Judo History

Judo, or the "Gentle Way" is an art that was created by Jigoro Kano in the 19th century, based upon classical styles of Jujutsu (see Jujutsu). Judo relies primarily upon throws and a unique form of ground wrestling which includes joint locks, chokes and pins. Judo, or Kodokan Judo - its full name - is the national sport of Japan, and is one of the most practiced martial arts worldwide.

Kosen Judo
The type of Judo we practice is Kosen Judo. This is not a separate style from formal Judo. Kosen in pre-war Japanese usage refers to a university, so 'Kosen Judo' was just a label placed on a type of Judo practiced at Japan's top seven universities before World War II. These universities founded Judo teams very late compared to the other schools, and were looking for a means to catch up with the more established programs. They began focussing on groundwork (wrestling with joint locks and chokes) over the more standard Judo syllabus of throwing techniques, and popularized a type of Judo that placed a strong emphasis on such techniques. Although Jigoro Kano (the founder of Judo) had always been more of a throwing aficionado, he realized that having such "specialists" would be beneficial for the future development of the art. He allowed the Kosen universities to hold their own tournaments with separate rules, and generally encouraged an environment where ground technique could be practiced and refined.

Unfortunately, after Kano's death, the Kosen style entered a difficult phase. The seven Kosen universities became hotbeds of the militaristic furor that swept Japan during the 1920's and 30's. They were a major source for the Imperial Japanese officer corps, as well as for the "Tokkotai" Kamikaze division. At the end of the war the schools were seen as a threat by the Allies, and were closed. Because of their association with the universities, Kosen Judo practitioners were branded militarists as well. More often than not, this was an unfair characterization. Nevertheless, the style became tainted. Kosen practitioners were pushed into the background, their tournaments were banned, and generally the Kosen style went into decline. However, this was not the only blow to Kosen Judo. A second, and even more significant setback was the development of Olympic Judo rules. Since its recognition as an official Olympic sport in 1964, great efforts have been made to give Judo a wide international appeal; while Olympic rules do allow limited groundwork, they discourage the kinds of long ground exchanges which can be incomprehensible to a layperson. Current Judo rules are so restrictive that the type of pure groundwork perfected by Kosen players is nearly impossible.

Since the war, aside from a few dedicated practitioners, Kosen Judo retreated to the shadows, and would have ended as a footnote in Judo history had it not been for recent developments in the martial arts world. Thanks to a rekindled interest in ground fighting, the old Kosen teachers have enjoyed a burst of popularity. The style has come out of the shadows, and the few surviving Kosen teachers are eagerly sought out by not only Judo players, but also by competitors in Shoot-fighting and many other arts.

Our Curriculum
The curriculum we have organized consists of about 80% of the Kosen Judo techniques we learned from my teacher, Prof. Hirata Kanae, during my training in Japan. The remaining 20% are grappling techniques we was exposed to from my Shoot-fighting, and Japanese freestyle grappling training. We have organized what we learned into a syllabus with a set (but flexible) progression of lessons that stresses the building of one technique upon another. Furthermore, Miyazaki Dojo welcomes visually impaired students.