Senjo Kumiuchi

Senjo Kumiuchi is the term used to describe the various battlefield grappling arts of the samurai. In later centuries the art broadly evolved into Ju Jutsu, the techniques of which form the basis of modern day Judo many of which in turn are seen in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu.

As we see repeatedly with many of the empty-handed arts, a samurai required training in combat grappling should he either find himself weaponless against armed opponents or because he clashed with an enemy and was too close to cut effectively with his sword. Samurai naturally wore armor to battle and this restricted the use of many direct attacks on weak points of the body with the result that few strikes were practiced. With regard to armor, as the manufacture of protective covering improved, as it became stronger and lighter, it allowed greater flexibility. With this development the technique of Senjo Kumiuchi also evolved with combatants enjoying greater freedom of movement. The design and availability of armor in Asian countries is a vital factor in the development of the various arts and not only those in Japan. Not only was the plate armor of the European knights unavailable, it was in any case impractical to wear in the hot, humid climate of Asia (as the knights themselves discovered when crusading in the Holy Land).

Senjo Kumiuchi on the Battlefield

On the battlefield opponents would lock together, grasping each others forearms in order to control any weapon that may have been held. From this position they would struggle to sweep, throw, trip or otherwise unbalance the enemy. Once the enemy was forced to the ground a finishing technique would be employed and another opponent sought. This was, by necessity, a very harsh form of combat. The aim was not to subdue or merely injure, but to kill as quickly and efficiently as possible. The techniques of Senjo Kumiuchi were designed to ensure that the maximum amount of damage could be inflicted, including throws that drove the opponent directly into the ground, preventing him from executing a successful break fall. Compare this to modern day Judo where the throws, many of which have their origins in the battlefield, have been purposely altered to allow competitors to be able to break fall successfully thereby promoting Judo as a safe sport. That isn't to say that against an untrained opponent these throws wouldn't be effective, but it is worth highlighting and considering the differences. Traditionally, the first part of the enemy’s body to come into contact with the ground would have optimally been his head (attempting to break his neck outright). In modern Japanese martial arts, such as Judo and Aikido, the opponent’s body is flipped to a greater extent, allowing him to land across his shoulders or on his back, most of the impact absorbed by the forearm(s) slamming the mat fractionally before the body lands to lessen the impact.

Another successful technique was to dive atop a thrown opponent, forcing the air from the lungs of the unfortunate warrior pinned down to the ground and leaving him severely winded and no doubt with numerous broken ribs. Considering that the aggressor would himself have been wearing armor, thereby increasing his weight, this technique could prove highly effective. Finally, amid the muck and gore, the samurai would either attempt to break the neck of his adversary or draw a dagger that would be plunged into the body of his prone opponent.

To fight in such a manner required great strength and courage. Slipping and sliding, colliding and close enough to smell your opponent's fear and look into his eyes, the battlefield was not for the feint of heart. Such fearsome techniques and the harsh training that went along with their development came to be used less frequently in the years following Japan’s civil war period (that is, from the early seventeenth century on). The techniques of Senjo Kumiuchi changed and evolved and new styles emerged. These styles were collectively called Ju Jutsu.

Harai goshi

I recently came across a beautiful Harai Goshi ('Sweeping Hip Throw`) executed by MMA fighter Cory Devela to win a match against Joe Riggs. You can watch the whole fight on the YouTube video below, but the winning throw is executed from 4:30 - 4:37. The fighters enter the clinch that finally resulted in the throw from 3:55. On first viewing the video you will be inclined to think that the fight doesn't end directly from the throw but rather from Cory Devela being in a position to pound Joe Riggs in the face following the throw. Watching from 6:10 though reveals that Joe Riggs was already clearly tapping to submit as soon as he hit the floor and felt the full impact. At 6:06, once the fight is over and Joe is released, you can also see him reaching for the area around his left hip, indicating that this is the area that took the main impact and where he was hurt the most.

The technique is clean and technically excellent, but the force generated is also augmented by the fact that Cory goes into the air while executing the throw and comes down hard on top of Joe, who unfortunately has to deal with the double impact from the ground and a middleweight fighter landing on him more or less simultaneously. Although the actual throwing technique is not derived from classic military Ju Jutsu (Senjo Kumiuchi) the closing execution of it in the video is reminiscent of how throws were sometimes performed in the on the battlefields of Japan. As the opponent landed a fully armored (and therefore much heavier than usual) samurai would body slam his enemy, winding him, possibly even crippling him and effectively taking his opponent out of the fight before ending his life with a tanto.

Jigoro Kano, Saigo Shiro and the development of harai goshi

Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, was able to spar successfully against one of his top students, Saigo Shiro, using uki goshi (see video below). After some time Shiro became adept at countering this technique by stepping forward into the throw as Kano began to execute it. To counter this counter Kano added the second part of the harai goshi - the sweep - to take out Shiro's advancing leg. Thus a new technique was born.

According to Wikipedia, former Russian President Vladimir Putin is noted for his skill in executing Sweeping Hip Throw.

