- NEWS & EVENTS
- Judo's and BJJ': History and Evolution
- Academy Closed for Thanksgiving - The Family Martial Arts Academy will be closed Thursday November 25th.
- New Leadership Students - Congratulations to all our new Leadership students. It is great to see so many students set their sites on Black Belt and Beyond.
Aidan Grubb
Easton & Kaylee Christine
Deagan & Dash Katz
David Hamilton
Alex Shaffer
Way to go!
Kodokan Judo's and BJJ's History and Evolution
Kodokan Judo was founded by Mitsuyu Maeda. Maeda was one of five of Judo's top groundwork experts that Judo's founder Kano Jigoro sent overseas to demonstrate and spread his art to the world. In 1904 Maeda visited a number of countries giving "jiu-do" demonstrations and accepting challenges from boxers, wrestlers, and other martial artists before arriving to Brazil in November 1914.
Jiu-jitsu is a Do or way of life. Since its inception in 1882, its parent art of judo was separated from older systems of Japanese jujutsu by an important difference that was passed on to BJJ: it is a method for promoting physical fitness, building virtue, and, ultimately, a way of life.
These quotes from Kano Jigoro give you a feeling for the idea of Judo as a way to develop character and virtue.
"Judo is the way of the highest or most efficient use of both physical and mental energy. Through training in the attack and defence techniques of judo, the practitioner nurtures their physical and mental strength, and gradually embodies the essence of the Way of Judo. Thus, the ultimate objective of Judo discipline is to be utilized as a means to self-perfection, and thenceforth to make a positive contribution to society."
"Since the very beginning, I had been categorizing Judo into three parts, rentai-ho, shobu-ho, and shushin-ho. Rentai-ho refers to Judo as a physical exercise, while shobu-ho is Judo as a martial art. Shushin-ho is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue as well as the study and application of the principles of Judo in our daily lives. I therefore anticipated that practitioners would develop their bodies in an ideal manner, to be outstanding in matches, and also to improve their wisdom and virtue and make the spirit of Judo live in their daily lives. If we consider Judo first as a physical exercise, we should remember that our bodies should not be stiff, but free, quick and strong. We should be able to move properly in response to our opponent's unexpected attacks. We should also not forget to make full use of every opportunity during our practice to improve our wisdom and virtue. These are the ideal principles of my Judo."
"Don't think about what to do after you become strong -- I have repeatedly stressed that the ultimate goal of Judo is to perfect the self, and to make a contribution to society. In the old days, Jūjutsu practitioners focused their efforts on becoming strong, and did not give too much consideration to how they could put that strength to use. Similarly, Judo practitioners of today do not make sufficient efforts to understand the ultimate objective of Judo. Too much emphasis is placed on the process rather than the objective, and many only desire to become strong and be able to defeat their opponents. Of course, I am not negating the importance of wanting to become strong or skilled. However, it must be remembered that this is just part of the process for a greater objective... The worth of all people is dependent on how they spend their life making contributions."
Maeda first trained sumo, and after the interest generated by stories about the success of judo at contests between judo and jujutsu that were occurring at the time, he went from sumo to judo, becoming a student of Kano's Kodokan judo. He was promoted to 7th dan in Kodokan judo the day before he died in 1941.
In 1914, Maeda was given the opportunity to travel to Brazil as part of a large Japanese immigration colony. In Brazil, in the northern state of Para, he befriended Gastão Gracie who helped Maeda get established. To show his gratitude, Maeda offered to teach traditional Japanese Jiu-Jitsu to Gastão's oldest son, Carlos Gracie. Carlos learned for a few years and eventually passed his knowledge to his brothers.
At age fourteen, Helio Gracie, the youngest of the brothers moved in with his older brothers who lived and taught Jiu-Jitsu in a house in Botafogo. Following doctor’s recommendations, Helio would spend the next few years limited to only watching his brothers teach as he was naturally frail.
One day, when Helio Gracie was 16 years old, a student showed up for class when Carlos was not around. Helio, who had memorized all the techniques from watching his brothers teach, offered to start the class. When the class was over, Carlos showed up and apologized for his delay. The student asked for Helio to continue being his instructor, Helio Gracie then gradually developed Gracie Jiu Jitsu as an adaptation from Judo as he was unable to do many Judo moves. Helio now holds the rank of 6th Dan in Judo.
I find it interesting that these life long masters who are truly one out of ten thousand Judo practicianers hold ranks of 7th and 6th degree black belts. Many instructors in our humble town of Cleveland there seem to be 7th, 8th, 9th, and yes 10th degree black belts! Different systems have different ranking but these ranks for me indicate a truly unique level of dedication, skill, and virtue.
===========================================================
Not a Family Martial Arts Member Yet?
***************************************************************************
No comments:
Post a Comment