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MARTIAL ARTS OVERVIEW
There are more than 1,000
different forms of martial arts scattered around the world and dating back more
than 2,000 years ago. When the martial arts started and where no one really
knows. In our western culture we can date the development of martial arts such
as archery and wrestling to ancient Greece. However there is evidence that
martial art training dates to Babylonian times. In the Far East development of
the Oriental martial arts is a bit more obscure. It is generally accepted that
the martial arts developed its roots in ancient China among the monks who used
weapon less fighting techniques to protect themselves. It is not known which
type of unarmed techniques were used first, but it is clear that specialization
was the custom. Combinations of different forms of fighting were unknown.
Despite the ruling classes wanting to keep unarmed combat techniques secret,
through commerce and migration, the martial arts spread from China throughout
the east. The earliest chronicle concerning the martial arts is the Nihon Shoki,
which discusses Japanese wrestling and dates back to 720 AD. Since then, the
martial arts have developed into a variety of systems that were the precursors
of today's modern martial arts. Despite the development of many types of
weaponry, unarmed combat remains a skill practiced all over the world.
JUDO HISTORY
The origin of Japan's martial arts is vague, and what we know of it, is more
legend than truth. However, the takenouchi-ryu martial art system founded in 1532
is considered the beginning of Japan's jujitsu forms. The system's founder taught
jujitsu in a structured and methodical manner. For the next several hundred years, the
martial arts were refined by Samurai who made a lifetime study of some twenty or
thirty martial arts. Of these arts only one was based on weapon less
self-defence -- jujitsu. By the mid-1800's more than 700 different jujitsu
systems existed. The most popular were takenouchi-ryu, jikishin-ryu, kyushinryu,
yoshin-ryu, mirua-ryu, sekiguchi-ryu, kito-ryu, and tenshin-shinyo-ryu; the last
two were instrumental in Judo's development. It was during this time that
Japanese politics disintegrated into disarray. Commodore Perry's visit to Japan
in the mid-1850s also changed Japanese civilization by opening up a new world to
them. In 1868 Imperial rule was restored (Meiji Restoration) and the decline of
the Samurai class started along with a rapid decline in all martial arts.
Although the government did not officially ban the martial arts, people were not
encouraged to learn or practice them since the state was considered more
important than the individual. Jujitsu literally fell into disuse. What was
once the glory of the samurai was now looked down on and many well-established
jujitsu schools began to disappear. If the budo concept was to survive the
Meiji Restoration, it had to change and become a tool to cultivate an individual
and make him a better person for the good of all. As a result budo found a home
in physical education and sport. Sport provided teamwork, which was good for
all and also developed the individual. It was a complete physical education;
not just a game. Although self-defence techniques were included in the
training, emphasis was on using the techniques in a holistic manner. Dr. Jigoro
Kano is credited with jujitsu's survival of the Meiji Restoration. He took
jujitsu and adapted it to the times. His new methodology was called Judo. In
1882, Dr. Jigoro Kano (The Father of Judo) made a comprehensive study of these
ancient self defence forms and integrated the best of these forms into a sport,
which is known as Kodokan Judo.
Dr. Jigoro Kano
ON THE FOUNDING OF JUDO
In the seaside town of
Mikage, near Kobe, Japan, Jigoro Kano was born on October 28, 1860. In 1871,
Kano's family moved to Tokyo. As a boy, Kano was an undersized, slender, weak,
and sickly child with one sickness after another. Against his doctor's advice,
Kano decided to do something to improve his health and at the same time learn
how to defend himself against bullies. At the age of 18 he enrolled in the
Tenjin Shinyo Ryu School of jujitsu. Under the guidance of Fukuda Hachinosuke,
Kano began his long journey to physical well-being. The Tenjin Shinyo ryu was a
soft martial art that stressed harmony rather than combat, yet at the same time
included striking and grappling techniques. After studying at the Tenjin Shinyo
ryu, Kano transferred to the Kito Ryu School to study under Tsunetoshi Iikubo.
This brand of jujitsu was much softer and stressed moderate workouts with
attention given to freedom of action, the abstract symbolism connected with
physical technique, and throwing techniques. It was during these times that
Kano began a comprehensive and systematic study of other forms of jujitsu such
as sekiguchi-ryu and seigo-ryu. He started this project out of respect for his
masters, but he soon he craved for a mental knowledge that was lacking in their
teachings. He sought to understand the superior control that his teachers had
mastered. He also studied the manuscripts developed by the founders of various
schools, the I Ching, (Book of Changes), and Lao-Tsze's philosophy. Around 1880
Kano started rethinking the jujitsu techniques he had learned. He saw that by
combining the best techniques of various schools into one system he could create
a physical education program that would embody mental and physical skill. In
addition, he believed that the techniques could be practiced as a competitive
sport if the more dangerous techniques were omitted. So in 1882, having pulled
from ancient jujitsu the best of its throws and grappling techniques, he added
some of his own, and removed such dangerous techniques as foot and hand strikes.
Kano at the age of 22, presented his new sport--Judo. He called this sport
Kodokan Judo. The term Kodokan breaks down into ko (lecture, study, method), do
(way or path), and kan (hall or place). Thus it means "a place to study the
way." Similarly Judo breaks down into ju (gentle) and do (way or path) or "the
gentle way." Kano established his Judo school, called the Kodokan, in the
Eishoji Buddhist temple in Tokyo, which grew in size and later moved. The first
Kodokan had only 12 mats (12 feet by 18 feet), and nine students in the first
year. Today the Kodokan has over 500 mats and more than a million visitors a
year. Kano's devotion to Judo did not interfere with his academic progress. He
pursued his study of literature, politics and political economy, and graduated
from Tokyo Imperial University in 1881. In 1886, because of rivalry between
jujitsu schools and Judo, a contest was held to determine the superior art.