BJJ

BJJ, or Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (aka Gracie Jiu Jitsu), finds its inspiration in Japanese ju jutsu, the precise origins of which are unknown. Some claim a Chinese origin, though it should be noted that earlier in Japan's history Chinese cultural influence was seen to be pre-eminent and such a theory may owe more to building prestige than any reality. Certainly there is no overwhelming evidence of a Chinese origin and the Nihongi (an official history of the origins of Japan completed in 797 CE) makes mention of a grappling match conducted in 23 BC before the Emperor that ended with one of the protagonists thrown to the floor and kicked to death.

By the Kamakura period the samurai were emerging as the elite warrior class and while they preferred to war with weapons, in the event of weapon loss or breakage they needed a set of battlefield-effective unarmed combat moves which resulted in what is loosely known as kumiuchi. Armor, along with the press of bodies on a battlefield, prevented the developed of a kicking and punching art and so grappling was emphasized. One of the principle stratagems was to take the opponent to the ground where a knife could be neatly inserted between the armor plates and the adversary killed.

For centuries the Japanese martial arts of all forms were necessarily brutally effective. It wasn't until the early 17th century that peace was established under the Tokugawa shogunate. For the next 250 years the arts stultified. While the rest of the world modernized and formed large armies of drilled conscripts, in Japan the samurai remained the elite without actually doing very much in the way of fighting.

The close of the sengoku jidai (civil war) period saw the establishment of formal ryu (schools). The first ju jutsu ryu to emerge was the Takenouchi ryu in 1532. Many others followed. This school, and those that followed, taught self-defense methods more than battlefield skills, a reflection of the political change that had taken hold of Japan.

Fast forward to the mid-nineteenth century and Japan's opening of its harbors to foreign trade and Western influence, it became obvious that the traditional fighting schools were redundant in the face of modern weaponry and tactics. Japan too began to modernize (reflected in part in the Tom Cruise movie The Last Samurai) and the traditional warrior class was disbanded. Ju jutsu went into decline until its savior arrived in the form of Jigoro Kano.

Jigoro Kano and the development of judo

Kano began his study of ju jutsu in the late 1870s as a way to combat people bullying him by building his strength and his fighting skill. Kano first studied under Fukuda sensei of the Tenjin-shinyo ryu for two years. Upon the passing of his teacher Kano continued under Mataemon sensei. His death forced Kano to switch to the Kito ryu under Tsunetoshi Ikubo where a great deal of the throwing techniques of judo were learned.

Throughout his study Kano took notes and considered the problems and limitations of ju jutsu. He decided to emphasize character development over pure fighting skill and introduced several innovations, one of the most famous of which was the practice of randori (sparring) which led to shiai (competitive matches). By making judo safer (though not ineffective) it was able to appeal to a wider audience and, the Gracie family would argue, more relevant to combat as techniques could be practiced with much more vigor owing to rules and the mutual agreement to end a match when one or the other taps (submits). Kano moved away from the theoretical deadliness of techniques that could not be practiced safely (such as eye jabs). The result, paradoxically, was to create a more combat-effective system as more rigorous training could be engaged in.

Kano also took the maxim of 'minimum effort, maximum effect' as the fundamental guiding principle of judo, a philosophy he was keen to see applied to other aspects of life outside the training hall.

Essentially Kano's great breakthrough was to educate the practitioner first over the techniques themselves.

Kano was vindicated in a famous tournament held in 1886, a mere four years after the Kodokan (the HQ for judo) had been opened. Kano attracted several top ju jutsu practitioners and his team defeated one challenger after another. Finally in 1886 the Tokyo police wished to determine which art was most suitable for recruits to be taught and held a competition to decide the matter. The Kodokan team won 13 of 15 matches, and drew the other two. This success catapulted Kano and his art to enormous popularity and growth. In turn judo entered the public school curriculum.

Fusen ryu

While today judo is best known for its throws and BJJ for its ground work, ultimately the origins of the ground techniques found in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu lie beyond judo in the little-known Fusen ryu school of ju jutsu.

Fusen ryu had been in existence for some 100 years before its head master, Mataemon Tanabe, issued an unexpected challenge to the Kodokan. Unlike other schools of ju jutsu, the Fusen ryu concentrated on grappling over throwing. This tradition had been continued in the Kodokan with the victories in other challenges being the result of superior throwing technique. In fact, at this time, the syllabus of judo does not appear to have incorporated any ground grappling.

Tanabe was aware of the weakness in judo and formulated a simple strategy for the challenge: he would take the match to the ground. He sought to win through submission rather than scoring a point with a throw.

The precise details and date are lost but the challenge took place in the early 20th century between the Kodokan and the Fusen ryu. What isn't in dispute is the result: for the first time the Kodokan was defeated. Easily...

Kano was shocked and realized immediately the weakness in judo and - displaying his typical desire for improvement - invited Tanabe to teach at his school.

The example Tanabe set provided a key factor in the development of BJJ. The challenge demonstrated the importance of taking an opponent out of his comfort zone and into the area of combat the protagonist was most proficient in. This strategy came to be known as phases of combat, with each phase representing a part of the overall fight. Judo had previously fought in the throwing phase of combat; Tanabe took the fight into the ground grappling phase and beat the Kodokan.

The result of Tanabe's teaching at the Kodokan was an explosion of interest in ne waza, or ground grappling, at the expense of the hitherto emphasis on throwing.

