The Budo Origin of Judo

Why is it inaccurate to classify Judo as a sport, rather than budo?

In 1889, Dr. Kano Jigoro, founder of judo, said, "Judo is the study of techniques with which you may kill if you wish to kill, injure if you wish to injure, subdue if you wish to subdue, and, when attacked, defend yourself" (2). Judo was once widely considered a valid form of self-defense training. This is no longer true. Because it is sometimes thought of as an eccentric form of sport wrestling, many people do not take it seriously as a form of self-defense. This is especially true of the students of other budo. Yet Dr. Kano's statement makes it clear that he considered judo to be effective self-protection. Kano Sensei intended that randori (unrehearsed, free practice) be the primary training method followed closely by kata (rehearsed, formal exercises). Shiai (competition) was clearly last in his priorities (3).

We have defined the problem; now what do we do to solve it? I believe that judo is dynamic, versatile, and expansive enough to serve the needs and interests of all who practice it. I also feel the SMAA is an organization which can re-unite the various factions of judo.

Read more in our latest article.

Join an Authentic Japanese Martial Arts Organization

In the SMAA Judo Division, competition is an optional means of testing one's physical and technical skills and a method of bringing out the best in oneself. Participation in competition is not required.

To get more details about joining our traditional martial arts organization, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

Notes:

1. Modern Budo and Bujutsu; Donn Draeger; pg. 112.
2. Judo Formal Techniques; Draeger and Otaki; pg. 23.
3. Ibid., pgs. 23-31.

Judo: the Schism Between Sport and Budo

Is judo a sport or budo? 

The late Mr. Donn Draeger said, "Modern judo is commonly described as a sport, a fighting art, a spiritual discipline, a system of physical education and a recreational activity." Budo and sports have in common regular physical training in specific skills and routines. Sports are designed to provide physical fitness, entertainment and, through competition, the attainment of awards, monetary gain, and/or public acclaim. Budo has as its ultimate goal the perfection of the practitioner's moral and spiritual self.

Mr. Draeger goes on to point out that a true definition of judo is elusive because the narrow interests of a few have been allowed to dominate the scope of judo (1). When people decide to study budo they usually come with several goals in mind. They often want to learn self-defense skills foremost. There is also a desire to improve their health and physical fitness. Finally, there is the desire to improve their mind and spirit. Budo teaches discipline, respect, humility, dignity, and compassion.

There is a clear schism in judo between the sport enthusiasts and the traditionalists. Sport judo today is dedicated primarily to the development of contest champions. The overall goal of championship training produces a very steep pyramid structure to the judo population. Increasingly, only the strongest and most gifted athletes are engaged in regular competition to ascend to the pinnacle of victory. In the pragmatic training necessary for victory in this game, self-defense training and the development of spiritual growth is often neglected.

Read more in our latest article.

Join an Authentic Japanese Martial Arts Organization

In the SMAA Judo Division, competition is an optional means of testing one's physical and technical skills and a method of bringing out the best in oneself. Participation in competition is not required.

To get more details about joining our traditional martial arts organization, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here.

Notes:

1. Modern Budo and Bujutsu; Donn Draeger; pg. 112.

2. Judo Formal Techniques; Draeger and Otaki; pg. 23.

3. Ibid., pgs. 23-31.

Okinawa Te, the Empty-Handed Fighting System of Okinawa

Modern karate has a long and rich history. Have you heard of Okinawa te, and its role in modern karate?

In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Okinawans had developed a system of unarmed combat called Okinawa te or tode. This art was supposedly enhanced by the influence of Chinese emissaries in the 17th century, who introduced kata, or “forms,” and other Chinese principles. 

Okinawa te is often described as having developed in three main areas around the towns of Naha, Tomari, and Shuri, and it was taught secretly for centuries, usually within families. We often associate different emphasis in internal, external, and linear techniques as being representative of the tode from these three areas. Over time, this art also came to be called karate-jutsu (“Chinese-hand art”).

Master Ohtsuka Hironori, who had studied Shindo Yoshin Ryu jujutsu from an early age, intentionally made his karate-do as Japanese as possible. He also discarded techniques that he felt were ineffective and added much of his jujutsu technique. Due to Master Ohtsuka's commitment and innovation of technique, Wado Ryu has rapidly become one of the most popular karate-do systems throughout the world, and its early acceptance of jiyu kumite has enabled it to be very successful in competition.

Learn more in our latest article.

Learn More about Martial Arts History at an International Martial Arts Association

If you’re looking for an international martial arts association dedicated to preserving the authentic Japanese arts, you’re in the right place!

SMAA offers certification in authentic aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate-do. If you’re interested in becoming a member, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here. We would love to add you to our ranks!

Bite-Sized Intro to Karate History

What’s the origin of the word “karate?”

Modern karate-do has its beginnings so far in the past that its earliest history is lost. What we do know is that the roots of Wado Ryu come from the martial arts traditions of China, Okinawa, and Japan. Those elements came together in the last century due to the efforts of a most amazing Japanese martial artist named Ohtsuka Hironori Sensei, or as Westerners would say it, Hironori Ohtsuka.

