial prince. On that occasion, Kano presented envelopes containing some of the money he had received from the emperor to the memorial plaques of each of his teachers and made an expression of gratitude for all that they had done for him. As I (sixth dan at that time) stood among the other participants in the ceremony in a corner of the training hall and listened, I recalled what he had said to us many times before in daily training and what he had written often in his books. "Nothing under the sun is greater than education. By educating one person and sending him into the society of his generation we make a contribution that extends to a hundred generations to come." This is a deeply touching statement of the man's most cherished belief. Perhaps from Kano's standpoint a great deal of judo lies ahead. The road is a long one, but if the fifty years he spent in learning the jujutsu that he desired so strongly, in creating and inspiring the development and spread of judo, and in exerting an incalculable influence on the world and people around him does not stand for the fulfillment of his cherished dream, I am at a loss to know what would. At a recent exhibition, Kano's judo practice suit from his training days was on display. The outside is of brown linen and the inside of cotton. When he would tear it, Kano would fix it himself with kite twine. The bottom of the jacket is in tatters, a clear indication of the
violence of his training sessions. Many people stopped to look at this real reminder, discolored with sweat and oil, of the real strength of the man.
After the fiftieth anniversary Five years ago, in 1962 at the new Kodokan in Kasuga-cho, Tokyo, we held a celebration of the eightieth year since the founding. People gathered from all over the country and both the Kodokan and Risei Kano, the son of the founder, sent remembrances in honor of the occasion to judo men all over the world. Judo's glory lives and will continue forever! Jujitsu: the art of self-protection. Judo: the art of self-perfection.
Jujutsu By Jigoro Kano and T. Lindsay, 1887 (Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, Volume 15) In feudal times in Japan, there were various military arts and exercises which the samurai classes were trained and fitted for their special form of warfare. Amongst these was the art of jujutsu, from which the present judo has sprung up. The word jujutsu may be translated freely as "the art of gaining victory by yielding or pliancy." Originally, the name seems to have been applied to what may best be described as the art of fighting without weapons, although in some cases short weapons were used against opponents fighting with long weapons. Although it seems to resemble wrestling, yet it differs materially from wrestling as practiced in England, its main principle being not to match strength with strength, but to gain victory by yielding to strength. Since the abolition of the Feudal System the art has for some time been out of use, but at the present time it has become very popular in Japan, though with some important modifications, as a system of athletics, and its value as a method for physical training has been recognized by the establishment of several schools of jujutsu and judo in the capital. We shall first give an historical sketch of jujutsu, giving an account of the various schools to which it has given rise, and revert briefly in the sequel to the form into which it has been developed at the present time. Jujutsu has been known from feudal times under various names, such as yawara, tai-jutsu, kogusoku, kempo and hakuda. The names jujutsu and yawara were most widely known and used. In tracing the history of the art, we are met at the outset with difficulties which are not uncommon in similar researches--the unreliableness of much of the literature of the art. Printed books on the subject are scarce, and while there are innumerable manuscripts belonging to various schools of the art, many of them are contradictory and unsatisfactory. The originators of new schools seem often times to have made history to suit their own purposes, and thus the materials for a consistent and clear account of the origin and rise of jujutsu are very scanty. In early times, the knowledge of the history and the art was in the possession of the teachers of the various schools, who handed down information to their pupils as a secret in order to give it a sacred appearance. Moreover, the seclusion of one province from another, as a consequence of the Feudal System of Japan, prevented much acquaintance between teachers and pupils of the various schools, and thus contrary and often contradictory accounts of its history were handed down and believed. Further, it is to be noted that the interest of its students was devoted more to success in the practice of the art than to a knowledge of its rise and progress in the country.
Turning to the origin of jujutsu, as is to be expected various accounts are given. In the Bugei Sho-den, which is a collection of brief biographies of eminent masters of the different arts of fighting practiced in feudal times--accounts are given of kogusoku and ken, which is equivalent to kempo these two being distinguished from each other, the former as the art of seizing, and the latter as the art of gaining victory by pliancy. The art of kogusoku is ascribed to Takenouchi, a native of Sakushiu. It is said that in the first year of Tenbun, 1532, a sorcerer came unexpectedly to the house of Takenouchi and taught him five methods of seizing a man; he then went off and he could not tell whither he went. The origin of the art of ken is stated thus: There came to Japan from China a man named Chingempin, who left that country after the fall of the Min dynasty, and lived in Kokushoji (a Buddhist temple) in Azabu in Yedo, as Tokyo was then called. There also in the same temple lived three ronins, Fukuno, Isogai and Miura, One day Chingempin told them that in China there was an art of seizing a man, which he had seen himself practiced but had not learned its principles. On hearing this, these three men made investigations and afterwards became very skillful. The origin of ju, which is equivalent to jujutsu, is traced to these three men, from whom it spread throughout the country. In the same account the principles of the art are stated, and the following are their free translations: 1. Not to resist an opponent, but to gain victory by pliancy. 2. Not to aim at frequent victory. 3. Not to be led into scolding (bickering) by keeping the mind (empty) composed and calm. 4. Not to be disturbed by things. 5. Not to be agitated under any emergency but to be tranquil. 6. And for all these, rules for respiration are considered important. In the Bujutsu riu soroku, a book of biographies of the originators of different schools of the arts of Japanese warfare, exactly the same account is given of the origin of kogusoku, and a similar account of jujutsu; and it is also stated that the time in which Miura lived was about 1560. In the Chinomaki a certificate given by teachers of the Kito school to their pupils, we find a brief history of the art and its main principles as taught by that school. In it, reference is made to a writing dated the 11th year of Kuanbun (1671).
According to it there was once a man named Fukuno who studied the art of fighting without weapons and so excelled in the art that he defeated people very much stronger than himself. The art at first did not spread to any great extent; but two of his students became especially noted, who were founders of separate schools, named Miura and Terada. The art taught by Miura was named wa (which is equivalent to yawara), and the art taught by Terada was named ju (which is equivalent to jujutsu). The date of the period in which Fukuno flourished is not mentioned in the certificate quoted above, but it is seen from the date in another manuscript that it must have been before the 1lth year of Kuanbun (1671).
The Owari meisho dzue gives an account of Chingempin. According to it, Chingempin was a native of Korinken in China, who fled to Japan in order to escape from the troubles at the close of the Min dynasty. He was cordially received by the prince of Owari, and there died at the age of 85 in 1671, which is stated to be the date on his tombstone in Kenchuji in Nagoya. In the same book a passage is quoted from Kenpohisho which relates that when Chingempin lived in Kokushoji in Azabu, the three ronins Fukuno, Isogai and Miura also lived there, and Chingempin told them that in China there was an art of seizing a man and that he had seen it; that it was of such and such a nature. Finally these three men, after hearing this, investigated the art and as a result, the school of the art called kitoryu was founded. In a book called the Sen tetsu so dan, which may be considered one of the authorities on this subject, it is stated that Chingempin was born probably in the 15th year of Banreki according to Chinese chronology, that is in 1587; that he met at Nagoya, a priest named Gensei in the second year of Manji, that is in 1659, with whom he became very intimate. They published some poems under the title Gen Gen Sho Washu In another book named Kiyu sho ran it is related that Chingempin came to Japan in the second year of Manji (1659).
