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Judo: The Gentle Way

Judo, an Olympic sport as well as a way of life for its thousands of practitioners worldwide, was the creation of Professor Kano Jigoro (1860-1936). As a young man, Kano Sensei traveled Japan, studying jujutsu (systems of unarmed combat) with some of the finest instructors available. Jujutsu, some say, was introduced into Japan in the seventeenth century by a Chinese master named Ching-Ping. Again, as we have seen in discussing the schools of karatedo, it is typical of Japanese traditional culture to revere Chinese arts and claim that in some way China was the source of the arts of Japan. There is no doubt some truth in that, but it is also true that the Japanese did not sit around defenseless until the Chinese showed up to teach them how to fight. The very earliest Chinese documents concerning contact with the Japanese describe the Japanese warriors as formidable characters.

Jujutsu is characterized by attacks against joints of the body that are intended to break and cripple and by throwing and pinning techniques. It was a form of fighting that the samurai learned as an adjunct to their weapons studies. Unarmed methods of fighting became even more significant after the Meiji Restoration of 1868, and especially after 1876, when wearing of swords in public was forbidden. Kano Sensei was not merely a martial arts enthusiast, he was first and foremost an educator. It was Professor Kano who personally influenced much of the physical education program of the newly structured Japanese educational system. He sifted through the techniques of jujutsu, saved the ones that could be practiced safely, added some elements, and formed his “new” art as a sport for the physical education program in the Japanese school system. As with the founders of many Japanese martial arts, Kano Sensei was interested in providing, especially for the youth of Japan, a method of education that would serve the physical, mental, and spiritual health needed to maintain a vigorous and forward-looking Japanese society.

Professor Kano established the world headquarters of judo, the Kodokan, in Tokyo in 1882 and proceeded to codify rules of tournament competition still found in modern judo. In 1909 Kano Sensei became the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee. One of his dreams was realized in 1964 when judo became an official event in the Olympic Games.

For Westerners who want to practice judo in Japan, the Kodokan International Judo Center in Tokyo is the place to go, both to train and to learn the location of certified judojo in other cities in Japan. An eight-story building, the Kodokan International Judo Center was dedicated in 1984 in commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Kodokan. This facility is the most elaborate martial arts training facility in all Japan, beginning with the lodging it provides for visiting judoka.

On the third floor of the Kodokan International Judo Center are five large rooms, each housing twenty individuals. There are also private rooms. Lodging fees (per person, for one night) as of 1999 were as follows:

Training camp room: ¥1,800

Single room: ¥3,500

Deluxe single room: ¥5,000

Deluxe twin room: ¥9,000

Extra bed: ¥1,800

On the second floor of the center are the Kano Memorial Hall, Historical Hall, and exhibition room. Here one can see photographs, documents, awards, and letters from various distinguished individuals related to the history of judo. The second floor also houses the library, with over seven thousand books on the many facets of judo. The center also supports research facilities centered in four main areas: theoretical and historical study of judo, the psychological study of judo, the technical analysis of judo, research on the physical strength of judo practitioners, and the physiological study of judo.

There is a shop selling Kodokan judo goods, with items ranging from “Shihan Special Calendars” for ¥1,050 and judo neckties for ¥3,675 to Kodokan bath towels in a variety of colors for ¥1,050. The Kodokan Judo Video Series is available with prices ranging between three and seven thousand yen. Yen-dollar exchange rates vary but may be checked through local banks or online. Authorized books on judo as well as copies of the Bulletin of the Association for the Scientific Study of Judo are also obtainable at the center shop in price ranges from three to seven thousand yen. You can contact the Kodokan Internet Shop, the official store of the Kodokan Center, at:

Yuko Takeuchi

Kodokan Internet Shop

1-35-28-1209 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku

Tokyo 113

Tel: (03) 5803-2825

e-mail: kshop@tk.hint.co.jp

The Kodokan Center has a vast practice area divided into a number of dojo spaces. The Main Dojo is on the seventh floor: it measures 420 mats (each approximately three by six feet) in area, with seating for nine hundred spectators. This is where official judo tournament events are held. The Main Dojo may be rented for ¥200,000 a day.

The School Dojo is 420 mats and can be divided into two rooms if necessary. Rental fee: ¥50,000 per day; ¥40,000 for a half day (morning or evening). The International Dojo is 192 mats. Rental fee: ¥30,000 per day; ¥20,000 for a half day (morning or evening). The Women’s Dojo is 240 mats and can be divided into two rooms. Rental fee: ¥50,000 per day; ¥40,000 for a half day (morning or evening). The Boy’s Dojo is 114 mats. Rental fee: ¥30,000 per day; ¥20,000 for a half day (morning or evening). The Special Dojo is for retired judo-ka and for those who are doing various sorts of research on judo techniques.