Karate is a term, which originally meant, "T'anghand.” This is in reference to the T'ang Dynasty of China from which the Okinawans adapted many karate-do concepts. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the Okinawans had developed a system of unarmed combat called Okinawa te or tode. This art was supposedly enhanced by the influence of Chinese emissaries in the 17th century, who introduced kata, or “forms,” and other Chinese principles. 

Learn more in our latest article.

Learn More about Martial Arts History at an International Martial Arts Association

If you’re looking for an international martial arts association dedicated to preserving the authentic Japanese arts, you’re in the right place!

SMAA offers certification in authentic aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate-do. If you’re interested in becoming a member, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here. We would love to add you to our ranks!

Ask Your Sensei Questions - Part 2

Have you ever actually asked your Sensei a question during practice?

Sensei Dave Lowry explains why it’s beneficial to ask questions, for both the student AND the teacher: 

I have spent too many evenings with too many older Japanese budo sensei, sitting over sake or beer, listening to them moan about all the questions they wished they’d asked their teachers when they had the opportunity. The fact is, whether it is transmitted through some magical osmosis or through the asking and answering of ongoing and detailed questions, the finer points of a budo must be passed on some way. If you have access to that magic osmosis, have at it. If not, you’d better start asking questions. And your teacher better be honest and sincere enough to answer them when it is appropriate to do so. More so, he must be brutally honest and sincere in admitting when he doesn’t know the answer—and he should be eager to work to find it out by asking his own teachers or other senior practitioners.

Learn more in our latest article.

Join Like-Minded Artists at an International Martial Arts Association

If you’re looking for an international martial arts association dedicated to preserving the authentic Japanese arts, you’re in the right place!

SMAA offers certification in authentic aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate-do. If you’re interested in becoming a member, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here. We would love to add you to our ranks!

Ask Your Sensei Questions - Part 1

Do you think about the “why” of each move when you practice your art? 

Sensei Dave Lowry from SMAA tells us why it’s important to ask questions and be curious about your art:

If you are a beginner, if you have perhaps six or seven years in training, “I’m doing it this way because my teacher told me to” is absolutely an acceptable answer. Students at this level do not need to know all or even many of the whys of their art. Indeed, “knowing” too much of these whys can actually be an impediment to training at their level. Knowing something intellectually and “knowing” it with your body, at an instinctive, somatic level, are two very different things in the budo. This is consistent with the thoughts of the neo-Confucian philosopher Wang Yang-Ming (In Japanese, he’s known as Oyomei), who said that “To know and not to act is not yet to know.” Few dojo inhabitants are more irritating than the beginner budoka who “understands” all the theories and can explain them in detail, but who can’t “do” squat.

If, however, you are a more senior student, at perhaps fourth or fifth dan, with maybe fifteen or twenty years of experience, then the reply that “I’m doing it this way because my teacher told me to” is, frankly, not an adequate one. Your answer should not be the same answer as that of the beginners.

Yes, I know. There are those who will sagely explain to you and me the very different Japanese way of teaching and learning. “You don’t ask questions in the dojo,” they say. You just watch and copy your teacher.

To some extent, this is true. But it is also true that Japanese students, at advanced levels, do ask questions. It is also true—and this is important— that non-Japanese students of the budo face different challenges in trying to master these arts. They do not share the culture of the Japanese budo. There is much that can be taken for granted in a Japanese dojo that cannot be assumed similarly in a Western dojo. Further, who is to say that the “Japanese” way of teaching is the best and only method of transmission? (Suffice it to say that when I insist there are too many “teachers” of budo out there who don’t have the qualifications to do so, I am by no means talking about just Westerners.)

Learn more in our latest article.

Join Like-Minded Artists at an International Martial Arts Association

If you’re looking for an international martial arts association dedicated to preserving the authentic Japanese arts, you’re in the right place!

SMAA offers certification in authentic aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, and karate-do. If you’re interested in becoming a member, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form here. We would love to add you to our ranks!

Intro to Training Children

What is the best way to teach children martial arts?

Techniques taught improperly to children (and adults) will remain with them for years. These incorrect techniques must later be unlearned, a painful, indeed sometimes impossible, task. Teachers must not burden children with poor technique that they must unlearn later. Arguably, it might be better not to teach them at all until they are older. Teaching the technique correctly the first time avoids needless waste of precious training time later. (The old adage “practice makes perfect” is, in our opinion, very misleading. Practice makes permanent! Poor technique practiced continuously makes poor technique permanent—not a good idea.)

Step-by-step (component-by-component) progression of achievements as each new component is introduced and learned will motivate youngsters to continue, and help reduce or eliminate the fears of failure and embarrassment that often become self-fulfilling prophesies that can sometimes lead to children quitting karate-do altogether. This component-by-component gradual approach can help alleviate these problems. But this step-by-step process is aided by also using obstacles to force correct movement.

Learn more in our latest article.

Explore More about Karate-Do at a Traditional Karate Association

Are you looking for a karate association that promotes traditional Japanese martial arts? If so, SMAA is for you!

Members of SMAA bridge the gap between western and Asian martial arts, keeping the traditional spirit and practice of budo alive in the west. If you have an interest in aikido, iaido, judo, jujutsu, or karate-do, call (734) 720-0330 or submit a contact form to learn more about becoming a member!