Again it is generally understood that Shunsui, a famous Chinese scholar, came to Japan on the fall of the Min dynasty in the second year of Manji (1659). From these various accounts it seems evident that Chingempin flourished in Japan some time after the second year of Manji, in 1659. So that the statement of the Bujutsu rusoroku that Miura flourished in the time of Eiroku must be discredited. It is evident from the accounts already given that Chingempin flourished at a later period., and that Miura was his contemporary. There are other accounts of the origin of jujutsu given by various schools of the art, to which we must now turn. The account given by the school named Yoshinryu is as follows: This school was begun by Miura Yoshin, a physician of Nagasaki in Hizen. He flourished in the early times of the Tokugawa shoguns. Believing that many diseases arose from not using mind and body together, he invented some methods of jujutsu. Together with his two medical pupils he found out 21 ways of seizing an opponent and afterwards found out 51 others. After his death his pupils founded two separate schools of the art, one of them naming his school Yoshinryu, from Yoshin, his teacher's name; the other named his school Miuraryu, also from his teacher's name. The next account is that of a manuscript named Tenjin Shinyoryu Taiiroku. In it there occurs a conversation between Iso Mataemon, the founder of the Tenjin Shinyoryu, and Terasaki, one of his pupils. The origin of jujutsu is related thus: There once lived in Nagasaki a physician named Akiyama, who went to China to study medicine. There he learned an art called hakuda which consisted of kicking and striking, differing, we may note, from jujutsu, which is mainly seizing and throwing. Akiyama learned three methods of this hakuda and 28 ways of recovering a man from apparent death. When he returned to Japan, he began to teach this art, but as he had few methods, his pupils got tired of it, and left him. Akiyama, feeling much grieved on this account, went to the Tenjin shrine in Tsukushi and there worshipped for 100 days. In this place he discovered 303 different methods of the art. What led to this is equally curious. One day during a snowstorm he observed a willow tree whose branches were covered with snow. Unlike the pine tree, which stood erect and broke before the storm, the willow yielded to the weight of snow on its branches, but did not break under it. In this way, he reflected jujutsu must be practiced. So he named his school Yoshinryu, the spirit of the willow-tree-school. In the Taiiroku it is denied that Chingempin introduced jujutsu into Japan-but while affirming that Akiyama introduced some features of the art from China, it adds, "it is a shame to our country" to ascribe the origin of jujutsu to China. In this opinion we ourselves concur. It seems to us that the art is Japanese in origin and development for the following reasons: 1. An art of defense without weapons is common in all countries in a more or less developed state, and in Japan the feudal state would necessarily develop jujutsu. 2. The Chinese kempo and Japanese ju-jutsu differ materially in their methods. 3. The existence of a similar art is referred to, before the time of Chingempin. 4. The unsatisfactoriness of the accounts given of its origin. 5. The existence of Japanese wrestling from very early times, which in some respects resembles jujutsu. 6. As Chinese arts and Chinese civilizations were highly esteemed by the Japanese, in order to give prestige to the art, jujutsu may have been ascribed to a Chinese origin. 7. In ancient times teachers of the different branches of military arts, such as fencing, using the spear, etc., seem to have practiced this art to some extent.
In support of this position, we remark first that jujutsu, as practiced in Japan, is not known in China. In that country there is the art before referred to called kempo, and from the account of it in a book named Kikoshinsho, it seems to be a method of kicking and striking. But jujutsu involved much more, as has been already made clear. Besides, a student in China, according to the books of instruction, is expected to learn and practice the art by himself, while in jujutsu it is essential that two men shall practice together. Although we admit that Chingempin may have introduced kempo to Japan, it is extremely difficult to look upon jujutsu in any sense a development of kempo. Besides, if Chingempin had been skilled in the art, it is almost certain that he would have referred to it in his book of poems which, along with Gensei, the priest with whom he became intimate at the castle of Nagoya, he published under their joint names as the Geugenshowashiu. Yet there is no reference in any of his writings to the art. Apart from Chingempin, the Japanese could learn something of the art of kenpo as practiced in China from books named Bubishi, Kikoshinsho, etc. We believe then that jujutsu is a Japanese art, which could have been developed to its present perfection without any aid from China, although we admit that Chingempin, or some Chinese book in kenpo may have given a stimulus to its development. Having thus discussed in a brief way the origin of jujutsu, and what jujutsu is in general way, we shall now turn to the different schools and the differences which are said to exist between the several names of the art mentioned above. It is impossible to enumerate all the schools of jujutsu; we might. count by hundreds, because almost all the teachers who have attained some eminence in the art have originated their own schools. We shall be satisfied here by referring to some of the most important on account of the principles taught, and the large number of pupils they have attracted. •
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Kitoryu or Kito School. This school is said to have been originated by Terada Kanemon. The time when he flourished is not given in any authoritative book or manuscript, but we may say he flourished not very long after Fukuno, because it is stated both in the Chinomaki of the kito school, and in the bujutsu riusoroku that he learned the art from another Terada, who was a pupil of Fukuno, although there are opinions contradictory to this statement. Among the celebrated men of this school may be mentioned Yoshimura, Hotta, Takino, Gamo, Imabori; and of late Takenaka, Noda, Iikubo, Yoshida and Motoyama, of whom the two last are still living. Kushinryu was originated by Inugami Nagakatsu. His grandson Inugami Nagayasu, better known as Inugami Gunbei, attained great eminence in the art and so developed it that he has been called in later times the originator of kushinryu. There is great similarity in the principles of the kitoryu and kushiuryu. The resemblance is so close, that we suppose the latter has been derived from the former. It is also said that in the second year of Kioho (1717) Inugami studied kitoryu under Takino. This must of course be one of the reasons why they are so similar. Among those who were famous in this school may be mentioned Ishino Tsukamato and Eguchi. Sekiguchi Jushin was an originator of another school. His school was called Sekiguchi ryu, after him. He had three sons, all of whom became famous in the art. Shibukawa Bangoro, Who studied the art from his first son Sekiguchi Hachirozaemon, became the founder of another great school of jujutsu known after him as the Shibukawaryu. Sekiguchi Jushin of the present time is a descendant of the originator (being of the ninth generation from him). Shibukawa Bangoro, the eighth
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descendant of the originator of Shibukawaryu, is now teaching his art at Motomachi in Hongo in Tokyo. The Yoshinryu. As has been stated above, there are two different accounts of the origin of this school. But on examining the manuscripts and the methods of those two schools, one of which traces the originator to Miura Yoshin and the other to Akiyama Shirobei, the close resemblances of the accounts lead to the belief that both had a common origin. The representative of Yoshinryu of Miura Yoshin at present is Totsuka Eibi, who is now teaching at Chiba, near Tokyo. His father was Totsuka Hikosuke, who died but two years ago. This man was one of the most celebrated masters of the art of late years. His father, Hikoyemon, was also very famous in the time he flourished. He studied his art under Egami Kauanriu, who made a profound investigation of the subject and was called the originator of Yoshinryu in later times. This man is said to have died in 1795. Another famous master of this school was Hitotsuyanagi Oribe. The Yoshinryu art which this man studied is the one which is said to have come from Akiyama. Tenjin Shinyoryu. This school was originated by Iso Mataemon, who died but 26 years ago. He first studied Yoshinryu under Hitotsuyanagi Oriye and then shin no shinto ryu (one of the schools of jujutsu which has developed out of Yoshinryu) from Homma Joyemon, He then went to different parts of the country to try his art with other masters, and finally formed a school of his own and named it tenjin shinyoryu. His school was at Otamagaike in Tokyo. His name spread throughout the country and he was considered the greatest master of the time. His son was named Iso Mataichiro. He became the teacher of jujutsu in a school founded by one of the Tokugawa shoguns for different arts of warfare. Among the famous pupils of Mataemon may be mentioned Nishimura, Okada, Yamamoto, Matsunaga and Ichikawa.
We have mentioned different names, such as jujutsu, yawara, tai-jutsu, kempo, hakuda, kogusoku. They are sometimes distinguished from one another, but very often applied to the art generally. For the present, without entering into detailed explanations of those names, we shall explain in a concise way what is the thing itself which these names come respectively to stand for. Jujutsu is an art of fighting without weapons and sometimes with small weapons much practiced by the samurai, and less generally the common people in the times of the Tokugawas. There are various ways of gaining victory, such as throwing heavily on the ground; choking up the throat; holding down on the ground or pushing to a wall in such a way that an opponent cannot rise up or move freely; twisting or bending arms, legs or fingers in such a way that an opponent cannot bear the pain, etc. There are various schools, and some schools practice all these methods and some only a few of them. Besides these, in some of the schools special exercises, called atemi and kuatsu, are taught. Atemi is the art of striking or kicking some of the parts of the body in order to kill or injure the opponents. Kuatsu, which means to resuscitate, is an art of resuscitating those who have apparently died through violence. The most important principle of throwing as practiced was to disturb the center of gravity of the opponent, and then pull or push in a way that the opponent cannot stand, exerting skill
rather than strength, so that he might lose his equilibrium and fall heavily to the ground. A series of rules was taught respecting the different motions of feet, legs, arms, hands, the thigh and back, in order to accomplish this object. Choking up the throat was done by the hands, forearms, or by twisting the collar of the opponent's coat round the throat. For holding down and pushing, any part of the body was used. For twisting and bending, the parts employed were generally the arms, hands and fingers, and sometimes the legs. The kuatsu or art of resuscitating is considered a secret; generally only the pupils and those who have made some progress in the art receive instruction. It has been customary with those schools where kuatsu is taught for teachers to receive a certain sum of money for teaching. And the pupils were to be instructed in the art after taking an oath that they never reveal the art to any one, even to parents and brothers. The methods of kuatsu are numerous and differ greatly in the different schools. The simplest is that for resuscitating those who have been temporarily suffocated by choking up the throat. There are various methods for doing this, one of which is to embrace the patient from the back and placing those edges on the palms of both hands which are opposite the thumb to the lower part of the abdomen to push it up towards the operator's own body with those edges. The other kinds of kuatsu are such as recovering those who have fallen down from great heights and those who have been strangled, those who had been drowned, those who had received severe blows, etc. For these more complicated methods are employed.