At the Kodokan Center, there is an Adult Division, a Women’s Division, and an International Division for judoka from outside Japan. The Adult Division practices between 3:30 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. on weekdays; on Saturday practices are held between 4:00 and 7:30. In the Adult Division instruction is led by a team of four instructors with experience in championship competition. The Women’s Division practices at the Center between 5:30 and 7:30 p.m., and the International Division practices throughout the day from Monday through Saturday. The International Division is divided into two levels. Class B is composed of judoka from beginner levels to second kyu, while Class A is for those ranking first kyu and above.

Fees for practicing at the Kodokan Center, as of 1999, are as follows:

Boys’ Division: admission, ¥ 6,000; entrance fee, ¥6,000; tuition, ¥5,000; member’s card ¥500. Total: ¥17,500 yen.

Adult Division (men and women): admission, ¥6,000; entrance fee, ¥1000; tuition, ¥5,000; member’s card, ¥500. Total: ¥12,500.

International Division: admission, ¥ 6,000; entrance fee, ¥6,000; tuition, ¥5,000; member’s card ¥500. Total: ¥17,500 yen.

Kodokan Judo Headquarters is located at:

1-16-30 Kasuga, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 112, Japan.

For English-speaking services (practice times, locations, fees, lodging facilities for judoka from overseas) contact:

Kodokan School of Judo, Department of International Affairs

Tel: (03) 3818-4172 Fax: (03) 3814-2918

e-mail: int-kdn@po.iijnet.or.jp

If you will be located in the Osaka area, contact:

Kodokan Osaka International Judo Center

4-15-11 Nagata, Joto-ku, Osaka, Japan

Tel: (06) 961-0640

Judo is my favorite way for children to enter the martial arts. Most children would love to spend an hour or so wrestling with one another in baggy clothes on a soft gymnastic floor. If you will be with your children while in Japan you might look into a nearby children’s judo club. I found that most Japanese parents who seek to expose their children to martial arts at a young age will select either judo or kendo. It was very common in the area in which I lived to see young children late in the afternoon with blue bags of kendo armor or judogi riding the subway to their martial arts class. Judo, a very popular sport in Japan, also appeals to the teenagers and young adults. Some of the most ferocious competition takes place at the high school and college levels.

I cannot recommend judo for middle-aged people who are not in excellent physical condition, or for senior citizens. The crashing break-falls typical of judo take their toll on the body over time, having a particular deleterious effect on knee joints. I have heard of judo classes for senior citizens but I have never seen one. Many wounded former judoka find their way into aikido, in which the fundamental principles of judo still apply but violence to the body is much less. Before arthroscopic surgery, retired judo players could be easily identified by three- and four-inch scars around their knees. However, if you do happen to meet a high-ranked middle-aged or elderly judoka on the mat, thank him or her ahead of time for the lesson he or she is about to teach you.

When I was training in jodo at the Fukuoka Budokan, the Olympics were being held in Korea. Several foreign judo clubs stopped there to warm up with the Fukuoka Budokan judo club before moving on to Seoul for the main events. The physical preparation for the technical teaching in a judo class is awe-inspiring. Some of the heavyweights in the budokan would hoist their partners on their backs and run up and down the steps in the bleachers, after which they would perform a hundred push-ups—with their partners still on their backs. Then came the wind sprints. And on and on.

The largely middle-aged jodoka (practitioners of the way of the short staff) while practicing their stately war dance with sword and staff on another part of the Budokan practice floor, would furrow their brows and smile with a look on their face that said, “Those boys must be crazy,” every time the floor trembled from the force of a two-hundred-pound judoka being driven to the mat by his sparring partner.

As the Olympic frenzy died down, however, the Fukuoka Budokan judo club subtly changed back to its normal tempo. One typical evening after my jodo class, I watched the judo players work out. A father sat on the sidelines coaching his daughter as hard as he could (with his facial expressions) while eight feet away his ten-year-old darling was being introduced to a hip throw, an often frightening prospect for beginners. The judo sensei, on one knee with his hand lightly touching the little girl’s elbow, urging her to gambatte! (try hard; put up a good fight) was teaching the little girl to overcome her fear. She, though knowing her father was nearby, never took her eyes off the sensei. The senior student who was selected to throw the little girl knew his part and was obviously pleased that his sensei had trusted him enough to select him for this subtle and crucial moment. There was a palpable sense of kinship among the four. It was as if the sensei, the father, the daughter, and the senior student were all related.

Meanwhile, the heavyweights formed a territory of their own on the dojo floor. Serious young judo competitors are some of the largest, strongest, and fastest martial artists I saw while living in Japan. At the same time several elderly, white-haired men with low-slung black belts floated among the various components of the class, visiting, answering questions, and demonstrating, after which those they engaged would bow very deeply as the elders completed their instructions and moved on. On another part of the judo floor earnest senior students taught basic throws to the beginners. The pattern of practice had a feeling of the eternal.