The Four Pillars Of Judo
By Victor Anderson
Sandan, Sacramento Judo Club
Several years ago when I was in Korea, my sensei
had a simple question on one of his promotion examinations.
That question was, "What do you think about judo?"
I dashed off some platitudes about maximum efficiency,
improving the character and so forth. Good enough
to pass. Lately, that question has come to haunt me
more and more. There are some who say Judo is a way
of life, others talk about sport, and still others
argue about martial arts.
To
begin with, we should look to what Dr. Kano, the founder
of judo said. Kudo sensei in his book, Dynamic Judo,
quotes Dr. Kano as saying:
"Judo is the way to the most effective use of
both physical and spiritual strength. By training
you in attacks and defenses it refines your body and
your soul and helps you make the spiritual essence
of judo a part of your very being. In this way you
are able to perfect yourself and contribute something
of value to the world. This is final goal of judo
discipline."
No words about sport here. In the second edition
of the Kodokan Judo, Dr. Kano devotes a brief chapter
to the philosophy of Judo. Here, Dr. Kano does talk
about sport and its role in character development.
He also talks about the use of physical education
in training the body and the mind. Dr. Kano speaks
of the use of kata as a training tool.
The two great ideas of Kodokan Judo are maximum efficiency
and mutual welfare and respect. If one studies the
main source book of Judo, Kodokan Judo, one comes
to realize that this is an art that involves physical
education, sport, and unarmed combat (self defense).
I believe that the Judo fields of study are best shown
by the following diagram.
All of the areas of study overlap. Physical education,
that is the training of the mind and body, will have
a bearing on both sport and combative studies. The
human body moves because of muscular action which
is the result of mental effort. You think about walking
across the room and then walk across the room. The
mind leads, the body follows, and all of the wonderful
mechanics of walking occur. Without training in the
skills needed, the body and mind cannot perform the
necessary tactical and strategic movements needed
for both sport and unarmed combat.
The relationship between sport and unarmed combat
is not easily seen at first. Combat sports evolved
out of the need for warriors to train in a competitive
manner. One could simply engage in full fledged fights.
The problem of course is the attendant injury rate
and loss of life. So, drills and games were invented
to provide a way for warriors to practice needed skills
with reasonable safety. What defines reasonable safety
varies with cultures and historical periods. A good
example of a combat sport is the joust. The joust
was invented by European knights as a game to train
in the use of lance. The game evolved to the point
to where special armor, saddles, lances, and of course
complex rules came into existence. However, many of
the core values of using a lance on horseback in combat
are trained by the joust. Combat sports all train
certain core values that are important to the type
of combat from which the sport evolved. Target shooting
with a pistol from a fixed stance is often seen as
very distant from the use of a pistol in combat. However,
the ability to hit the target is an important core
value for combat shooting.
In sport judo the techniques are confined to throwing
(nage waza), locking the elbow joint (kansetsu waza),
chokes (shime waza), and hold downs (osaekomi waza).
Contest techniques are further restricted to those
that will not result in severe injury, provided the
competitor is trained in falling techniques (ukemi).
What then is the relationship of sport judo to judo
as unarmed combat? In my opinion, the most important
relationship is
that judo matches are conflicts between two human
beings. You must attempt to use your techniques against
an adversary. In judo tournament, techniques are judged
on effectiveness. To win by throwing, you must actually
throw. It is extremely easy to throw a willing subject.
It is an entirely different thing when the opponent
is fighting back. Another issue is the simple fact
that judo as a sport is rough. It is a full contact
sport. You will be bruised, have your joints twisted,
endure minor sprains, heat, exhaustion, and just general
discomfort. In the small, tight world of the judo
competitor your opponent is very close, at arms length
or less. In this tiny universe you must learn to deal
with fear, failure, pain, hardship and the joy of
success. This type of training prepares you for what
the U.S. military calls the "shock of combat."
In other words what happens when someone hits you
on your nose and the pain and bleeding start. Next,
the ability to fall well is extremely valuable. In
any fight one is subject to falls due to any number
circumstances. For example, your opponent may throw
or knock you down, or you may slip and fall due to
conditions such as mud or ice. Being able to maintain
your mental equilibrium even while falling and after
is important. So sport judo provides some very core
values in addition to building skill in grappling
techniques.
Unarmed
combat (what many label as self defense) is different
from sport. In a sense this is the actual battlefield
application of techniques. It is important to remember
that unarmed combat has a wide range of applications.
The goals and needs of the civilian are different
from the policeman which are in turn different from
the soldier. Unarmed combat techniques within Kodokan
Judo are found in the various kata. The kime no kata
and Goshin jitsu kata are the two main examples. Training
for self defense, police work, or any other application
of unarmed combat is generally done in the form of
katas. Katas are of two types. Generally when kata
is spoken about, the reference is to formal exercises
that are prescribed by those in authority. In the
case of Judo, this is generally considered to be the
Kodokan. One may also have informal drills which are
used to train specific skills. Because the techniques
used in unarmed combat may result in serve injury,
kata is used as the training vehicle.