While the old form, jujutsu, was studied solely for fighting purposes, Kano's new system is found to promote the mental as well as the physical faculties. While the old schools taught nothing but practice, the modern Judo gives the theoretical explanation of the doctrine, at the same time giving the practical a no less important place. .....T. Shidachi, 1892
67 Throws of Kodokan Judo Gokyo no Waza as the standard syllabus of Judo throws originated in 1895. From 1920 to 1982 the Kodokan Gokyo no Waza was made up of 40 throws in 5 groups and these were all of the throwing techniques in the Kodokan syllabus. Around the 100th anniversary of the Kodokan (1982) a group of 8 traditional Judo throws were recognized that had been taken out in 1920, and 17 newer techniques were recognized as official Kodokan Judo throws (called the Shinmeisho no Waza). In 1997 the Kodokan added the last two additional Judo throws to the Shinmeisho no Waza. The following are the only throwing techniques (nage waza) currently recognized by the Kodokan.
Dai Ikkyo (1st group) 1. Deashi Harai 2. Hiza Guruma 3. Sasae Tsurikomi Ashi 4. Uki Goshi 5. Osoto Gari 6. O Goshi 7. Ouchi Gari 8. Seoi Nage Sankyo (3rd group) 1. Kosoto Gake 2. Tsuri Goshi 3. Yoko Otoshi 4. Ashi Guruma 5. Hane Goshi 6. Harai Tsurikomi Ashi 7. Tomoe Nage 8. Kata Guruma Gokyo (5th group) 1. Osoto Guruma 2. Uki Waza 3. Yoko Wakare 4. Yoko Guruma 5. Ushiro Goshi 6. Ura Nage 7. Sumi Otoshi 8. Yoko Gake
Dai Nikyo (2nd group) 1. Kosoto Gari 2. Kouchi Gari 3. Koshi Guruma 4. Tsurikomi Goshi 5. Okuriashi Harai 6. Tai Otoshi 7. Harai Goshi 8. Uchi Mata Yonkyo (4th group) 1. Sumi Gaeshi 2. Tani Otoshi 3. Hane Makikomi 4. Sukui Nage 5. Utsuri Goshi 6. O Guruma 7. Soto Makikomi 8. Uki Otoshi Habukareta Waza (preserved techniques from 1895 gokyo) 1. Obi Otoshi 2. Seoi Otoshi 3. Yama Arashi 4. Osoto Otoshi 5. Daki Wakare 6. Hikikomi Gaeshi 7. Tawara Gaeshi 8. Uchi Makikomi
Shinmeisho No Waza (newly accepted techniques) 1. Morote Gari 2. Kuchiki Taoshi 3. Kibisu Gaeshi 4. Uchi Mata Sukashi 5. Daki Age 6. Tsubame Gaeshi 7. Kouchi Gaeshi 8. Ouchi Gaeshi 9. Osoto Gaeshi 10. Harai Goshi Gaeshi 11. Uchi Mata Gaeshi 12. Hane Goshi Gaeshi 14. Osoto Makikomi 13. Kani Basami 15. Kawazu Gake 16. Harai Makikomi 17. Uchi Mata Makikomi 18. Sode Tsurikomi Goshi 19. Ippon Seoinage
Official International Judo Federation Techniques 99 techniques: revised October 1, 1999 Nage-Waza (66) Te-Waza (16) Ashi-Waza (21) ippon-seoi-nage kata-guruma kibisu-gaeshi ko-uchi-gaeshi kuchiki-taoshi moro-te-gari obi-otoshi obi-tori-gaeshi seoi-nage seoi-otoshi sukui-nage sumi-otoshi tai-otoshi uchi-mata-sukashi uki-otoshi yama-arashi
Koshi-Waza (10) hane-goshi harai-goshi koshi-guruma o-goshi sode-tsurikomi-goshi tsuri-goshi tsurikomi-goshi uki-goshi ushiro-goshi utsuri-goshi
Ma-Sutemi-Waza (5) hiki-komi-gaeshi sumi-gaeshi tawara-gaeshi tomoe-nage ura-nage
ashi-guruma de-ashi-harai (or barai) hane-goshi-gaeshi harai-goshi-gaeshi harai-tsurikomi-ashi hiza-guruma ko-soto-gake ko-soto-gari ko-uchi-gari o-guruma okuri-ashi-harai (or barai) o-soto-gari o-soto-gaeshi o-soto-guruma o-soto-otoshi o-uchi-gaeshi o-uchi-gari sasae-tsurikomi-ashi tsubame-gaeshi uchi-mata uchi-mata-gaeshi
Yoko-Sutemi-Waza (14) yoko-wakare yoko-otoshi yoko-guruma yoko-gake uki-waza ko-uchi-makikomi daki-wakare hane-makikomi harai-makikomi o-soto-makikomi soto-makikomi tani-otoshi uchi-makikomi uchi-mata-makikomi
Katame-Waza (29) and Kinshi Waza (4) Osae-Komi-Waza (9) Shime-Waza (11) kami-shiho-gatame kata-gatame kesa-gatame kuzure-kami-shiho-gatame kuzure-kesa-gatame
gyaku-juji-jime hadaka-jime kata-ha-jime kata-juji-jime kata-te-jime
tate-shiho-gatame uki-gatame ushiro-kesa-gatame yoko-shiho-gatame
Kansetsu-Waza (9) ude-hishigi-ashi-gatame ude-hishigi-hara-gatame ude-hishigi-hiza-gatame ude-hishigi-juji-gatame ude-hishigi-te-gatame ude-hishigi-waki-gatame ude-hishigi-ude-gatame ude-hishigi-sankaku-gatame ude-garami
nami-juji-jime okuri-eri-jime ryo-te-jime sankaku-jime sode-guruma-jime tsukkomi-jime
Kinshi-Waza (4) ashi-garami do-jime kani-basami kawazu-gake
Ashi guruma
De ashi harai
Hane goshi
Hane makikomi
Harai goshi
Harai tsurikomi ashi
Hiza guruma
Kani basami
Kata guruma
Kibisu gaeshi
Koshi guruma
Kosotogake
Kosotogama
Kosotogari
Kouchigari
Kouchigake
Morote seoi nage
Nidan kosotogake
Nidan kosotogari
Ogoshi
Oguruma
Okuri ashi harai
Osoto makikomi
Osoto otoshi
Ouchigari
Sasae tsurikomi ashi
Seoi nage
Seoi otoshi
Sode tsurikomi goshi
Osoto gake
Osotogari
Osoto guruma
Osoto makikomi
Sukui nage
Sumi gaeshi
Sumi otoshi/kuki nage
Tai otoshi
Tani otoshi
Tawara gaeshi
Teguruma
Tomoe nage
Tsubame gaeshi
Tsuri goshi
Tsurikomi goshi
Ouchigake
Uchimakikomi
Ude gaeshi
Uki goshi
Uki otoshi
Uki waza
Ura nage
Ushiro goshi
Utsuri goshi
Yama arashi
Yoko gake
Yoko guruma
Yoko otoshi
Yoko wakare
Techniques of Ippon-seoi-nage Ippon-seoi-nage is similar to Morote-seoinage. To off-balance Uke, Tori pulls straight forward. As the Tori spins, he slides his right arm up under the Uke's right armpit. He locks Uke's arm against his body, then throw over the shoulder (picture 1). There are some differences to Morote-seoinage in the usage of hands.
(picture 1)
Techniques of practical applications (1) Tori uses his right hand to hold Uke's left arm and pushes it under Uke's right armpit creating a crossed arm motion thereby controlling the opponents arms (picture 2).
(picture 2)
(2) When Tori picks up Uke in a throwing position, he shifts his right arm to twist inside and places his hand on Uke's hip--then throw (picture 3).
(picture 3)
(3) Tori takes a deep step to the outside of Uke's right leg with his right foot and while sliding Uke's right knee up, throws Uke (picture 4). (4) When Tori picks up Uke, Tori drops his body and rolls his opponent in for a throw. *This technique is similar to Uchi-makikomi but the difference will be explained in the (picture 4) Uchi-makomi section.
