Judo
Judo is without question the world's most popular
combative sport. It is practiced in almost every nation on
earth. The sport we know as Judo was 'founded'
approximately 1882, and was developed by Japanese
educator Jigoro Kano (1860-1938).
Kano first started pursuing jujitsu , at the
age of 17, when he gained a referral to study under
Hachinosuke Fukuda, a master of the Tenjin-Shinyo ryu
(school) of jujitsu. Little more than a year after Kano joined
Fukuda's school, Fukuda took ill and died. Kano then
became a student in another Tenjin-Shinyo jujitsu school,
that of Masatomo Iso.
[ Side Note: Ryu is the Japanese word for a school, style, or
method of training in martial arts.]
Iso was impressed by Kano's dedication and Kano became
assistant instructor to Iso at the age of 21. Iso, too, took ill,
and Kano, feeling that he still had much to learn, took up
another style, becoming a student of Tsunetoshi Iikubo of
Kito ryu jujitsu. Kito ryu emphasized throwing techniques to a
much greater degree than Tenjin-Shinyo ryu, which
fascinated Kano, and his interest grew further.
Soon, Kano was devising new techniques by combining
what he had learned from both styles. His thoughts were
already on doing more than combining the canons of Kito
and Tenjin-Shinyo ryu. With all the different forms of martial
arts, Kano saw jujitsu as a disconnected bag of tricks, and
as an educator, believed it needed a systematic approach to
learning. Full of new ideas, in part as a result of his
experience in education, Kano had in mind a major
reformation of jujitsu, with techniques based on sound
scientific principles .
Kano explains, "This led me to look for an underlying principle
in jujitsu, one that applied when one hit an opponent, as well as
when one threw him."
He found this principle in the notion of " maximum
efficiency ". His idea was to focus on development of the
body, mind, and character of young men in addition to
development of martial prowess. Jujitsu techniques which
relied solely on superior strength were discarded or adapted
in favor of those which involved redirecting the opponent's
force, off balancing the opponent, or making use of superior
leverage.
A Break from the Past
Kano changed the name of this methodological
synthesis to Judo , the way (do ) of suppleness or
gentleness (ju ), and founded his school called the
Kodokan . Judo takes from jujitsu, the art of suppleness
(or "gentle art"), the principle of using the opponent's
strength and movement against him.
P>The primary training methods of Judo are (1) kata ,
which was a main attribute Kano took from Kito ryu, and
(2) randori , the standard training method of Tenjin-
Shinyo ryu.
Kata , which means "form," is a system of prearranged
movements that teach the fundamentals of attack and
defense. In addition to throwing and holding (also practiced
in randori), it originally included hitting, kicking, stabbing,
slashing and a number of other weapons techniques. These
latter occur only in kata because it is only in kata that the
movements are prearranged and each partner knows what
the other will do, reducing the risk of injury. It is used for
learning and practicing a specific move or technique.
Randori means "free practice", or "freestyle exercise".
Partners pair off and vie with each other as they would in an
actual match . They may throw, pin, choke and apply joint
locks, but they may not hit, kick or employ other techniques
appropriate only to actual combat. The main conditions in
randori are that participants take care not to injure each
other and that they follow judo etiquette. Randori might be
considered the Judo version of sparring.
Kano's Contributions to Japanese Martial Arts
Jujitsu training had always been seen as nothing more than
a way of passing along the knowledge of unarmed combat
skills. Kano saw judo is a mental and physical discipline
whose lessons are readily applicable to the management of
our daily affairs. The fundamental principle of judo, one that
governs all the techniques of attack and defense, is that
whatever the objective, it is best attained by the maximum-
efficient use of mind and body for that purpose. The same
principle applied to our everyday activities leads to the
highest and most rational life.
Whether he succeeded in truly injecting an element of
character or morality (do ) into the ancient martial arts is a
question that can be answered only by studying the
techniques of judo as they are taught by the modern
teachers of the Kodokan today, and observing the effects of
their continual practice upon the personality and character
of the judo student.
Master Kano's systematic approach, clear classifications of
techniques, and making it a program designed for physical
conditioning as well as knowledge, sparked a virtual
"overnight" renewal of the interest in Japanese martial arts.
By the early 1900's, most of the old schools of jujitsu had
been forced to take note of the popularity of the "Kodokan"
and most began to adopt Kano's methods, if not his
techniques, as well.
Unfortunately, change is inevitable. With its heavy emphasis
on physical conditioning and competition, it soon began to
lose connection with its combat origins, and started to focus
only on the sporting aspect. Much of Kano's curriculum of
techniques, especially those disallowed in randori (striking,
weapons, etc.) were virtually forgotten, or in fact, kept
secret , and only taught to the very highest ranks, if they are
taught at all. This specialization , and single-minded focus
has turned Judo into a sport that no longer holds any real
viability as a Combat Art .