Mitsuyo Maeda

An important figure to emerge from the shift in training to ground grappling was Mitsuyo Maeda. A skilled ju jutsu practitioner, like many others, he mad the switch to judo. Maeda became one of the top students to emerge from the Kodokan and he was sent around the world by Kano to spread the art. He traveled around Europe before heading to Brazil prior to the outbreak of World War One. At the time Japan was looking to expand its program of overseas colonization and Maeda became involved, advocating Brazil as a great place for Japanese to live.

While performing his duties Maeda came to befriend a Brazilian by the name of Gastao Gracie, a man of Scottish descent. In return for political favors, Maeda taught Gastao's son, Carlos, for somewhere between two and four years. Thus the seed of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was planted.

Maeda was an accomplished street fighter and challenge-match fighter. His experiences in Brazil exposed him to different physiques and different styles that required him to modify his more traditional Japanese martial arts. There was no gi jacket and opponents tended to have a background in either wrestling or boxing, neither of which were seen in Japan at that time. To counter a boxer, Maeda would move into a tight clinch, take him to the ground and force a submission. While Maeda had never seen anything like boxing before, boxers had never seen anything like the ground work of judo.

Carlos Gracie and the beginnings of BJJ

As noted above, Carlos studied with Maeda for no more than four years and this would have included stints under Maeda's top students while the master was traveling. Following this tuition Carlos opened his own school in 1925 along with his brothers who he had been teaching. The Gracie brothers were known as excellent technicians, but more than this, they were known as fearless competitors in challenge matches. The family and the style went unbeaten.

This ongoing exposure to real combat created a feedback loop that was then honed in the gym among the brothers. With each fight came discussion and the honing of an evermore effective technique. The family tended towards the small size and so they often found themselves fighting from their backs, pinned by a larger opponent, and dealing with this situation became a key feature of BJJ that is still apparent today. Not only that, the Gracie's were engaged in challenge fights, not challenge grappling matches. In this environment is became clear that the pin was ineffective as it did not end the fight in and of itself.

The Gracies learned that two positions were more effective than any other: moving behind an opponent and taking his back and achieving the full mount position. This was the origin of the points system used in competitive BJJ which rewards contestants with ever-higher point scores as they achieve more difficult (and more dominating) positional control.

Continued development of BJJ

As the years passed and experience grew the theory of positional dominance grew and became of prime importance. Basically the theory recognized that the positions two fighters took with regard to one another could be graded, from the individual's perspective, as ranging from very good to very bad. For example, the mount position was, from the point of view of the person in the mount, very good; from the person trapped below the position was very bad. As such, the technique and strategy evolved to emphasize gaining a very good position in relation to your opponent and avoiding, escaping or reversing a very bad position. This emphasis on gaining positional advantage was reflected in the point system used in BJJ competition, which rewarded fighters who could force their adversary into a disadvantageous situation.

Differences between BJJ and traditional ju jutsu

While BJJ has its roots in classical Japanese ju jutsu, it has morphed into something that, certainly at the level at which fights are conceptualized, is different. In general, the techniques themselves tend to be inherited, but the guiding combative principles that govern the execution of those techniques have developed along different lines in BJJ.

- Positional Strategy

The most important difference is the revolutionary emphasis on gaining positional advantage. This overall guiding strategy in BJJ has its roots in the experiences gained by Gracie family members in real fights and subsequent training and honing of technique and the feedback loop this process created. Once positional dominance had been gained a submission could be much more easily applied as the opponent is less able to resist. The opponent may also be finished with a flurry of blows (usually palm strikes to save the knuckles from damage) from the mount.

- Training Method

Unlike classical ju jutsu BJJ makes continual and effective use of live training (randori) to teach, understand and practice positional dominance. This is an inheritance from Kano's introduction of sparring at the Kodokan. Although BJJ does make use of kata (forms) in the use of pre-determined drills, practice does not start and stop there as it does in the original ju jutsu schools.

The point of live training is for the opponent to actually resist the application of techniques against him, unlike in kata or drill practice where resistance is minimal to non-existent.

A criticism leveled at BJJ sometimes (and against those that spar 'safely' - according to rules) is that 'realistic' movements such as eye gouging and biting are not practiced. The standard answer is that experience has demonstrated that it is the superior grappler who will be better able to execute such techniques. My personal feelings are that such extreme attacks have little place in modern life with its legal constraints. Gouging another's eye had its place on the battlefield but nowadays the same technique can cause you to be the one convicted of a crime. As for a defense against such attacks, again, it is through the study and practice of positional advantage that prevents you suffering any damage. Taking someone's back effectively allows you to not only end the fight but puts you in a very safe position.

The benefit of this 'safe' approach to live training is that techniques can be practiced full out on a daily basis allowing for a rapid accumulation of skill (and related factors such as strength and endurance).

- Point System

The points system used in BJJ rewards a fighter each time he moves into a better (more dominant) position. Escaping from a bad position however is not rewarded. The rear position and mount score the maximum of four points each.

- Techniques Differences

Traditional ju jutsu styles utilize techniques that cannot be used safely in daily or competitive training, such as strikes to the eyes and genitals or biting and hair pulling. BJJ focuses on techniques that can be practiced full out against a resisting opponent.