UCHI MATA SUKASHI The technique of Uchi-mata-sukashi is dodging Uke's Uchi-mata to make him off balance, then, throw him in that direction in a split second by the twisting of hands. Also, techniques similar to this technique. (Type 1) Dodging Uke's right Uchi-mata by moving to the right to change Uchimata-kaeshi
Tori and Uke takes a right natural posture. Uke steps right, left backward to pull Tori's body forward. Then, stop his movement while pressuring Uke's body with both hands downward. Tori steps left, right forward, then, stops to raise his body upward to the secured posture. At this moment, Uke reduces his pulling hands movement. With this reaction, Tori raises his body upward, then steps back his right foot slightly behind his left foot line. At that moment, Uke steps in his right foot in between Tori's feet, then, twists his body to the left halfway while pulling both hands to put Tori off-balance. Then, he changes his supporting foot from right foot to left foot and swings his right leg powerfully between Tori's legs with Uchi-mata. Tori steps his left foot back behind his right foot to turn his body left halfway. Then, he dodges Uke's right leg swing. Uke loses his balance due to missing Tori's body in the swing and his weight falls onto his supporting left foot (picture 4). (picture 4)
Tori steps right foot forward and by dropping his hip and using Uke's swinging momentum, he breaks Uke's balance in the direction of Uke's left foot. Then, Tori pulls down his right hand and pushes Uke's elbow with his left hand and throws down. Uke falls forward in a big circular motion with his left toe as the spinning point (picture 5).
(picture 5)
The key points of the techniques are as follows: When Tori pulls back his left foot, it is not a good defensive posture. If Uke tries Osotogari or other throws, Tori will likely be thrown due to his insecure position. It is important for Tori to train his instinct to forestall in case of Uke's Uchi-mata. At this time, Tori should turn his hip slightly instead of moving the body to the left to dodge. After dodging, Tori pulls his left foot close to his right foot. Then, steps his right foot forward to take a right defensive posture and twist him down. (picture 7) Sometimes, when Tori dodges Uke's Uchi-mata by stepping
back his left foot, he, then, steps in his left foot to a left handed posture and throws him down. The stepping back and re-stepping his left foot forward happens when Tori barely escapes the Uchi-mata or when there is a distance between Uke and Tori (picture 7). It is to late to dodge when Uke's right leg is between Tori's legs. In the case of Ken-ken Uchi-mata, Uke swings his right leg in slow motion. Therefore, it is difficult to dodge. Tori may respond as follows: Keiki Osawa, 9th dan, who was a specialist in Uchi-mata-sukashi, explained his unique body movement as follows. (Judo- published by Kodokan, December 1966) "When my opponent swings his Uchi-mata, I take my right foot one step forward, parallel to the opponent. Then, I bring my knees together to side step my opponent's swinging his right leg (picture 8).
(picture 8)
Since my opponent misses his swing, his weight goes onto his supporting leg and loses his balance. At this opportunity, I use my body to put my opponent further off balance and complete the throw. If my opponent's left foot is still touching the mat, I change to Taiotoshi and throw him down. The key point of dodging: Like two trains passing each other at full speed. I step my right foot forward and bringing my knees together to prohibit my opponent from inserting his leg between my legs." Next case is not Uchi-mata-sukashi. After dodging Uke's Uchi-mata and by placing his left foot in front of Uke's left foot, Tori is in a crossed position, and by throwing with both hand pulling, it is called Taiotoshi. (Type 2) Dodge Uke's Uchi-mata in between Tori's legsUchi-mata-sukashi
Uke takes right defensive posture to pull down Tori's upper body. Tori opens both legs and takes a defensive posture. He, then, attempts to raise upper body to return to a secured position. Uke slightly reduces his pulling motion and as Tori attempt to raise his body, Uke breaks Tori's balance by pulling forward and swings his right leg between Tori's legs to throw by Uchi-mata .
(picture 13)
At the moment Tori raises his upper body to keep his balance, he, then, steps his right foot slightly forward to support his body. He, then, raises his left foot high to dodge Uke's swinging leg causing it to loose it's objective. Uke, then, spins by himself and falls sharply (picture 13, 14). The key point is when Uke swings his right leg, Tori steps slightly forward to decrease the distance between himself and Uke, turn his body slightly left and raises his left foot high to (picture 14) dodge. If Tori receives Uke's swing directly in front of his body, it is difficult to dodge and Uke's Uchi-mata will succeed.
Next technique is not Uchi-mata-sukashi. When Uke swings his leg for Uchi-mata, Tori, as his dodges the swing, steps his left foot, then his right foot in deeply. Uke's dodged right leg floats and his weight go to his left supporting foot and proceeds to lose his balance . Tori pushes Uke down with both hands in the direction of Uke's left foot. In this technique, Tori turns his body to his right and moves behind Uke to dodge. The technique, Type 1, Tori turns his body to the left to dodge. The technique, Type 2, the dodging is done between the legs. Although there are these three methods to dodge, but in the case where the dodging is done by moving behind Uke, it is called Sumiotoshi. This technique was confirmed by Kodokan Waza Study Group Department in March 14, 1989. (Type 3) Difference between Uchi-mata-sukashi and Ukiotoshi
Uchi-mata-sukashi: Dodge Uke's Uchi-mata to off balance and throw in that direction. Ukiotoshi: Float Uke's body forward to put off balance and pull (twist) down to throw. Before being named Uchi-mata-sukashi, it was called Ukiotoshi. Because of the dodging of the Uchi-mata, many opinions were expressed that to clearly define the difference, it should be changed to Uchi-mata-sukashi. (Type 4) How Uchi-mata-sukashi has been named after many studies and discussion
When Kodokan Waza Study Group Department discussed the new names of the throwing techniques, they also studied the meaning of the Kanji (Chinese character), sukasu. All Judo techniques are expressed in the Kanji (Chinese characters). However, in the case of sukasu, there are so many meaning related to that word, it was decided to use the hiragana instead of the Kanji. Therefore, sukashi, is used only for Uchi-mata. If sukashi is used in other techniques, the throw is described or decided by the last throwing technique. Condition of Sukashi (competition rule)
The first Kodokan Judo rule was established in 1900. According to the rule (section 7), the term of throwing techniques resulting in ippon are described as follows: (a) Falling must not be intentional - falling by being thrown or falling by dodging (b) Normally fall on his back (c) Fall must have some speed and bounce The above three points are still used in the present rules. Professor Jigoro Kano explained (a) in the judo magazine published in July 1916 as follows: "A tries to execute Tomoenage or Yokogake to B by sacrificing his body. If A throws B efficiently, there is no doubt A will win. But, if A's throw is not effective and B is in
standing position, one might think that A has lost. However, in this case, A falls intentionally in order to throw B. Also, if A slips and falls while trying to throw B, and is not thrown or dodged by B, it is not an a legitimate throw." Before World War II, the referees had (a) foremost in their mind to define this concept. Iwao Hirose, 5th Dan, lost by Uchi-mata-sukashi
There is an episode in reference to the dodging technique. According to Shinichi Oimatsu, 9th Dan, who witnessed Iwao Hirose, 5th Dan (later 9th Dan) loss to Yoshiaki Kuroda, 5th Dan (later 8th Dan) by Uchi-mata-sukashi. Hirose, 9th Dan, won the AllJapan Judo Championship in 1941. He won many prestigious tournaments and is a record holder and had a brilliant judo career. His favorite techniques were Ipponseoinage, Haraigoshi, and Tsurikomigoshi. "Either during 1937 or 1938, Iwao Hirose, 5th Dan, and Yoshiaki Kuroda, 5th Dan, competed in Kyoto. I'm not sure whether it was with Haraigoshi or Uchi-mata, Hirose pulled Kuroda to his back and swung his leg up to throw Kuroda. But, unfortunately, Kuroda wasn't there. Therefore, Hirose missed his swing and fell by himself in a big spinning motion. At this time, Kuroda did not do anything, even dodging. But referee, Hajime Isogai, 10th Dan, who was Hirose's judo teacher, announced Ippon. Both players were stunned a little while with this call. After the tournament, Hirose asked his teacher as follows: 'For Ippon call, one must throw the opponent or dodge opponent's technique to throw him down, but, in this case, my opponent didn't do anything and I fell by myself accidentally. Therefore, I do not understand your call.' In replying to this question, Professor Isogae lectured Hirose as follows: 'You are 5th degree black belt in Judo, therefore, you can not allow any mistake.' Perhaps Professor Isogae knew the definition of dodging, but he wanted to teach a lesson to his favorite student." Now a days Judo has been developed as a competitive sport, therefore, many referees are neglecting or not understanding the meaning of dodge, and give points for any kind of falls. So, we must consider these problems and study the true meaning of judo techniques.