Kano's Judo students won the competition easily, thus establishing the
superiority of Judo, its popular principles and its practical techniques. The
categorization of Kodokan Judo was completed about 1887. The Kodokan had three
broad aims: physical education, contest proficiency and mental training. Its
structure as a martial art was such that it could be practiced as a competitive
sport. Blows, kicks, certain joint locks, and other techniques too dangerous
for competition, were taught only to the higher ranks. Starting in 1889 Kano
left Japan to visit Europe and the U. S. He travelled abroad eight times to
teach Judo and several times to attend the Olympics and its committee meetings.
Often in the face of extreme hardship, several of Kano's students devoted their
lives to develop Judo in foreign countries. In 1892 Judo began to spread its
wings across the world when Takashima Shidachi lectured the Japan Society in
London on the history and development of Judo. In 1895 Kano classified the Judo
throws into the Go Kyo No Waza. In 1900, the Kodokan Dan Grade Holders
Association was established. On July 24, 1905, representatives of the leading
jujitsu schools (ryu) of Japan gathered at the Butokukai Institute in Kyoto to
agree upon the forms of Kodokan Judo and to continue the development of the
technical forms of the sport. The ancient jujitsu techniques of each particular
school were to be preserved in kata (pre-arranged form) for posterity. In 1909,
the system underwent a big change and the Kodokan became an official Japanese
foundation. In the same year Jigoro Kano became the first Japanese member of
the International Olympic Committee. By 1910 Judo was a recognized sport that
could be safely engaged in and in 1911 it was adopted as a part of Japan's
educational system. In the same year, the Kodokan Judo Instructors' Training
Department, Kodokan Black Belt Association and Japan Athletic Association were
formed. Beginning with the fifth Olympiad in Stockholm, Kano attended every
Olympic Game and International Olympic Committee meeting and became a leading
figure in international sport. Kodokan Judo underwent an evaluation by its
members in 1920. The Go Kyo No Waza was revised to include only 40 throws.
Eight throws from the previous classification were discarded.
Judo in Europe in 1921 -- osotogari,
osotomakikomi, seoinage
In 1921 the Judo Medical
Research Society was born. The Kodokan mottoes, Seriyoku-zenyo (maximum
efficiency) and Jita-kyoei (mutual welfare and benefit), emphasize moral and
spiritual training in addition to the physical training of Judo. The ultimate
goal of Judo was to perfection the individual so that he can be of value to
society. This spiritual phase developed gradually and was completed around
1922. In the same year the Kodokan Cultural Judo Society was established. In
his lifetime, Kano attained a doctorate degree in Judo, a degree equivalent to
the twelfth dan, awarded to the originator of Judo only. He constantly worked
to ensure the development of athletics and Japanese sport in general, and as a
result is often called the "Father of Japanese Sports." In 1935, he was awarded
the Asahi prize for his outstanding contribution to the organizing of sport in
Japan during his lifetime.
Apart from being an innovator and administrator, Kano was also a skilled player as testified to by a
high-ranking Judoka who, when asked about his experience in competing against
Kano, said, 'It was like fighting with an empty jacket"!' While returning home
from an IOC meeting in Cairo where he succeeded in having Tokyo nominated as a
site for the 1940 Olympics, a lifetime devoted to Judo ended when Kano died of
pneumonia aboard the S. S. Hikawa Maru on 4 May 1938, at the age of
seventy-eight years. World War II saw a different development of Judo. Instead
of being used for sport, Judo was being taught as a combat skill. Those selected
for commando and special services training often achieved a high standard of
expertise.
When Japan hosted the 1964
Olympics, Judo was given its first opportunity as an event. Of the sixteen
medals awarded for Judo, Japan won three gold medals, and one silver medal. Judo
was no longer a Japanese sport but had developed to become an international
sport. For more than sixty years the structure of Kodokan Judo had not
changed. However in 1982 the Kodokan revised the Go Kyo No Waza by
reintroducing the 8 techniques that were discarded in 1920 and by adding 17 new
techniques. These sixty-five techniques became known as "The 65 Techniques of
Kodokan Judo." There have been two main developments in Judo over the years.
The first was the introduction of weight categories. In the early days, weight
differences were not considered important. Everyone fought everyone else, with
the result that, if two players were equally matched in skill, the bigger man
usually won. There was much opposition to the introduction of weight categories.
Some masters feared that it meant the end of Judo as a skilful art. Initially
there were three categories, and later this was made into five. Inclusion of
the sport in the Olympic Games in 1964 helped to hasten this important reform.
The second development was the teaching of Judo to children. In the early days,
it was thought much too dangerous to teach children because they would not have
the self-discipline to avoid using it outside the club. Today many clubs are
composed largely of junior membership.
With its inclusion in the
Olympics, there has been a shift toward a contest style practice. In clubs
where this style is taught, practice becomes largely a continuous contest.
Other schools stress skill. They favour repetitive movements to make them
instinctive, and the development of speed through practice with little
resistance. These clubs usually also teach the kata and could be considered
traditional Judo clubs.
Author: Phil Rasmussen
Information provided by, and reproduced with kind permission from
www.judoinfo.com
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