The techniques of BJJ also make greater use of leverage owing to the smaller size of the early members of the Gracie family when compared to other Brazilians. The techniques also rely more on the use of gross motor movement, rather than fine motor movement. Those techniques reliant on fine motor movement, such as a finger lock, have been found to be difficult to apply in a real combat situation.

BJJ and MMA

Throughout much of the twentieth century the grappling arts, including BJJ, saw a decline in popularity when compared to the more dynamic and visually appealing striking and kicking arts such as karate and kung fu. Then, in the 1990s, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competition began to gain popularity in North America and Japan. Initially the idea was to match up style vs style and fighters were nowhere near as well rounded as they are nowadays. Surprisingly the striking arts performed poorly, much to the shock of the general public and the average martial artist. One style emerged as being clearly more successful than others: BJJ. Even more shocking was that its champion, a young Royce Gracie, looked like anything but the archetypal sleek, muscle-bound champion that one would expect to dominate. More often than not Royce was outweighed and outmuscled yet he was able to pull off win after win. Other Gracie family members - Renzo, Ralph and Rickson - were similarly victorious in competitions other than the early UFC.

These early matches were much closer to full out fights than is allowed today in the UFC. There were no round time limits, no weight categories, no gloves and very few prohibited techniques. In this environment the Gracies and their BJJ were as close to being unbeatable and one could get.

BJJ and the Ultimate Fighting Championship

Rorion Gracie talks about the origins of BJJ, and the formulation of the original no-holds-barred Ultimate Fighting Championship (along with commentary from Ken Shamrock) which saw the emergence of Royce Gracie as the top fighter of his day and Gracie Jiu Jitsu as the pre-eminent fighting style.

How to Do Martial Arts

How to do Martial Arts

Currently the fighting arts are undergoing a resurgence in popularity owing to the success of the UFC and Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). There is much discussion over what is the 'best' style but with so much variation in approaches from different arts from around the world, such discussion tends to be redundant and a better question to ask is what style is best for you. Even then, the quality of instruction and the rapport you enjoy with your teacher will in all likelihood contribute more to your enjoyment and advancement that the particulars of the art you study.

Much of your practice will focus on repetition of basic techniques and forms - series of pre-arranged movements done in a strict sequence. Once your are comfortable with some basic techniques they may be applied against pads or punching bags to increase your power and speed. Your timing will be improved through sparring with training partners. Sparring in the early stages will be pre-arranged with participants agreeing to limit and control their techniques. Eventually you will build up to free sparring which allows you to exchange techniques with a partner in an unrehearsed (but safe and controlled) manner. Depending on the art you study, advanced students may also cover weapons practice.

Ultimately how you train will depend on the art you study and the approach taken by your instructor. Broadly speaking the arts can be divided in Western and Asian martial arts. The most popular Western arts are Boxing and Wrestling, both of which have become more popular with the rise in the study of MMA. The most popular Asian arts are Chinese (Kung Fu), Japanese (Karate and Judo) and Korean (TaeKwonDo) but you can find online guides to the history, philosophy and technique of many more diverse methods on this site.

Train Hard, Live Easy!

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Mind Over Muscle

Mind Over Muscle is a short book, easy to read and an excellent complement to Kodokan Judo which introduces a little of the philosophy of Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo. While Kodokan Judo details and examines the plethora of techniques found within the Kodokan syllabus Mind Over Muscle is a collection of writings that discuss the deeper aspects of the art that lie waiting to be discovered beyond technique.

In reading Mind Over Muscle I was blown away by Kano’s farsightedness, his motivation and his sense of public service. He was a figure of immense importance in the revitalization of Japanese bujutsu into modern budo, arguably the single most important figure if truth be told, and after reading this book you will gain a greater appreciation as to why he was so admired.

Mind Over Muscle begins with an explanation that it is an edited collection of Kano’s writing spanning 51 years of his life. There is some repetition of a central theme, but each repetition – made presumably at a different time in his life – conveys a slightly different message with each retelling and the book does not suffer from the re-examination of common themes; rather the different musings help the reader to gain a deeper grasp of the point being made.

The book has a 152 page count of which around 130 pages are from Jigoro Kano. There are three principal chapters – The Development of Judo, The Spirit of Judo and Judo Training – which are further split into subsections. The book carries no illustrations and readers interested in judo technique should refer to Kodokan Judo.

The Development of Judo

A Brief History of Judo

Kano begins by explaining that there were several names used to describe the art of fighting against an enemy with no weapon or with only a short weapon. Jujutsu was only one word among many that was in use towards the end of the nineteenth century. The precise origins of jujutsu, Kano reveals, are unknown. Some hold that one Chinese person or another introduced the art while others hold that it is a purely Japanese invention. Kano holds the latter opinion believing that claims to a Chinese influence were intended to convey – in the past – a sense of reliability and even superiority. He therefore concludes that jujutsu was a Japanese art created by and for Japanese whose reputation was enhanced by claims that it was of Chinese origin.