The Most Powerful Armlock in Judo Jujigatame -- Cross Armlock by Neil Ohlenkamp The Kodokan Judo technique Ude Hishigi Juji Gatame is commonly called jujigatame, or cross armlock. It gets its name from the position of the person doing the technique (tori) across the opponent's body. It is one of the most effective armlocks in judo, and it is consistently the number one winning armlock used in international judo competition. It is equally effective when used for self-defense, and the technique is included in many modern and traditional jujutsu systems. It is particularly powerful because tori is using the entire body, including the strength of the legs and hips, to control the person receiving the technique (uke) and to apply tremendous pressure to the straightened arm. For this reason it can be done against much larger or stronger opponents without difficulty. For the same reason it is also potentially dangerous and should only be practiced with proper safety precautions and instruction. There are many variations of jujigatame done from different positions and angles, and numerous entries to the armlock from various opportunities. These include variations done from the back when uke is approaching from between the legs, turnovers from the hands and knees position, and the flying jujigatame done from the standing position. The basic version shown below was included in the kata of Kodokan Judo grappling techniques (katame-nokata) by the founder of judo, Jigoro Kano. It is shown below by Neil Ohlenkamp, rokudan, on Jerrod Wilson, sankyu. 1. Beginning in the most common position gained after completing a successful throw, tori drops his right knee onto uke to begin controlling him and to prevent him from turning towards tori. The left knee can also be used for this purpose on the head. Both hands control uke's arm with one forearm placed on uke's elbow.
2. Tori begins to get better control of uke's arm by squatting, and pulling uke's elbow tightly onto tori's stomach or chest. Tori also places his left foot over uke's head so that uke will not be able to sit up.
3. Tori sits down very close to uke's shoulder so that uke's arm is still controlled by tori's body. Uke's elbow must be on tori's abdomen in the final position, so sitting close under the elbow is essential. Tori pulls uke's elbow strongly with his right forearm.
4. Tori begins to lean back keeping constant pressure on uke's arm and squeezing the knees together to control the shoulder. Using the legs, tori should be able to keep uke down even without applying the joint-lock pressure. At this point tori makes sure that uke's thumb is pointing up so that the pressure will be applied towards the little finger side of the arm.
5. In the final position uke taps to submit from the pain in the elbow joint. The submission should come immediately when the arm is fully extended. For additional pressure tori can lift his hips by bridging, but this must be done slowly and carefully because it may result in dislocating the elbow.
6. Tori's hand position can vary from the standard position with both hands grabbing uke's wrist. In this version tori has his arms crossed with the forearms controlling uke's wrist. This is useful when uke is fighting the arm extension and tori needs to use the power of his body to pull.
7. Another common version of this technique is done with both legs placed over uke to further limit his ability to roll up onto tori.
8. A strong variation is to cross the right foot over the left and to pull in with the feet. This will help to control uke's left arm, and to prevent uke from pushing tori's left leg off his head in an escape attempt.
There are many opportunities for applying this armbar while grappling, but the key is always to control the opponent's body, and particularly the elbow, throughout the application of jujigatame.
TAI-OTOSHI (hand technique) Tai-otoshi is making Uke off balance in a right forward position (or left forward position). Then, Tori spins his body to the left (or right) by stretching his right leg (or left) in front of Uke's right (or left) foot. Tori, then, pulls down Uke's body forward over his stretched leg for a throw.
(Type 1)
When Uke steps back, Tori steps forward to put Uke into a floating position, then executes a Tai-otoshi. Tori & Uke hold each other in a natural right-handed posture. As Tori steps back, he pulls Uke forward and stops by pressing down on Uke's body. Uke tries to stop with his right foot, but since his body is off balance in a forward position, he will try to pull his right foot back to his normal posture. At this moment, Tori will lower the pressure in both hands and push Uke with his left hand. Uke reacts by bringing his right foot back and tries to return his body to a straight position. At the moment when Uke's right foot steps back slightly more than his left foot, Tori steps his right foot in between Uke's legs. Tori, then, pulls his left foot and twists his body half way to the left, while he pulls the left hand in a upward motion and pushes up with his right hand. Since Uke cannot shift his weight on his right foot, he ends up on his tiptoe in a floating position. Tori spins his body by stepping his left foot further back, then, lowers his body and stretches his right leg in front of Uke's right ankle in a cross position. At this time, Tori should open both legs widely and bend his left knee with the right leg stretched to lock into the throwing position (picture 1). Tori lifts up Uke with right hand and pulls down his left hand, and concentrates all his power into his
(picture 1)
hands, hip and legs to execute the throw, down forward. Uke falls in a big circular motion with his right toe as the point of rotation . This Tai-otoshi is the most commonly used.
Techniques of practical applications. 1.
Two motion Tai-otoshi. Tori uses his right foot to swing up Uke's left leg lightly outward to break his balance in a right forward position. Then, the throw is executed as previously explained (picture 2). The purpose of Tori's right foot movement is to try to break Uke's balance to a right forward position. Therefore, it is not a combination technique from Ouchi-gari to Tai-otoshi.
2.
(picture 2)
Dodging Uke's Uchi-mata to change into Tai-otoshi. Tori dodges Uke's left Uchi-mata by stepping back his right foot. The moment Uke loses his balance into a right forward position, Tori steps his right foot forward in front of Uke's right foot in a cross position to throw down (picture 3).
(picture 3)
In the event Tori dodges Uke's Uchi-mata to throw Uke, it is called Uchi-mata-sukashi.
(Type 2)
Tori grabs Uke's right collar and right sleeve to execute Tai-otoshi. Tori grabs Uke's right collar with his right hand with four (or five) fingers placed inside, and the left hand grabs Uke's right sleeve (or right collar below the right hand) . Tori steps back slightly with his left foot and turns his body half way and moves to Uke's left side to cause Uke to lose his balance to his right forward. Tori steps in front of Uke's right foot to cross position and Tori grabs Uke's collar and pushes up against Uke's chest, then, pulls down and throws.
(picture 4)
This is a different way of using hands compared to (type 1). This techniques is similar to Seoi-nage (type 2) (Kata-eri-seoi) but the usage of the right hand is different. Tai-otoshi: Tori tucks right fingers between Uke's collar and chest and throws Uke without body contact. Kata-eri-seoi: Tori places his right elbow under Uke's armpit and picks up Uke and throws (picture 4).
(Type 3)
Crossing Uke's both hand to execute Tai-otoshi. Tori is in left handed position and Uke is in right handed position. Tori grips Uke's collar in the back with his left hand (Uke's right hand grips Tori's left front collar). Tori grips the edge of Uke's right sleeve (Uke's left hand is free) and pulls downward with both hands to bend Uke's body forward. Resisting this position, Uke steps left foot forward as he pushes Tori's left wrist to straightened up to return to the original posture. A second before Uke's resisting movement, Tori pulls the left foot back and steps his right foot forward to become a right handed posture. By releasing his left hand grip, Tori quickly grabs the edge of Uke's left sleeve with the same hand. Tori steps back with his left foot while twisting his body to the left and by pulling both hands downward crosses Uke's arms. At this time, Tori puts his right shoulder under Uke's left armpit (or puts his right shoulder against Uke's left elbow) and stretches his foot across Uke's right foot (picture 5). Then, Tori pulls his left hand across his hip and stretches his right hand straight forward and by twisting his body to the left pulls Uke down into a throw. This technique is rarely used in a competition. This type of Tai-otoshi was created from grappling fight.
$B!J (Jpicture 5 $B!K (J
The key point of this technique is how to cross Uke's arms during grappling fight. Techniques of practical applications. Tori & Uke hold each other in normal position. Uke tries to grip Tori's left sleeve with both hands to push away. At this point, Tori grabs the inside of Uke's left sleeve with his left hand. Tori's right hand grabs Uke's right sleeve by reaching under his left arm. As Tori pulls both of his hands, he crosses Uke's arm for control. Tori, then, twists his body to the left and places his right foot in front Uke, and pulls down to throw (picture 6).
(picture 6)
SUKUI-NAGE (hand technique) Sukui-nage is accomplished by making Uke off balance by grabbing Uke around his legs from the side with both hands and using a scooping motion to drop Uke backward or by Tori putting his one hand between Uke's legs and holding his hip to scoop up and drop. Similar techniques to the above can also be used.
