Sumi Gaeshi

“Once my master threw me with what now would be called Sumi-Gaeshi. I begged him to explain how he had done it. To this the master replied, “Even if you ask something like that now, it will be of no use to you, but if you repeat the waza over and over and practice, you will gradually come to understand.” -Jigoro Kano

Although the essence of the above quote remains true. In his book Mind Over Muscle, Jigoro Kano tells this story in the context of how inefficient this method of instruction was. As the father and inventor of Judo, Jigoro wanted to develop a martial arts curriculum through which individuals could improve themselves so that they could, in turn, improve society as a whole.

When trying to come up with a name for his new martial art, Jigoro decided upon Judo to exemplify how the martial art wasn’t simply a collection of techniques or moves (jutsu) but rather a fully encompassing Way of life (Do). He named two pillars of Judo as “Seiryoku Zenyo” (Maximum efficiency) and “Jita Kyoei” (mutual welfare and benefit). He truly believed that Judo was not only a Way to develop and train the body, but a Way to foster a better society.

Jigoro Kano spent most of his adult years expanding Judo all over the world, believing that his martial arts curriculum had more than just sport to offer to the world. He demonstrated Judo to presidents and dignitaries and eventually became a very important figure in International sports.

#nomind #zen #buddhism #buddhismquotes #martialarts #martialartslife #martialartstraining #bjj #bjjfighter #judo #muaythai #nakmuay #karate #taekwondo #tkd #boxing #kickboxing #jiujitsu #aikido #kendo #kali #arnis #escrima #silat #savate #kungfu #wushu #samurai #fitness #sports #olympics