Originally jujutsu was intended to be practiced as a method of combat with certain schools emphasizing different techniques to achieve victory. As time passed – and no doubt influenced by the peacefulness of the Tokugawa era – combat efficiency became less important and the arts were studied for the sake of studying. The techniques themselves - knowledge of them and ability to execute them - took prime position rather than how effective they were. Kano was attracted to the various schools of jujutsu despite them having what he saw as weaknesses and he came to believe that with a few modifications jujutsu could become a comprehensive method of physical education, intellectual training and moral education. Therefore Kano devoted several years of his life to researching the different schools, keeping what he felt should be kept and discarding anything else.

From Jujutsu to Judo

As noted above there were many different words that could be substituted for jujutsu, and judo was itself one of them. Kano did not coin a new phrase – rather he redefined it (as we will see momentarily). Kano selected the name judo to make it clear that the emphasis of training was to be on the do (way) rather than just on technique or skill (jutsu). Another reason was to distance Kano’s art from the common public perception that jujutsu was dangerous; not only in execution but also in training. Kano explains in Mind Over Muscle that he did not want to formulate a violent or dangerous sport.

Although when literally translated judo means ‘soft way’ or, perhaps, ‘yielding way’, Kano used the name but offered a different (non-literal) meaning. Kano defined judo as using one’s mental and physical energy most effectively in order to achieve one’s goals no matter what the endeavor. In other words judo was about the study of efficiency and the application of efficiency to any undertaking, whether combative or not. I think this is an important point to understand and Mind Over Muscle returns to this key understanding several times. Kano is not dismissing strength as such (the application of which can be very confusing if one understands judo to be the ‘soft way’) but is arguing instead for the efficient use of one’s strength.

To teach his new art Kano introduced (or re-introduced) two methods of practice: kata (forms practice) and randori (free practice). Originally with only a few people training it was possible to teach both approaches to practice hand in hand, with the kata being less systematized, but as the numbers increased Kano found himself needing to codify what he was teaching and thus he began to formalize the kata. Most of the kata were completed by 1887 but as if revealed in Kodokan Judo Kano was still devising new kata as he aged and failed to finish one at the time of his death (The Itsutsu no kata as detailed below). The Dai Nihon Butokukai was also keen for standardized kata to exist and this premier organization exerted an influence also. Kano’s experiments in kata also saw the creation of the Itsutsu no Kata which marked a radical departure from the more normal attack – defense pattern seen up until then. This latter kata was less concerned about attack and defense and instead focused on expressing natural energy through movement. At the time of writing the article that appears in Mind Over Muscle Kano states that he only had three exchanges in the kata. This was expanded to five by the time of the publication of Kodokan Judo but the kata as a whole remained unfinished. To my eyes it resembles aikido more than conventional judo.

The Spirit of Judo

Seiryoku Zenyo - The Essence of Judo

Mind Over Muscle returns now to the subject of names and the origins of the term jujutsu. Kano suggests that the name is apparently derived from the expression ju yoku go o seisu, which can be translated as 'softness controls hardness'. However Kano is honest in stating that not everything can be explained using the theory of ju yoku go o seisu.

For example, when facing a stronger opponent if he rushes forward against you, the weaker of the two, and you try to resist head on, you will be overwhelmed. Better to evade and redirect the force while adding your own. This would be ju yoku go o seisu. On the other hand, if someone grabs your wrist with their thumb and forefinger and you resist by strengthening your wrist, you gain an advantage...but this is not ju yoku go o seisu. Therefore Kano prefers to see jujutsu as a method of defending against an attack, with ju yoku go o seisu being one theory among many and not all encompassing.

Interested but unsatisfied with the variety of theories underpinning the techniques of jujutsu Kano set about attempting to discover a universal principle. This he did, coming up with the phrase seiryoku saizen katsuyo or, as described in Mind Over Muscle, 'one's physical and mental energy must be used most effectively in order to achieve a certain goal'.

Kano saw this principle as being the most basic when considering a defense against an attack and the most basic in pursuit of any goal.

Judo and Physical Training

Continuing on from Kano's description of judo as being the effective use of one's mental and physical energy to achieve a goal, Mind Over Muscle notes that this is the fundamental principle and basis for all instruction.

In discussing the principle more closely related to physical education Kano notes that first your goal must be clear. With a clear goal, how to reach it also becomes clear. For example, if your goal is to attack his vital points you use atemi; if you desire to choke someone you use a choking technique, and so on.

As a result of this, when your goal is clear and with it your method of achieving that goal, you can next examine how to most efficiently use your energy. Therefore Kano has a different take on the value of physical education. He sees it as not simply a way to train the body and develop one's musculature or cardiovascular system. It is not about building muscles for the sake of building muscles (which Kano sees as taking too much time away from chances of personal development in other areas). Instead, it is about using physical education to research and express the deepest principle of judo.

While rejecting the idea of building muscles for its own sake, Kano also questions the true value of sport in Mind Over Muscle. Kano sees value in sports; they are interesting, competitive and young people are attracted to them. On the other hand, Kano argues that too much emphasis on winning can lead to athletes only working to develop those muscles specific to helping them gain victory while neglecting other parts of their body. A long distance runner has little use for upper body strength; a high jumper has no need for a well developed cardiovascular system. What Kano would like instead is a balanced approach to training.