(Type 1)
Hold Uke's body from the side by using both hands to hold Uke's thighs and scoops up and drop (Sukui-nage) Tori and Uke hold each other in right natural posture. Tori steps back his foot, right, left, right, then stops to make Uke off balance to forward by pulling. At this time, Tori takes a left defensive posture and pulls down Uke's body with both hands. When Tori pulls, Uke steps forward left, right, left to keep his balance. To resist Tori's pull, Uke tries to pull back to regain his posture. At this moment, Tori reduces his strength of pull and Uke steps his left foot back to straighten up. A moment before Uke's move, Tori drops his body and steps in with his right foot to the outside of Uke's right foot. At the same time, Tori slides in his left hand along Uke's stomach. Then, using the right foot as a shaft, Tori turns his body to his right to place himself behind Uke's body. Stepping his left foot behind Uke's heel, Tori drops his hip and holds Uke's left thigh with the left hand.Releasing his right hand grip, Tori holds Uke's right thigh and completes his hold on Uke's lower body. Tori raising his body, pulls Uke's body with both hands to make Uke off balance backward. At this time, Tori puts his left front hip against Uke's right buttock closely (place Uke's buttock onto Tori's left thigh) (picture 1). Tori pushes his hip out and bends backward and scoops up Uke's legs with both hands, twists his body to the left and drops Uke down backward .
(picture 1)
This is the most commonly used basic Sukui-nage techniques from the old era. There is a similar technique to this Sukui-nage. Tori uses the same movement as Type 1. Going behind Uke's back, stepping in his left foot behind Uke's heel closely, holding Uke's body close (at this time Tori's left hand is stretched under Uke's armpit deeply and pushes up) and sacrifice his own body backward to throw Uke down. The concept of this technique (sacrificing your body backward) is the same as Yoko-sutemi waza. Therefore, this is not Sukui-nage but is known as Tani-otoshi. If Tori throw from standing position, it is called Suku-inage .
Techniques of practical applications 1.
Forestall Uke's Harai-goshi to execute Sukui-nage When Uke tries Haraigoshi, he steps his right foot in front of Tori's feet and turns his body half way to the left. At that moment, Tori moves (like Type 1) by going behind Uke's body and holding Uke's both thighs, then, scoops up and drops. When Uke steps in front of Tori as previously stated, it is the best opportunity to execute this technique. Tori needs keen perception to catch this chance.
2.
When Tori and Uke tries for their grip, Tori pushes Uke's hands upward and executes Sukui-nage When Tori holds up Uke's wrists and waits for the chance to attack, Uke tries to push Tori back by stepping his right forward. At this moment, Tori pushes Uke's both hands upward causing Uke to float and lose his balance. Tori, then, steps his right foot behind Uke and holds his legs and (as in Type 1) scoops up and drops.
(Type 2)
Tori sticks his left hand behind Uke's leg and hold Uke's body and scoops up (Sukui-nage) Both hold each other in natural posture. Uke changes his grip to the collar behind Tori's head and steps right foot forward to become an extreme right handed posture to attempt a technique. Tori drops his hip, steps his left foot behind Uke's body, sticks his left hand behind Uke's legs and hold Uke's hip. As Tori pulls his right hand close to his body and pushes his hip forward to lean backward, he turns his body to his right and scoops up and drops (picture 2). If Uke resists too hard when Tori picks him up, Tori sometimes scoops up Uke and throws forward.
(picture 2)
Techniques of practical application 1 From Uke's Uchi-mata to Sukui-nage When Uke pulls down Tori's body with both hands, Tori tries to straighten up his body. Then, Uke tries to execute his Uchi-mata. When Uke swings up his right leg, Tori drops his hip to defend and sticks his left hand between Uke's leg from behind. He, then, holds his hip and pulls his right hand for close body-contact and control (picture 3). He scoops up Uke's lower body upward as he pulls his right hand down and throws Uke toward the direction of his head instead of backward. There is another Sukui-nage such as the following.
(picture 3)
As Tori is scooping up Uke's body, he turns his body to his right and puts Uke on his left hip and throws. Since this technique is based on (scooping up) motions, Kodokan Waza Study Group Department segregated this as Sukui-nage. 2 From Uke's Harai-goshi to Sukui-nage When Uke tries Harai-goshi to sweep Tori's body, Tori drops his hip to defend, sticks his left hand between Uke's legs from behind, hold Uke's hip and
(picture 4)
scoop up with a large motion and throws down. Tori can change to Sukui-nage from Hane-goshi, Tsurikomi-goshi and other techniques (techniques which places Tori's back to opponent). 3 From Uke's Osoto-gari to Sukui-nage Uke tries right Osoto-gari when Tori is stepping back. The moment Uke attempts Osoto-gari, Tori steps his right foot way back to take a left defensive posture. Tori twists his body to his right and goes behind and sticks his left hand between Uke's legs to hold his hip. He, then, scoops up with a large motion and drops . 4 Dodge Uke's Uchi-mata to Sukui-nage The moment Uke's goes into a Uchi-mata, Tori steps back his left foot to dodge. Since Tori dodges Uke's leg, Uke's leg is left floating and loses his balance forward. At this moment, Tori sticks his left hand between Uke's legs from behind to hold. He, then, scoops up to throw down. In many cases, since Uke is already unbalanced to forward, Tori scoops up Uke onto his left hip and throws down (picture 4). (Type 3)
Tori sticks his right hand between Uke's legs from the front to hold Uke's body and scoops up for Sukui-nage Hold each other in right natural posture. Tori steps back his right foot to bring Uke forward to unbalance. Uke steps his left foot forward to stop and tries to step back his left foot to regain original balanced position. The moment Uke steps back his left foot, Tori drops his hip and steps in his left foot deeply and takes left defensive posture. With close body contact to Uke's right side, stick right hand between Uke's leg from the front and hold his hip. (picture 5)
Tori pulls his left hand down and scoops up Uke's lower body with right hand and throws Uke down backward (picture 5).
Techniques of practical application 3.
Change from Uke's Osoto-gari to Sukuinage The moment Uke tried right Osotogari, Tori steps back his right foot deeply to take a left defensive posture. Tori sticks his right hand between Uke's legs from the front and hold Uke's hip. He pulls down his left hand and scoops up and throws Uke backward.
4.
From Kata-guruma to Sukui-nage When Tori pulls Uke's body to execute right Kataguruma, Uke leans his body backward to defend. At this moment, Tori faces Uke. Then, Tori steps his left foot to the outside of Uke's right foot and pulls his right foot close to the other foot to become left defensive posture. He, then, scoops up Uke's hip with his right hand and throws backward. Sometimes, Tori sticks his head under Uke's right arm pit and raises his body to pick up and, then, scoops up with his right hand to throw backward (picture 6). If Tori throws Uke's lifted body to his left, or forward, or backward, it is called Kata-guruma.
(picture 6)
(Type 4)
Grabbing Tori's belt in the back and trouser to scoop up (Sukui-nage) When Uke bends his body forward for defense, Tori grabs Uke's belt over Uke's body to pull closer. Tori grabs Uke's right trouser around his knee with his left hand. While he is pulling up Uke's body, he sticks his right knee between Uke's legs. He, then, scoops Uke up with his knee and twist his body to the right and throws Uke backward. If Tori make Uke off balance toward the direction of Uke's left foot and throws by twisting, instead of scooping up, it is called Uki-otoshi. This technique, at this time, is introduced independently as Sukui-nage. The techniques of (Type 1) are originally used in the old style of Jujitsu and Kodokan categorizes it as Sukui-nage, but we hardly see these techniques used in
randori practice these days. The reason for this is because the style has changed from the defensive Jujitsu posture to Kodokan Judo, which is based on natural posture. Probably because of this, it is difficult for Tori to go behind Uke and grab both legs. But, in contrast to (Type 1), techniques of (Type 2) and (Type 3) are widely used in randori practice even nowadays. Before Kodokan Waza Study Group Department discussed and studied these techniques, people called it Te-uchi-mata or Te-guruma or Butsudan-gaeshi or Kintsukami, etc. On October 1955, Kodokan officially named this technique as Sukuinage.
SEOI-OTOSHI (hand technique) Seoi-otoshi is accomplished by making your opponent off balance by pulling in a straight forward motion or a right forward motion. Then, pick up Uke's body on your back and continue pulling to throw over the shoulder as you drop your one knee or both knees on to the mat.
(Type 1)
Drop one knee on the mat, pull Uke straight down, then throw over the shoulder (Seoi-otoshi) Tori and Uke hold each other in right handed posture.Tori pulls Uke straight forward to make him off balance while stepping back slightly with the right foot, then place the same foot in front of Uke's right foot. Tori bends both knee and uses the tip of his right foot to spin left while he places his right arm under the Uke's right arm pit. He, then, pulls Uke's right arm and lock it against Uke's chest. Then, Uke is lifted up in the Ipponseoi-nage position .Tori stretches his right leg to the inside of Uke's right foot and gradually lowers his body and places his right knee on the mat. Then the throw is completed by pulling both hands straight down at once and throwing (picture 1). In Koshiki-no-kata, Ura Number 6 Yuki-ore is similar to this technique. When Uke tries to hold the Tori from behind, Tori drops his right knee on the mat and throws the Uke over the shoulder.
