Martial Arts Of The World - Webs

the “all-pervading” jûdô principle (Kanô 1989, 200). Jûdô, then, as Kanô
envisioned it, included the wide application of martial virtues outside a
strictly combative context.
Kanô, an educator, favored the preservation of traditional jûjutsu partially
through its development into a modern sport compatible with postfeudal
Japanese society. Thus athletic competition in the Western sporting
sense has been a distinguishing feature of jûdô since its inception, although
the techniques that are legal and effective in jûdô matches actually comprise
only part of the art’s syllabus of instruction. Because of jûdô’s comparatively
recent development and the academic orientation of its founder,
the art’s history is very well documented.
The roots of jûdô are in the traditional jûjutsu ryûha (styles) of the
late nineteenth century, particularly the Tenjin Shinyo-ryû and the Kitoryû,
which Kanô studied extensively, and in Yôshin-ryû, from which some
of his senior students, including Yoshiaka Yamashita, were drawn. These
schools of unarmed combat, while all referred to as jûjutsu, were distinct
entities with separate courses of instruction on the feudal pattern. Tenjin
Shinyo was particularly noted for its atemi (striking) techniques and its
immobilizations and chokes; Kito-ryû, for projective throws, spiritual
ideals, and strategy. Yôshin-ryû, attributed to an ancient doctor’s application
of resuscitation methods for combative purposes, took its name from
the flexible (and thus enduring) willow tree, a manifestation of jû. The idea
of selective yielding for tactical advantage was common to these schools of
jûjutsu, though it varied in development and expression.
Kanô had acquired both a classical Japanese education and thorough
instruction in the English language in his youth, but apparently his father
(a Meiji reformer) did not encourage an early interest in the martial arts.
Jigorô was 17 years old when he began his study of Tenjin Shinyo-ryû, but
he threw himself relentlessly into his training and showed a remarkable facility
for deriving and applying the essential principles behind techniques.
He took every opportunity to expand his knowledge and prowess. In fact,
he researched even Western wrestling at the Tokyo library, drawing from it
an effective throwing technique later included in the jûdô syllabus as kata
guruma (the shoulder wheel).
By 1882, it was clear that Kanô was a martial prodigy, and he had determined
that his life’s work lay in the martial arts. He founded his
Kôdôkan (Institute for the Study of the Way) in that year and set about the
imposing twofold task of preserving jûjutsu while adapting it to the changing
times.
The new school soon attracted attention, both from students enthusiastic
for the training and from skeptics wary of Kanô’s new approaches to
training. Perhaps the best of the former was Yoshiaka Yamashita, who
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