What the master says next is - all these years later - truly astounding and insightful. He advises the development of a calisthenic program that incorporates training for defense against attack. Here is the forerunner of Taebo, Boxercise and so on. Kano wanted to see a method that exercised all body parts equally while also being martial in nature.

Judo and Intellectual Training

Kano starts this section of Mind Over Muscle with an interesting observation: people who have sound knowledge and people who have good judgment are not necessarily the same.

He continues, noting that 'in the acquisition of knowledge there is a difference depending on whether you emphasize basic knowledge that can be applied to anything, or emphasize practical, specific knowledge that is useful in actual terms'. This requires us to - once again - clarify our goals and then exercise our physical and mental energy in an efficient manner.

Again, even in the field of education, Kano returns to the essence of judo, a consistent theme in Mind Over Muscle.

Judo and Moral Education

Kano's intellect continues to dazzle in this section of Mind Over Muscle. He recognizes that morality must first develop out of knowledge; we must know intellectually what is good and what is evil, what is right and what is wrong. On the other hand, we also need to be in touch with our emotions (contacting both brain hemispheres in that case). We must be trained, according to Kano, to like doing what is right over what is wrong. This requires willpower and therefore training the will becomes a part of an effective approach to moral education. Kano also adds the need to cultivate the habit of doing the right thing.

Moral education needs to amalgamate these points and that requires the establishment of a clear goal and an efficient approach to fulfilling it.

Group Life and Judo

The next question Kano turns to in Mind Over Muscle is the problem of efficiently using one's physical and mental powers when two or more people form a group.

Kano's conclusion here is simple (in theory): Conflict is to mutual detriment just as harmony is to mutual gain.

Therefore if each member of a group helps others and acts selflessly the result will be a harmonious group. In this way the group is making the best use of the available energy and therefore maintaining the principle of judo.

Judo as Martial Art

It was interesting to me that Kano left the examination of judo as a fighting art to last. Kano explains that the reason for this is that judo began as a martial art, but with the establishment of the principle that it is really about putting one's physical and mental energy to work in the most effective manner, he recognized that this model could be applied to other endeavors such as physical education, intellectual education and so on.

Given the wide range of applications, Kano believed that the practice of judo in the dojo as a method of defense against attack, while being one aspect of training, is only a small part. Kano therefore sees judo as not simply a martial art, but rather as the guiding principle of human behavior. Judo, Kano concludes in Mind Over Muscle, does not exist merely in the dojo.

Judo and its Application to Everyday Life

Kano begins this section of Mind Over Muscle by asking the reader to consider the application of the principle of the efficient use of energy to life. He first calls into question the idea of diligence being good. While many would consider it so, Kano suggests that if we consider diligence to always be good then there can be no situation in which it is bad. However, if we are physically tired and continue to train (over-train) then the result can be sickness or injury. So in this case diligence is not such a good thing. Therefore we need to be careful in selecting what to be diligent about so as to avoid the wasteful expenditure of energy.

A good way to achieve this is to consider a particular situation first from the point of view of how to make the maximum efficient use of your physical and mental energy. Once determined, then set about in the diligent pursuit of your (clearly established) goal.

Kano reiterates an earlier point made in Mind Over Muscle: this principle - the real meaning of judo - can be discovered (and expressed) through the study of judo technique. But once understood, the principle can be expressed in any number of ways. Therefore Kano was apt to say to people jinsei no koro wa tada itsu aru nomi or 'There is only one path in life'; and this was the path of maximum efficiency.

Judo Training

The Three Aspects of Judo

Kano states in Mind Over Muscle that from the beginning of the Kodokan judo should be studied not only as a method of self-defense but as a way of training the body and cultivating the mind; in turn that trained body and cultivated mind must be put to good use. Therefore Kano identifies three aspects of judo training:

1) The study of attack and defense

2) The promotion of physical and mental well-being

3) The use of that higher energy to benefit society

Given that the purpose of judo is to ultimately benefit society, Kano recognizes that a good question may be: How is that purpose different from that of ordinary people and therefore what need is there to practice judo? Kano responds by saying that this is exactly the point; the purpose is no different to that of the ordinary person, and therein lies the value of judo.

What judo can offer however is a method to investigate the best method to contribute to society while also developing out ability to do so.

The Three Levels of Judo

Continuing on from the point made above, Kano states in Mind Over Muscle that judo can therefore be considered to have three levels: upper, middle and lower.

Lower level judo is training in defense against attack. Middle level judo is the cultivation of oneself and upper level judo is putting one's energy to use in society. Limiting your practice solely to the execution of defense against attacks, or even to the cultivation of yourself, is not therefore upper level judo. This uppermost level of judo has the widest application and requires the most creativity.

Strength as a Base

The idea of the upper level of judo being to benefit society is in stark contrast to the approach taken in the past by practitioners of jujutsu. Kano tells us in Mind Over Muscle that these men would practice to become strong without ever considering what they would do with their strength once it was developed. Kano warns that the same can be said of contemporary competition in Judo. Kano sees no real purpose in simply winning for the sake in winning; rather, how will the quest to win (whether in fact you do so or not) develop you as a person and allow you to contribute?

