In
1882, Dr. Jigoro Kano (The Father of Judo) made a comprehensive
study of these ancient self defense forms and
integrated the best of these forms into a sport which is known
as Kodokan 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.
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, 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.
Starting
in 1889 Kano left Japan to visit Europe and the U. S. He traveled
abroad a 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 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.
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.
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 Asahi prize for his outstanding contribution
to the organizing of sport in Japan during his lifetime.
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.
There are different styles of Judo. 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 favor repetitive movements to make them instinctive,
and the development of speed through practice with little
resistance. Such clubs usually also teach the kata. Such clubs
could be considered traditional Judo clubs. |
