The text that follows is the first in a series of guest posts on the subject of softness and soft training in martial arts. The starting point for this series was the Ju No Kata (“form of gentleness”) of Judo – a rather cryptic set of prearranged techniques that was developed by the founder of Judo, Jigoro Kano, around 1887, that supposedly epitomizes the principles of the art, especially that of yielding, or gentleness. It is most interesting to add here that Professor Kano came up with this particular method of practice when the number of people studying Judo had increased to the point where he could no longer personally advise everyone during free practice [1]. I personally consider Professor Kano the most important martial arts innovator of the 20th century and a genius of an educator, but my training in Judo has been limited to a couple of years and included almost exclusively hard training methods, so I can’t say I understand the knowledge which is ‘encoded’ in the Ju No Kata. What I decided to do then, is turn to my friends for a little help: I asked a number of martial arts instructors from different disciplines to watch the Ju No Kata on video, and ponder upon the use of soft training methods in order to distill principles and increase martial skill in the style they are practicing.
The first contributor in this collective post is my good friend Grigoris A. Miliaresis, the closest person I have met to what I would call a ‘scholar of Japanese martial arts’ that also happens to be a seasoned journalist. I am sure that you will enjoy his post as much as I did!
JU NO KATA: ILLUSTRATING JUDO’S MARROW
I’ll always cherish the memory: the main mat of the Kodokan Institute in Tokyo filled with tens of hardened judoka from all over the world, with ages varying from early 20s to late 70s and ranks from 2nd to 10th dan, many of them high-level competitors, sitting quietly, mesmerized by two Japanese “obachan” (lit. “aunties”) performing the Ju no Kata, probably judo’s most misunderstood form and the one that judo founder, Kano Jigoro thought as the container of the quintessence of his system. Apparently all those people seemed to share Kano’s idea; either that or the sight of the two middle-aged diminutive women performing it with a precision that would bring tears to the eyes of a USMC drill sergeant and a grace that would put to shame his niece, the ballerina, really got their attention.
It’s hard to grasp what the Ju no Kata is all about. The techniques are almost unrecognizable for those who only know competition judo and, worst of all they are performed at a glacial pace that defies any idea of effectiveness or practical application. “The throws aren’t even completed”, I usually hear the critics of Japanese martial arts cry in despair. “What is this? And how can this embody the essence of judo? This is not even training”. Well, it is training. And it does embody the essence of judo, provided the viewer is conversant with, well, judo, as well as with the way the Japanese do and, especially, teach things. Some knowledge of body mechanics wouldn’t hurt either –I don’t have it but Spyros does and I’m sure he can discern the theory behind my empirical ramblings.
To understand the Ju no Kata, first of all we need to establish the framework: it is a kata, that is a set of stylized moves created to (a) put order in the chaos of things (the Japanese do that all the time; kata are present in all expressions of their culture), (b) teach the body, including the nervous system, the basic functions that the system (in this case, judo) considers essential. Even if we dismiss (a) as redundant since we are not Japanese, we have to seriously consider that (b) has indeed some merit; if it didn’t, Japan wouldn’t be able to continue producing Olympic medalists for almost half a century (last count: 65 in toto) under this training regimen.
Second of all, we need to understand what is considered “essential” in judo –yes, I know it sounds like tiptoeing between psychoanalysis and over-theorizing but this won’t take long. According to its creator, judo’s first and foremost quality, its cornerstone, so to speak, is flexibility (it’s even in the name: this is what “ju” or “柔” in “judo” means): flexibility of the mind (i.e. knowing when to use excessive force and when to yield, creating openings where there aren’t any) and flexibility of the body (i.e. being able to twist and contort your body parts so you can put them where they can exploit the openings and use the leverages and the timing needed to complete a technique).
Does the Ju no Kata teach the judo student this essence? If you ask me, definitely –and this is precisely the reason everything is done in slow motion: so that the student has enough time to put his body in exactly the perfect position for the perfect leveraging and for the perfect timing. By taking away speed and momentum (present in almost all other judo kata), Kano’s students were able to remove unwanted tensions in their body and focus on the precision of the technique with optimum biomechanics (also part of judo’s “manifesto”: seiryoku zenyou/精力善用or “maximum efficiency with minimum effort”).
I haven’t been taught the Ju no Kata –and the loss is all mine- so my first hand knowledge is limited. But there is one more thing that I remember from that day in the Kodokan: when the obachan finished their presentation and started teaching, most of the non-Japanese judoka had serious learning difficulties; apparently their bodies were too tense to adapt to doing things slowly and with precision. The worst part was that the middle-aged ladies (who, after the initial demonstration seemed to have cloned themselves and filled the whole mat) were going from one pair of participants to the other, playfully tossing them around while complaining about their poor backs.