The Practice of Judo

The following notes are briefly covered by Kano in Kodokan Judo. Here he goes into more detail. He explains that rather than simply being a method of training in defense against attack, judo is designed to offer a far wider education. Kano concludes simply that 'spending years mastering judo simply for the purpose of repelling an attack is foolish'.

Improving Your Body Through Judo

Kano's philosophy here is simple: select waza that will exercise each part of your body equally and avoid over-training any one area.

Cultivation of Knowledge and Morals

Again, Kano's admonition in Mind Over Muscle is simple: Keep your mind open to opportunities to cultivate your knowledge and morals while practicing judo and you will find such opportunities. However, you must be mindful of this; it is not an inevitable outcome.

Effective Use of Mental and Physical Energy

Here again Kano returns to the central message of Mind Over Muscle: find the most efficient way to use your mental and physical energy in any endeavor. Kano recommends that those that practice judo measure their behavior by this principle on a daily basis and make corrections when appropriate. In this way you can make progress day by day.

Cultivation of Aesthetic Sentiments

Here Kano wants the judoka to take pleasure in the execution of their technique and that of others. Appreciate the beauty of your and others' movements.

The Development of the Intellect

After discussing the development of moral character through the study of judo Kano next turns to developing one`s intellect in Mind Over Muscle.

While studying judo Kano notes that observation is very important. Through observation the judoka is able to determine how and when to use certain waza in randori.

Another area of the intellect that is developed is memory. When you first begin there is an enormous amount of information to absorb and remember and this continues as more and more techniques are learned.

The next areas considered are imagination and experimentation. The process of gaining expertize in randori involves a great deal of consideration of strategy and this fires the imagination. The more ideas you have the greater is the chance that you will be able to develop an answer to an opponent. This by itself though is not enough. Once you have the inkling of a strategy it requires training and experimentation to figure out if it really works or not. This becomes almost like a scientific quest of discovery as one hypothesis after another is formulated and tested.

The fifth area Kano discusses is language. The effective teacher must develop his or her skill in explaining often difficult techniques to an audience that is new and unfamiliar to the subject. This can be extremely challenging and again requires the development of the intellect.

The last point considered in Mind Over Muscle is broad-mindedness. This is another striking point that undermines the idea that budo should be `stuck` at a certain point in history and never change thereafter. Kano says that it is important to be open to new ideas and to develop the ability to organize various kinds of ideas at the same time without mixing them up. Kano concludes simply that `if you stubbornly cling to your own ideas you cannot make progress`. Keep your mind open to new ideas, try them and then make your judgment.

The Relationship Between Oneself, Others and One`s Surroundings

Kano regards the application of mental training methods as being among the most interesting and beneficial aspects of judo training. He explains in Mind Over Muscle by way of example the teaching in competition that one must look at the relationship between oneself and others, and one`s surroundings. This relates to the importance of being aware of the dynamic interplay between those three variants.

Kano maintains that this concept is also important in politics, business and education. When you want to do a certain thing you must ascertain in detail the relationship between yourself and others and consider the associated advantages and disadvantages in advance; essentially carefully anticipate and consider the outcomes of things. Important teachings that Kano relates in Mind Over Muscle connected to his ideas here are saki o tore, or anticipate and look ahead; jukuryo danko, or the ability to act decisively after careful consideration and tomaru tokoro o shire, or knowing when to stop.

The Secrets of Judo and Their Uses

The `secret` of judo is simple: `If you win, do not boast of your victory; if you lose, do not be discouraged. When it is safe, do not become careless; when it is dangerous, do not fear - simply continue down the path ahead`.

The Samurai Spirit

Kano shares a very romantic view of the samurai spirit in Mind Over Muscle, believing that this spirit should be celebrated everyday as the warriors of old valued honor and integrity.

How to Benefit Society

Kano here encourages the adherent to live a simple, modest life, living within one`s means so that only a minimum amount of time and money is required to support yourself. Once this basic goal is reached, the next step is to acquire as much spare energy as possible to expend on bettering society. A better society will in turn mean a better life for you.

On the other hand, Kano warns, those who disregard society and live a selfish, self-centered life will be ultimately unsatisfied and spend what little energy they have complaining. Others will have little respect for them and they will come to be reviled.

Therefore students should not simply practice judo for the purpose of competition, but to become able to use it to attain a greater purpose in life. This isn`t to say victory should not be sought, but Kano points out in Mind Over Muscle that there is a big difference between training to be able to beat someone at a future time and becoming obsesses in one`s training with beating another right now. This may necessitate, for the time being, losing a series of matches as you improve your technique. Therefore, Kano states, you must `practice losing`.

Afterword by Naoki Murata

The afterword of Mind Over Muscle is also interesting. The writer notes that for Kano - an expert in education - judo was a means of education. The founder of judo believed that through the systematic study of jujutsu - taking what was good and rejecting what was bad - he would be able to establish a form of education through which exceptional individuals would be created.

Kano's vision for judo also swept across the oceans. Kano saw that Japan had learned much from foreign countries and owed a debt to world culture. He believed judo was one such way this debt could be repaid and for Japan to be seen as a cultural equal among the nations of the world. Furthermore, Kano trusted that as Japan helped to create an international society, Japan's national interest would be similarly served through mutual prosperity.