What is interesting about judo kata, is that they
are intended to teach principles as opposed to just
technique. These principles are often applicable to
sport as well as unarmed combat. The student of judo
who desires to know more about unarmed combat needs
to study the kata. The student also needs to realize
that ideas and techniques are useful in both areas.
An important difference is to recognize that sport
judo rules have a rationale. First, the rules exist
to provide a relatively safe means of competition.
Second, the rules provide a means of defining the
winner of the contest. Finally, the rules describe
boundary conditions such as the contest area, and
actions that are or are not allowed. The customs surrounding
judo contests are designed to make it clear that it
is sporting event and not a common street fight. For
self defense, the judoka (judo student) should train
to use all of the techniques available which includes
atemi waza (striking the weak points of body).
If all judo did was to train in the three areas above,
it would not be much different from many other schools
of martial art. What defines judo and makes it different
is its philosophical base. First and foremost judo
is an educational system. It is my opinion that Dr.
Kano invented the belt ranking system ( kyu - dan
ranks) as a means of grading judoka in terms of judo
education. Like grade levels in college or other schools,
this gave students a set of goals to strive for. It
also provided a means of gauging progress. Judo is
about the perfection of character. This is a process.
The two great ideas of judo are maximum efficiency,
and mutual welfare and respect. The first speaks to
the concept of utilizing the body and mind in the
most efficient manner. Within judo culture, the idea
of ju is assumed to be the underpinning of maximum
efficiency. But what is "ju?" It is a hard
word to pin down. It has been interpreted as meaning
gentleness and also flexible or pliable. I believe
the idea is much more than a single word. The concept
has to do with being able to blend with your opponent's
force, take control of it, and then use that force
to achieve your goal. The classic example is using
the opponent's push and turning into a throw in the
direction of the push. The other part of maximum efficiency
is the idea of the correct use of strength. I like
to tell beginning students that judo is not about
strength, it is about the correct use of strength.
Inherent in this is the concept of concentration of
force against a weak point. Tilt someone's head back
until he is off balance to the rear. Now push sharply
down and slightly behind the person's feet. If done
correctly, he will fall to the ground.
The concept of mutual welfare and respect turns judo
from a mere sport or even combat school into something
quite different. It begins with the concept of reigi
or courtesy and bowing. The bow (rei) in judo has
many functions. First and foremost is the idea of
mutual respect. By bowing the student says to the
teacher, "I respect you and will follow your
instructions to the best of my ability." The
teacher's bow means that the teacher respects the
student and will teach to the best of teacher's ability.
Between students, the bow signifies mutual respect
and a desire to train each other. In judo tournaments
today one still sees and hears judoka giving each
other help. Many times I have seen the winner of a
contest go to his opponent after the match and congratulate
him or her on a well fought contest, and then offer
some advice on how to improve. Within the school students
strive and work together to improve. This idea of
progressing as a group is important in judo. Judoka
are taught that if one student improves, then all
improve.
So just what is judo? Judo can be practiced with
an emphasis on any one of the three physical areas:
sport, physical education, and unarmed combat. While
the judoka may choose one area in preference to the
others, he or she should learn about all three. The
philosophy of judo and in particular the goal of self
perfection makes judo the unique art that it is. Without
these ideals, judo is at best an interesting sport
and possibly a means of unarmed combat. I think of
judo as a martial art. Because of the philosophical
ideals judo is something more.
Viewing judo as an educational system founded on
the ideas of self perfection, maximum efficiency,
mutual welfare and benefit changes it. What we have
is a martial philosophy or way of life (do). It is
marital because the base techniques have to do with
fighting. The major training method ("the giving
and receiving of attacks") is martial in nature.
It is on the anvil of rondori (free exercise), shiai
(contests), kata (forms), and the general training
that the judoka forges his or her character. These
are martial exercises and result in a "warrior"
point of view. The philosophy (do) takes the martial
values and focuses them so that as Dr. Kano said,
"In this way you are able to perfect yourself
and contribute something of value to the world. This
is final goal of judo discipline."
About The Author:
Victor Anderson is a martial arts researcher who
has praticed judo since 1960. He has studied in California,
Korea, Texas, Panama, Virginia and is currently a
third degree black belt and member of the Sacramento
Judo Club. He is a nationally rated judo referee and
coach and as competitor has placed 2nd and 3rd in
USJI Masters National Tournaments. His study of judo
is to approach it as a martial art, that can be practiced
as a sport. He also studies striking of vital areas
(atemi waza) as part of judo self-defense. Other arts
he has studied include Hopkido (shodan), aikido, shudokan
karate, boxing, wrestling, tai chi chaun and pa kua
chaun.
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