(picture 1)
(picture 2)
Techniques of practical application 1.
Tori takes the Ippon-seoi-nage position, then, places his leg against the outside of Uke's right leg. He, then, drops his right knee and throws over the shoulder (picture 2). 2. Tori, from the Morote-seoinage position steps his right leg inside (or outside) of Uke's right leg. He, then, drops his right knee on the mat
(picture 3)
and throws (picture 3,4).
(picture 4)
(Type 2)
Drop both knees on the mat, pull Uke straight down, then throw over the shoulder (Seoi-otoshi) Tori pulls the Uke straight forward to make him off balance, then, quickly steps into the Morote-seoi-nage position. At the same time, Tori drops both knees on to the mat and throw straight over the shoulder (picture 5).
(picture 5)
Techniques of practical application Tori drops both knees on to the mat, then, throws from the Ippon-seoi-nage positon (picture 6)
(picture 6)
(Type 3)
Difference between Seoi-otoshi and Seoi-nage These two techniques are alike, especially in the lifting position. However, the difference is in the throwing concept. Seoi-nage : lift up the opponent and throw Seoi-otoshi : pull down and throw (at this time, one knee or both knees must touch on the mat) Although the knee or knees touch the mat at one time during the process of the throw, if at the actual execution of the throw, the knee
or knees are not touching, the throw is considered to be Seoi-nage. It is very difficult to define these techniques in the split second of execution. It is necessary to segregate these techniques.
SEOI-NAGE (hand technique) Seoi-nage is accomplished by making your opponent off balance by pulling in a straight forward motion, or a right or a left forward motion, then pick up your opponent's body on your back and throw over the shoulder. Generally Morote-Seoi-nage (two hands Seoi-nage or Eri-seoi) is called Seoi-nage. Technically tori grips with his two hands.
Techniques of Seoi-nage Tori & Uke hold each other in a natural righthanded posture. Tori pulls the Uke straight forward while stepping back slightly to pull the Uke off balance. The Tori then places his right foot in front of Uke's right foot, starts to lift the Uke with both hands. The Tori bends both knees, spins on his right foot while dropping his hip and placing his left foot in front of Uke's left foot. The Tori (picture 1) and Uke are now back to front. The Tori bends his right elbow and places it in the Uke's right arm pit, then pulls the Uke's right arm down and locks it against Tori's body. While keeping close contact to Uke's chest, lifts Uke up (picture 1). Tori lifts Uke with both hands and bends his body forward, while straightening both knees throws Uke over his right shoulder. With Tori's right arm acting as a shaft, Uke's body (picture 2) will spin and fall (picture 2). Techniques of practical applications. 1.
Tori grips the Uke's right sleeve with the left hand and grips the right collar by inserting his fingers inside the collar-- then throw over the shoulder (picture 3). This is generally called Kataeri-seoi. 2. Tori takes a deep step along the outside of Uke's right leg with his right foot. While sliding in a lifting (picture 3) motion against Uke's right knee with the back of his right leg, Tori throws
over the shoulder (picture 4). *This is a practical application of Seoi-nage technique and not a Taiotoshi technique. 3.
When Tori picks up the Uke, Tori twists his body to the left and pulls his opponent into a roll to his right. This technique was once (picture 4) categorized as Yokosutemi-waza and named Seoi-makikomi but now considered as one of the Seoi-nage techniques.
OBI-OTOSHI (hand techniques) Obi-otoshi is accomplished by grabbing Uke's belt in the front with Tori's right hand (or left hand) and as he continues to pull, Tori steps behind Tori's right (or left). Tori holds Uke's hip from Uke's right side (or left side) and scoops up and drops. All similar to this is considered Obi-otoshi.
(Type 1)
Tori grabs Uke's belt in the front with his right hand and continues to pull. Tori sticks his left hand under Uke's left armpit to hold Uke's hip (Obi-otoshi).
Hold each other in right natural posture. Tori steps back his right foot. At the same time Tori grabs Uke's belt in the front with the right hand facing upward (with four finger inserted upward)(picture 1) . Tori pulls Uke close to his body to place Uke in a floating position. Then Tori steps back his left foot and pulls his left hand to make Uke off balance to his right front forward and stop. At this time, Tori moves his left foot back as he places his right foot in front of Uke's right foot. This right foot movement is very important because it is necessary to step his left foot in behind Uke. Uke resists Tori's pull by stretching his arms stiffly and bending his body backwards. He continues to resist by stepping the left foot, right foot forward. Since Uke's belt in the front is pulled by Tori, Uke bends his body backward for defense . At this moment, Tori pulls Uke to his right side without loosening his right grip. Sweeps away Uke's right hand with his left hand (the hand gripping Tori's left collar). Tori slides his left hand over Uke's stomach and using his right foot as a shaft, he steps his left foot between Uke's legs .
(picture 1)
(picture 2)
Tori puts his left hand behind Uke's left hip to hold Uke's lower body to make him off balance backwards. Since Uke bends his body backwards, his weight goes to his heels to lose his balance. At this time, Tori places his left foot behind Uke's left heel and puts right foot near the outside of Uke's right heel. Bend both knees and drop his hip to take a well-balanced position. Tori slides his left-hand down over Uke's right chest to his hip to hold Uke's upper body. Tori puts left hip against Uke's right hip and pull hands tight for close body contact (picture 2, 3).
(picture 3)
Tori, using his front hip, pushes Uke's hip upward while holding Uke and scoops upward with his left hand and by twisting his body to the left and throws down. Uke's body falls to Tori's left backward (picture 4).
(picture 4)
The key point of this technique is to pull Uke's belt in the front tight and make Uke bend his body backward to make him off balance. Therefore, Tori keeps pulling his right hand tight and controls Uke for close body contact. If Tori loosens his right hand pull, Uke will step his right foot back to make some distance from Tori and returns to a secure position. Therefore, Tori will miss his opportunity for Obi-otoshi. So, if Tori controls Uke's legs to prevent movement (lower body) and only allows Uke's upper body to bend backward, control can be achieved. When Tori grabs Uke's belt in the front, there are two ways to insert his fingers. 1.Gyaku-insert four fingers upward. 2. Jun-insert four fingers downward. In order to pull Uke's body upward into floating position, it is more efficient to use gyaku grip. However, in some cases jun grip can also be efficient. The right hand grip has a great advantage because of the strength of the pull. However, it can be easily detected and blocked by Uke. Therefore, Tori must take some advantageous movement. Such as, pulling Uke's front belt quickly, stepping quickly behind Uke, and holding Uke's body by one hand and using his hip to scoop up Uke's body. Using this movement in sequence in split second is most important. You can apply this technique to the following. When Uke grabs Tori behind the neck with his right hand and pulls Tori close to this body, and steps his right foot between Tori's legs to turn his body half way to execute Haraigoshi. At this moment, Tori steps his left foot behind Uke's right side, drops his hip and stick his left hand over Uke's stomach, and holds Uke's left hip. Then, grabs Uke's belt in the front with his right hand and pull close to control Uke's upper body (picture 13, 14). Scoops up Uke, like Type 1 and throws down. If, Tori sacrifices his body backward to throw Uke, it is categorized as Yokosutemi. Therefore, it is
classified as Taniotoshi.
Techniques of practical applications (1) Sticks left hand over Uke's both arms and hold Uke under Tori's left arm pit (Obi-otoshi) When Uke is in right-handed position, Tori takes left-handed position. Tori's left hand grabs Uke's collar in the back over Uke's right arm and grab his left sleeve in the center with his right hand. Tori grabs Uke's belt in the front with his right hand and pull him close to his body. Then, Tori steps his left foot behind Uke's right back and pushes Uke's right arm at the elbow with his left arm. He, then, holds both of Uke's arms and pull Uke's body up to off balance him to the back. Then, he scoops up with Type 1 technique and throws down. This technique has some difference in the usage of his left hand. In this case, Tori controls Uke's body with his left arm over Uke's arms. Because the control over his arms is not sufficient, the left hand should be wrapped around Uke's elbows tightly and Uke is pushed off balance backward. At the same time, Tori grabs Uke's belt in the front with his right hand and pulls strongly to have tight body contact. A strong hold and control is extremely important. (2) Move left hand over Uke's left arm and wrap over the arm to hold Uke under his left arm pit (Obi-otoshi) Tori grabs Uke's belt in the front with his right hand and the left hand grabs the trouser over his right knee, and Tori takes a defensive posture (picture 5). While Uke steps back, he pulls Tori two or three times strongly. Tori puts down his right (or left) knee on the mat (picture 5) and looks for an opportunity for a counter attack . When Uke tries to pull Tori upward to a standing postion, Tori stands up and steps into Uke's right behind and pulls his right hand (which grips the belt) tight. At the same time, holds Uke's left arm over the stomach and controls it (around the elbow) for tight body contact and scoop up and throws . This technique also has some difference in usage of the left hand. Such as, Tori holds Uke's body using Tori's left arm over Uke's left arm for control. According to Kodokan tournament rules, prohibited act #35, the following rules apply for competition so this type of techniques can not be used nowadays. (3) In standing position, you must not take any ugly posture more than six seconds. (4) While you are competing in standing position, you must not grab your opponent's belt or edge of the sleeve more than six seconds. During the Meiji and Taisho Era, these techniques and technique of throwing from lying on one's back were allowed by regulations in competition. So, it was widely
used in those days.
