History of Judo

Kodokan Judo is the name of a school of jujitsu that was formed in 1881 by Dr. Jigoro Kano. Jujitsu is what the Japanese call their empty handed martial arts. The ju in jujitsu means flexible, pliable or gentle and jitsu means art.

The history of jujitsu goes back over a thousand years. There are references in early literature to empty handed fighting called chikara kurabe, that occured several hundred years b.c..

The Japanese Samurai were most famous for the skill that they developed with the sword. In addition to the sword the samurai developed skill with empty hands, staff, knife, bow and arrow, spear, halberd, chain and weight, and other weapons.

From what historians can tell, jujitsu didn't become a distinct school of martial arts until about 1600. Primarily, jujitsu employs empty handed techniques for subduing an opponent. The empty handed techniques consist of kicking and punching, called atemi; throwing techniques, called nage waza, holding or restraining techniques, called osae waza; joint locks, called kansetsu waza and strangles and chokes, called shime waza. In addition some schools also include weapons training. The primary weapons of the jujitsuka, or practioner of jujitsu, are the sword, called ken; 4' staff, called jo; the knife, called tanto; and methods of binding with rope, called hojo jutsu. In addition the old jujitsu schools trained their students in methods of herbs and massage for healing. Little surprise that the early jujitsu masters were also the doctors of the community and were know for their ability to set broken bones and reduce dislocated joints.

In the middle 1800s Japan embarked on a major renovation of their society. They opened up their borders and started to import Western manufactured goods and culture. The culture shift from East to West created great chaos. The Samurai class was disenfranchised. Martial arts schools fought amoungst themselves and fell in disrepute.

About that time a young man, Jigoro Kano, started studying the Japanese martial arts. Apparently he was quite a natural and picked up the principles quickly, mastering several styles of before he was 21 years old.

Kano must have been quite brilliant. At an early age he became a professor at the Tokyo Higher Normal School, essentially the highest and best school in Japan. This gave him unique standing to influence the education system of Japan.

Dr. Kano felt that there was a very special essence in the martial arts that needed to be preserved and so in 1882 he and several like minded friends formed a school of jujitsu that they called the Kodokan Judo or just judo for short. Kano's dojo or gymnasium was open to everyone and soon there were programs for women and kids. Kano believed that weakness could be overcome with continued practice of sensible exercise. His dojo prospered and his reputation grew.

To Kano judo was social education. Kano created three mottos for judo: jita kyo ei - you and me shining together, sei ryoku zen yo -- virtuous use of power, and jiko no kansai - perfect yourself.

The following expanation of the mottos of judo comes from a conversation between Vern Borgen and Steve Cunningham on a Judo News Forum on the Internet - Steve Cunningham is writing.

Kano, as a scholar who bridged both the Western and Eastern worlds, was quite taken with British Benthamite utilitarianisn and the Classical Liberalism of John Stuart Mill. These figured heavily in his lectures and his ethical theory. The Japanese of his period were very communitarian, thinking only the good of the society, and thinking that it was wrong to pursue anything that might bring personal benefit.

Jita Kyoei was the rationale given the Japanese by Kano for pursuing one's personal development. Society is made up of individuals. Because each of us is a member of society, the only way to advance society is to advance the individual. Kano argues that advancing youself is the only way to advance society. This was revolutionary to the Japanese and Japanese thought. It is not an overstatement to say that Kano changed Japanese society.

Sei Ryoku Zen Yo is the other utilitarian motto. It reflects the utilitarian approach of utility maximization. It also makes clear, as Vern indicates, that the "best use" is really the "virtuous use." Thus one cannot achieve Judo mastery and be unethical, unlawful, or dominated by self-interest. You cannot achieve mastery of the physical art if "your head isn't on straight." Clearly this implies that you cannot be ignoring the social contract by ignoring the laws that the society creates, or focusing on "me" versus "everybody else." People who refused to pursue these ideals were asked to leave Kano's Kodokan. Even today, the Kodokan requirements for each rank starts with something like "Sound Moral Character and Maturity." Later ranks replace "Sound" with Unquestionable."

The third motto, on which the Japanese Judo Cultural Movement was launched was "Jiko no Kansei." This also plays on its similarity to the phrase "Jiko no Kensei." The first means "Perfect Yourself" whereas the latter makes clear how to do this "Complete Yourself." This amounts to a call for each of us to seek to be fully functional, self-actualized individuals, for our own good, but moreover for the good of society.

History of Zen Judo

Zen Judo International has it's origins in England. The roots of Zen Judo though trace their way back to Japan and another judo organization that was formed in the 1980s by the Japanese Government, called the Butokukai. The Butokukai was a teachers college for the martial arts. One of the schools most outstanding students, Kenshiro Abbe, moved to England in the 1950s to help spread Judo in England. He formed the British Judo Association (BJA) and the Kyu Shin Do Society. He retired from Judo in the early 60s due to a bad automobile accident and returned to Japan in the late 1960s.

In the 1970s a political movement within the British Judo Association absorbed the Kyu Shin Do Society. In response to the heavy emphasis on competition in the BJA, one of the members of the Kyu Shin Do Society, Mr. Dominique Mc Carthy, formed Zen Judo.

Zen Judo, like the Kyu Shin Do Society, does not emphasize competion. The syllabus is also quite different from the Kodokan syllabus of study. The objective of Zen Judo is to develop a strong movement base that is very fluid. Also the moral principles established by Dr. Kano are followed quite closely.

For a more detailed account of Kenshiro Abbe, click here.

History of Gentle Ways, inc.

Vern Borgen started teaching Judo at North Dakota State University in 1979. His classes have been quite popular and over 3,000 students have taken the class at NDSU.

Gentle Ways, Inc. was formed in 1985 by Vern Borgen and members of the NDSU Judo Club. Their objective was to form a not-for-profit corporation to teach judo in the Fargo-Moorhead Community.

Since then the program of Gentle Ways, inc. has expanded. The following clubs are affiliated with Gentle Ways, inc.:

History of Red River Judo

In early 2003 we purchased a used judo mat that we were told was used at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Red River Judo started teaching classes at the dojo, at 1335 Main Avenue, on Friday nights in March of 2003 and in May of the same year began full time operations, three nights a week.

Suppose a boat is crossing a river and another boat, an empty one, is about to collide with it.

Even an irritable man would not lose his temper. But suppose there was someone in the second boat. Then the occupant of the first would shout to him to keep clear. And if he did not hear the first time, nor even when called to three times, bad lanquage would inevitably follow. In the first case there was no anger, in the second there was -- because in the first case the boat was empty, in the second it was occupied. And so it is with man. If he could only pass empty through life, who would be able to injure him?

- Chuang Tzu