Another interesting point Kano made, though it isn't highlighted until the end of Mind Over Muscle, is his belief that the logic, or the underlying principle of judo, could be applied to all arts, such as kyujutsu (archery), kenjutsu (swordsmanship) and sojutsu (spearmanship) and that in this way all those arts could be called judo. For example, when the master archer pulls the string he is making the most efficient use of his mental and physical power. This is judo; and the same principal can be applied in every aspect of one's life. Life itself becomes judo. The theory of judo becomes the theory of life.

Conclusion

Mind Over Muscle is a great book and one to keep and reread. It gives tremendous insight into the way of thinking of Jigoro Kano, one of the driving forces behind the establishment of the Japanese martial ways in the early twentieth century, and arguably the greatest figure from that period. It is easy to see why Master Gichin Funakoshi (the founder of Shotokan karate), for example, was so impressed and influenced by Kano. Kano developed a philosophy of life, a philosophy of everything even, and devised a method (judo) through which that philosophy could be easier understood and initially expressed. There are traces here of Yamaoka Tesshu's ideas on the unification of particular and universal across a broad spectrum of arenas but Kano does a much better job of making such a theory more accessible and more easily understood. Easily one of the best books on martial arts around today.

Return to the top of Mind Over Muscle.

Judo

Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, was born on October 28 1860 in Mikage, Hyogo Prefecture (now part of Kobe City) in the vicinity of Osaka. Possessed of immense self confidence and ability, the young Kano set his heart on studying Ju Jutsu and, after several attempts to begin his studies, he finally found Hachinosuke Fuchida, a teacher of the Tenshin Shin’yo Ryu. He continued his practice under a variety of masters but became somewhat frustrated when he discovered that each ryu (tradition or school), and indeed each master within a ryu, had his own style. Kano found himself confused by the different approaches and began his search for principles that united the different forms. After several years of training and investigation he sponsored the principle that the best techniques were those that made the most efficient use of one’s physical and mental energy. Basing his selection of techniques on this notion, he discarded many of the traditional movements of Ju Jutsu and instead replaced them with innovative ones that best represented his guiding theory. This new collection of techniques came to be known as Judo to distinguish it effectively from Ju jutsu. This style was taught at the Kodokan, the first and main dojo of Judo, which was established in 1882; Kano, a recent Tokyo University graduate, being a mere 22 years of age.

Though active, and well known in the field of martial arts (for example, in May 1879 he was part of a group that performed a martial arts demonstration for the former American president, U.S. Grant), the life of Jigoro Kano extended far beyond his creation of his art. He was an educator and spent much of adulthood in the field of education, even making a field trip to Europe in 1889 to study educational institutions. In 1909 he became the first Japanese member of the International Olympic Committee. His achievements and tireless energy were rewarded in 1922 when he was elected to the House of Peers*. Later, in 1938, on the brink of a European war, he pushed for Tokyo to be the site of the twelfth Olympic games. Kano died at sea while returning from the conference of the Olympic Committee where he had made this proposal.

Kano saw his art as providing different forms of training that included, but went beyond, the purely physical. The first type of training undertaken was in kata, the traditional method of learning an art form in Japan. The student repeats a series of pre-established techniques against a willing partner in order to perfect his technique and grasp the deeper principles of the art. The second method of development was through randori, or free practice, reminiscent of a Judo match, but done as practice with no points scored or recorded. Randori is essentially practice for tournament fighting and has today become the focus of much Judo training. That said, Kano saw both these physical training methods as being linked to the training of the mind. He particularly believed that randori taught the trainee, among other things, to search for weakness, to become earnest in their pursuit of the art, and to investigate the mind-body link in themselves and in their opponent. Kano further held, like other Japanese masters, that training in Judo would benefit an individual’s ethics. Here he meant that people would become calm, confident, happy and content. Kano was also keen to point out that Judo is an art form: the beauty of the techniques are themselves a reward. Finally, Kano stressed that the lessons learned in combat were not just for the dojo (training hall) but should be applied to the world at large, the most important of which is perhaps the admonition that we should be both humble and alert in victory.

Judo is often translated as ‘the way of gentleness’ or ‘the way of softness’, though witnessing a competition reveals it to be anything but. Rather the title describes the approach taken by a practitioner to effect his techniques. Rather than oppose force with force, the practitioner uses the strength of his opponent against him. Momentum generated by the attacker is absorbed, redirected and augmented as leverage is applied. In this manner an opponent may loose his balance while the judo ka maintains his. Kano himself saw Judo as being the ‘most efficient use of energy’.

Training today consists of exercises designed to strengthen and stretch the body, rigorous practice of break falls (which also serves as a warm up), practice of individual techniques, and finally randori. Kata tends not to be practiced nowadays.

In combat, the master of Judo seeks to close with his opponent and throw him forcefully to the ground. Follow-up techniques include pinning or strangling an opponent. While part of the original syllabus, today’s art tends not to focus on strikes to weak body points, except for the highest level practitioners.

* The Japanese Diet was made up of two houses, a House of Peers and a House of Representatives. The House of Peers was made up nobles and imperial family members appointed by the emperor. The House of Representatives on the other hand was composed of publicly elected members. Either house could call for the introduction of bills.

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