(Type 2)
Difference between Obi-otoshi and Sukui-nage (Type 1) Obi-otoshi: Grabs Uke's belt in the front with one hand to pull and the other hand holds Uke on the hip in the back to scoop up (picture 6). Sukui-nage: Use both hands to hold Uke behind the hip to scoop up. There is a difference of using the right or left hand in the above techniques. But, the concept of scooping up and dropping are the same. So, Obi-otoshi can be considered as "using the belt Sukui-nage".
(picture 6)
During the Meiji Era, Obi-otoshi seemed to have been used in Rondori practice, because we can find this technique in Gokyonowaza #3-6, which was set in the 28th year of Meiji. However, the 9th year of Taisho, the rule was revised, and Obi-otoshi was eliminated due to not being practical for Rondori practice.
MOROTE-GARI (hand technique) Morote-gari is accomplished by Tori holding Uke's legs by wrapping both hands around them and by putting his shoulder against Uke's stomach to push him backward for a throw. Also, techniques that are similar to this technique.
(Type 1)
When grappling with each other, Tori holds Uke's both legs and lifts and throw backward by Tori twisting his body to his right or left (Morote-gari)
When Tori and Uke approach for grappling, they look for the opportunity for a good grip. When they grip each other, Tori takes a right defensive posture and grabs Uke's both wrist to push upward to stop his advance. Uke pushes back and tries to shake off Tori's grips to become a stable posture. At this moment, Tori releases Uke's both hands. Therefore, Uke loses his balance forward to a floating position and becomes defenseless. At this opportunity, Tori drops his hip and body and swiftly places his right foot between Uke's legs. Tori, then, takes a right defensive posture. Then, Tori puts his right shoulder against Uke's stomach and at the same time uses both arms to hold Uke around his thigh or knees. Using a scooping motion, Tori throws Uke (picture 1, 2). Or Tori uses his dashing power to break Uke's balance. Then, Tori spreads Uke's legs apart (to Tori's sides of the body) and bring Uke's body close and throws down.
(picture 1)
(picture 2)
Morote-gari is effective when Uke carelessly steps out or bends his body and attempts to regain normal posture. Therefore, it is practical and effective in competition. The key point of this technique is the judgement of distance between Tori and Uke. Also, requires sharp perception. There was a competitor who favored Morote-gari such as
(picture 3)
this. When Tori comes close to Uke, Tori claps hands in front of Uke's eyes (commonly called Nekodamashi). Also, when Tori attacks Uke's eyes with upward motion of his fingers of both hands (or one hand) (commonly called Ryotegasumi or Katategasumi), catching Uke by surprise and causing him to lean backward. At that precise moment, Tori attacks Uke with Morote-gari.
(picture 4)
Next techniques are all categorized as Morote-gari. When Tori executes Morote-gari by holding around Uke's hip or waist, Tori places his right shoulder against Uke's chest while pulling both hands and pushes Uke down backward (picture 3). If Tori's holding position is too high, it is difficult to drop Uke down sharply. Therefore, Tori uses the power of his right shoulder and both hands to push Uke down. Presently, this type of techniques is not named clearly. But, according to the concept of Morote-gari, I, as the author categorize this as Morote-gari. When Tori throws down in the following way, it is not called Morote-gari. Once Tori holds up Uke's body with both hands and throws down forward, it is called Sukuinage. For judgement, we should categorize the name of the throw by holding up or not (picture 4). The technique of Morote-gari is basic throwing technique in wrestling and Sambo. Therefore, this technique is widely used in Judo competition. I believe it is necessary to train and study Morote-gari in the future.
Techniques of practical applications (1) When grabbing each other, Tori holds both of Uke's legs and covers with his body and pushes Uke down (Morote-gari). When grabbing each other, Tori dashes into Uke's abdomen, holds Uke's legs with both hands, puts his shoulder against the right of Uke's abdomen and using a covering motion, throws down (picture 5). At this time, Tori takes a right defensive posture. Then, combining all the movements, such as, holding Uke's legs, putting right shoulder against Uke's chest to push him backward, swift steps, into one motion is very important.
(picture 5)
Sometimes, Tori rolls his body over to push Uke down. Occasionally, Morote-gari is countered with Tawaragaeshi (Masutemiwaza) by Uke . Therefore, sometimes the referee misjudges this throw even if you throw the opponent. So, you must be cautious when you execute this throw. (2) Switch Seoinage to Morote-gari. (a) Getting into Seoinage, turning the body half way to switch to Morote-gari. When Tori executes the right Seoinage, Uke blocks Tori's throw by leaning backward. At this moment, Tori let goes of both hands and turns his body half way to take a right defensive posture to face Uke. Then, Tori puts his right shoulder against Uke's right chest to push him down with Morote-gari. This technique is used when Uke blocks Tori's Seoinage. (b) Pretend to execute Seoinage, then, turn his body 360 degrees to switch to (Morote-gari). Tori grips in the right handed position. Then, Tori releases his left hand while continuing to hold Uke's left collar with his right hand. Tori pretends to execute right Ippon seoinage. He, then, turns his body 360 degrees to face opponent to become left defensive posture. Tori puts left shoulder against Uke's left chest to execute Morote-gari. In the same way, Tori releases his right hand and continues to pull his left hand while putting some distance between Uke and himself. Then, he pretends to execute right Ippon seoinage and turns his body 360 degrees to execute Morote-gari. At this time, Tori take a right defensive posture. He, then, puts right shoulder against Uke's abdomen to change to Morote-gari to push him down. Actually, Tori's objective is not to throw with Seoinage but to use it as a combination technique for Morote-gari. (3) Tori executes Tomoenage, then, stand to change to Morote-gari When Tori tries right Tomoenage, Uke drops his hip while stepping out his right foot over Tori's left outer thigh. He lifts Tori with both hands to defense. At this moment, Tori raises his body and stands while holding Uke's legs and puts his right shoulder against Uke'
(picture 6)
abdomen and pushes him down (picture 6). This technique enables Tori to throw Uke from a lying position to standing position. According to present tournament rules, it is not recognized as a throw but during Meiji and Taisho Era, this was an effective throw in a competition. Many people used this technique.
(Type 2)
Tori uses both hands to hold Uke's one leg to execute Morote-gari. While grappling with each other, Tori dashes into Uke's abdomen, drops his hip to take a right defensive posture. Then, he holds Uke's right leg and puts right shoulder against Uke's abdomen. He, then, rolls over Uke's body and throws down. This technique is not the regular Morote-gari, but Kodokan Waza Study Group Department recognizes as a Morote-gari. When Tori uses one hand to hook Uke's leg to throw him down backward, it is categorized as a Kuchikidaoshi. In the old Jujitsu, there were some similar techniques like Morote-gari. In Fusenryu, it was called Hizaori (by Mr. Raisuke Kudo). During Kodokan Era, people used this technique in competition. However, there was no regular name in the beginning. Generally, people called it Ashitorinage at that time. One day (date is not known), Mr. Kyutaro Kanda, ninth degree, had demonstrated this technique in front of Professor Jigoro Kano and asked his opinion. Since this was his favorite technique, he asked Professor Kano, "Is it appropriate to call it Morote-gari? Professor Kano replied that it is a very effective technique and to name it to Kodokan's Morote-gari. Unfortunately, Professor Kano passed away in 1938 and this technique was not added to Kodokan's techniques. This story was published in Kodokan Judo magazine "Sweat and Tear" in April 1969. In 1936, when Mr. Kanda competed in the All Japan Judo Championship, the name of the Morote-gari was already being used in describing the throws. In October 1982, Morote-gari was officially added to Kodokan techniques.