Aikido
Aikido was developed by Morihei Uyeshiba (Ueshiba
1883-1969), starting around 1925. Uyeshiba was interested
in the martial arts even as a child. He studied and mastered
several different forms of martial arts including jujitsu , as
well as sword and stick-fighting. Despite his achievement in
these arts he felt that something essential was lacking. Just
as with Kano, the martial arts represented a way of life to
Uyeshiba rather than merely a means of combat, and
therefore they required a meaningful philosophy. However,
Uyeshiba took his concepts in a totally different direction
than Kano.
Uyeshiba believed he had discovered a spiritual potential of
the martial arts. He believed that the basic principles of the
universe are harmony and love and that these can be
attained through the martial arts. Yes, it sounds a bit kooky,
but it is firmly rooted in the Eastern philosophy based on the
theory of opposites, "in " and "yo " (better known as the
Chinese "yin/yang " principle). Because of his desire to
further the development of the human potential, truly
balanced in a perpetual condition of harmony, Uyeshiba
adapted the jujitsu techniques in his effort to devise flexible
tactics which would make his goals realizable.
Uyeshiba developed his system mainly from the Daito ryu
concept of aikijutsu . Daito ryu is a school of jujitsu with a
heavy emphasis on weapon attacks, and as a result,
comparable techniques for weapon disarms. Daito ryu
described its particular style of jujitsu as aikijutsu , the
technique (jutsu ) of harmonized (ai ) spirit (ki ). As did Kano,
Uyeshiba also modified the concept of "jutsu", producing a
new method which he called aiki do , the "way (do ) of
harmony" or "philosophy of coordination."
Concepts of Aikido
Aikido, as it has been developed by Uyeshiba, does not have
as its primary goal the defeat and injury of one's opponent.
Rather it is designed to remove the idea of aggression from
the antagonist's mind by yielding to his force in such a way
that he hurts only himself with his aggressiveness. In other
words, step out of the way and let him fall on his head!
Aikido techniques employ circular rather than linear
movements, with the defender moving out of the line of
attack and then using his opponent's own momentum to
overcome him. The defender does not attempt to block his
opponent's blows or in any way to clash with his opponent's
force. Instead, he "leads" his opponent's power and mind.
Thus, it is essential for the student to learn to sense the
direction of his attacker's power in order first to avoid it and
then to use it. Of course, this is also the basic principle of
Ju as practiced in judo and jujitsu.
There is no contest of force in Aikido, nor does Aikido
employ striking or bone-breaking techniques. As with all
jujitsu based systems, it is always practiced with a partner,
one giving, one receiving. Some schools of aikido do no
weapons training at all; others usually spend substantial
time with bokken/bokuto (wooden sword), jo (staff), and
tanto (knife). In some lines of aikido, all techniques can be
performed with a sword as well as unarmed, just as Daito
ryu jujitsu was practiced.
Theory vs. Reality
The superior type of harmony Uyeshiba envisioned is
virtually impossible for the average person to even
comprehend, much less attain. The aikido techniques
devised for combat purposes alone, although sophisticated,
were intrinsically limited because of their very specialization.
Unless one's opponent is willing to ascribe to the same
tenets of Love and Harmony , it is doubtful these techniques
will have any practical Combat application except for the
most experienced practitioner.
[ Side Note: If you want to learn about traditional Japanese
martial arts that continue to be practiced for realistic
Combat and Self Defense applications, click on this link, or
the "Black Belt" button at the top of this page. Or, click on
this link to Essential Self Defense, or the "Self Defense"
button . You may also want to check out Kenpo, a tradition
Japanese martial art similar to jujitsu, by clicking on this
link .]
Whether Uyeshiba succeeded in moralizing the ancient
methods and techniques of combat inherited from jujitsu is
a question whose answer depends in large measure upon
how his art is taught and practiced, and thus upon the
effects discernible in the character of advanced students
and teachers.
Whereas Judo was meant to be a combat art, only later to
evolve into a sport, Aikido was designed from the beginning
to be something other than just a system of fighting.
Uyeshiba's interest was in creating a ' spiritual ' experience or
exercise. While the concept of Love, Harmony, and "don't
injure anyone ", is a wonderful ideal, it simply doesn't work
on the battlefield. Uyeshiba knew that, and was comfortable
with it. His vision was directed more toward a system that
could be used against the back-alley criminal (basic self
defense) rather than for clashing armies. That is why he
changed the name to Aikido, from aikijutsu.