Grigoris A. Miliaresis
Grigoris A. Miliaresis started training in the Japanese martial arts in 1986. He holds dan grades in judo, aikido and iaido and has also trained in Shotokan karate, kendo and modern naginata. Since 2007 he has been studying the classical naginata school Toda-ha Buko Ryu under licensed instructors Ellis Amdur (in Athens) and Kent Sorensen (in Tokyo). Besides training, he has written extensively about the martial arts in the Greek magazine “Monopati gia tis Polemikes Technes”, was managing editor to the Greek edition of “Journal of Asian Martial Arts”, has translated more than 25 books on the subject and runs a related blog (in Greek and, occasionally, in English - http://budobabble.blogspot.com/). He currently lives in Japan.
I’ll always cherish the memory: the main mat of the Kodokan Institute in Tokyo filled with tens of hardened judoka from all over the world, with ages varying from early 20s to late 70s and ranks from 2nd to 10th dan, many of them high-level competitors, sitting quietly, mesmerized by two Japanese “obachan” (lit. “aunties”) performing the Ju no Kata, probably judo’s most misunderstood form and the one that judo founder, Kano Jigoro thought as the container of the quintessence of his system. Apparently all those people seemed to share Kano’s idea; either that or the sight of the two middle-aged diminutive women performing it with a precision that would bring tears to the eyes of a USMC drill sergeant and a grace that would put to shame his niece, the ballerina, really got their attention.
It’s hard to grasp what the Ju no Kata is all about. The techniques are almost unrecognizable for those who only know competition judo and, worst of all they are performed at a glacial pace that defies any idea of effectiveness or practical application. “The throws aren’t even completed”, I usually hear the critics of Japanese martial arts cry in despair. “What is this? And how can this embody the essence of judo? This is not even training”. Well, it is training. And it does embody the essence of judo, provided the viewer is conversant with, well, judo, as well as with the way the Japanese do and, especially, teach things. Some knowledge of body mechanics wouldn’t hurt either –I don’t have it but Spyros does and I’m sure he can discern the theory behind my empirical ramblings.
To understand the Ju no Kata, first of all we need to establish the framework: it is a kata, that is a set of stylized moves created to (a) put order in the chaos of things (the Japanese do that all the time; kata are present in all expressions of their culture), (b) teach the body, including the nervous system, the basic functions that the system (in this case, judo) considers essential. Even if we dismiss (a) as redundant since we are not Japanese, we have to seriously consider that (b) has indeed some merit; if it didn’t, Japan wouldn’t be able to continue producing Olympic medalists for almost half a century (last count: 65 in toto) under this training regimen.
Second of all, we need to understand what is considered “essential” in judo –yes, I know it sounds like tiptoeing between psychoanalysis and over-theorizing but this won’t take long. According to its creator, judo’s first and foremost quality, its cornerstone, so to speak, is flexibility (it’s even in the name: this is what “ju” or “柔” in “judo” means): flexibility of the mind (i.e. knowing when to use excessive force and when to yield, creating openings where there aren’t any) and flexibility of the body (i.e. being able to twist and contort your body parts so you can put them where they can exploit the openings and use the leverages and the timing needed to complete a technique).
Does the Ju no Kata teach the judo student this essence? If you ask me, definitely –and this is precisely the reason everything is done in slow motion: so that the student has enough time to put his body in exactly the perfect position for the perfect leveraging and for the perfect timing. By taking away speed and momentum (present in almost all other judo kata), Kano’s students were able to remove unwanted tensions in their body and focus on the precision of the technique with optimum biomechanics (also part of judo’s “manifesto”: seiryoku zenyou/精力善用or “maximum efficiency with minimum effort”).
I haven’t been taught the Ju no Kata –and the loss is all mine- so my first hand knowledge is limited. But there is one more thing that I remember from that day in the Kodokan: when the obachan finished their presentation and started teaching, most of the non-Japanese judoka had serious learning difficulties; apparently their bodies were too tense to adapt to doing things slowly and with precision. The worst part was that the middle-aged ladies (who, after the initial demonstration seemed to have cloned themselves and filled the whole mat) were going from one pair of participants to the other, playfully tossing them around while complaining about their poor backs.
Grigoris A. Miliaresis
Grigoris A. Miliaresis started training in the Japanese martial arts in 1986. He holds dan grades in judo, aikido and iaido and has also trained in Shotokan karate, kendo and modern naginata. Since 2007 he has been studying the classical naginata school Toda-ha Buko Ryu under licensed instructors Ellis Amdur (in Athens) and Kent Sorensen (in Tokyo). Besides training, he has written extensively about the martial arts in the Greek magazine “Monopati gia tis Polemikes Technes”, was managing editor to the Greek edition of “Journal of Asian Martial Arts”, has translated more than 25 books on the subject and runs a related blog (in Greek and, occasionally, in English - http://budobabble.blogspot.com/). He currently lives in Japan.References
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ju-no-kata#cite_note-1 (retrieved Jan 2012)
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