About 25 years ago I wrote an article about how Judo was
started I have been asked to reproduce the article sorry to say I have lost the
original so I will start again.
My main concern was the age of Jigaro Kano started this new concept of Judo.
According to http://www.judo-ch.jp/english/kanou_life/profile/index02.shtml
Kano never started any form of Martial Art till he was 18 years of age at the
age of 22 years he started his new School and style called Judo. Now this where
I have a problem I have taught young people for over 40 years some of them extremely
intelligent but for them to come up with a completely unique idea take some
believing. So am I calling the follows of Kano Judo liars NO I just question
was it a completely new concept.
Once again the above web site above states that at the age
of 14 years he started to pursue Western Studies Geoff Gleeson in his pamphlet
“The Life, Times & Ideology of Jigaro Kano, Founder of Judo 1860-1938”
quoted “What is a code of behaviour?
Kano , in his capacity as a professional educationalist was much involved with
these questions. He invented Judo in an attempt to answer them.
During the Meiji period which Kano was born into, the whole
structure of Government and civil society was around Western ideals and philosophy
and according to Gleeson, Kano would have very influenced by English Philosophers
like John Stuart Mill and Samuel Smiles.
Could a young Kano who was into Morality and codes of
behaviour not try to develop a practical system of instilling this into the
Japanese people or maybe it was a university project, which directed him this
way? Once again by going back to the web site you will how Kano benefited by
studying Martial Arts and other sports also his full time job was in physical
education. So he already knew the
benefits of sport and as Gleeson suggested he invented Judo because of this
Up until now I do not have a problem with history or rather
the legend of Jigaro Kano what I do question how he supposedly invented Judo?
The established belief is that he studied Jiu Jitsu and took all the really
dangerous techniques out of the art to invent his Judo. This I cannot accept for
we already have seen he was into the philosophy of English philosophers, which
were diametrically opposed to that of the more traditional Japanese Martial
Arts like Jiu Jitsu which was seen more as a self defence or attacking war like
system.
I would suggest he wanted to develop a new moral and ethical
system on the lines of the philosophers and western ideas he studied, he must
have realised that to get this to be accepted by the Japanese people he had to
produce a system which the Japanese could understand hence a Combat Form. As
opposed to a Western form like Baseball, Football, Rugby etc.which are accepted
in modern Japan I have doubts whether that type of sport would be accepted by a
still feudal Japanese population plus did they understand the English idea of
“Playing the Game” or “Taking Part being important” I doubt it.
This where I suggest that the basic idea of Judo could have
come from CORNISH WRESTLING. It is mentioned earlier Japan was in a state of
flux at this period when Kano was born the influence of the Europeans was
predominant and the there was massive trade with the European Countries. So
could a young Jigaro Kano not been watching the foreign ships come into port,
could he not have seen a British Ship coming in from Plymouth and then watched
the sailors fighting on the beach? Fighting yet not fighting? Maybe he was
watching 2 Cornish Sailors having a bout of Cornish Wrestling, two men with cloth
jackets grappling with each trying to defeat the other, yet when the fight
finished they shook hand maybe put their arms around each other and laughed.
Two combatants who were not injured and remained friends. Maybe he thought this
is something I can work on for my new concepts I want to put to the Japanese
people.
So what of Cornish Wrestling it is claimed they have
evidence that it was played in the 4th Century what is certain that
Cornish Wrestlers were depicted on banners at the Battle of Agincourt in 1415
AD. Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18178309
this will give you some idea what Cornish Wrestling is, some say it is the
oldest form of Wrestling in the World
This type of Wrestling is not unusual through out the World
there are many countries who have similar styles for example in Mongolia Bokh,
Georgian Chidoba, Uzbekistani Kurash, Celtic Wrestling, Canaries Lucha plus
many others. Nearly all only allow holding above the waste and no ground work
when competing, notice the use of the word competing.
When Judo first started ground fighting was not used and
legend has it that Kano took his Judo Players to Jiu Jitsu School and they were
all beaten by ground fighting he then decided to include groundwork (Ne Waza) in his Judo a nice story. Yet it
was more probable that it was a natural progression of the way Judo developed,
Kano obviously an intelligent man could see that on many occasions when doing a
throw they would fall to the floor so why stop the match. Plus remember he
still had to convince people that this was a fighting art.
I really love Sambo a Russian Jacket Sport very similar to
Judo in fact it founder Oshchepkov studied Judo under Kano, the reason I love
competition Sambo is that it allows many more techniques then Judo Competition
in fact I would suggest it is more to what Kano expected of his Judo
Yet Judo is more superior to all the other Grappling,
Martial Arts in that it has Kata. This is a predetermined set of movements
which is performed by two people with ultimate goal of gaining perfection,
harmony of working with another person and respecting another person with the
ultimate aim of becoming a form of moving meditation. Some will argue that it
has no relationship to competitive Judo that may be true but does that
matter? That what makes Judo so
different it is not just a Jacket Grappling Sport it is the SUPPLE WAY
developed by a great thinker Jigaro Kano
It is reported that Kano quoted the following “Judo
in reality is not a mere sport or game. I regard it as a principle of life,
art, and science. In fact, it is a means for personal cultural attainment”
Not a bad way to live
your life
Martin Clarke 8th Dan Judo 6th Dan Jiu
Jitsu FIAS Sambo Grand Master
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