Philosophy
Judo Principles
There are actually three principles that our dojo considers key elements of its teaching and practice. Each are steeped in tradition and yet, each are timeless in their application to core belief values, ethical conduct, and organizational standards. We pride ourselves in our teaching of basic and advanced judo techniques, philosophies, discipline, safety, affordability, self-confidence and life-balances. Judo is not only a sport, it is a way of life with applicable principles in all areas of business, family, interpersonal relationships, friendships, personal ethics, conduct, attitudes and behaviors, psychology of thinking. In short your core beliefs about life. Put another way, Judo becomes a metaphor for life. And while no one is perfect, striving for these principles will guide you to lead a good life and achieve self-satisfaction for yourself and perhaps those around you.
Judo: The Gentle Way
As anyone who has been in Judo for any length of time can attest, Judo can sometimes be anything but GENTLE. Judo competition is as “rough” as any contact sport can be. But it can also be the gentlest activity you could ever do, and one of the safest contact sports around. Judo practice, by its very nature, can be exhausting, some say grueling to attain perfection, but it can also be esthetically beautiful when a technique is performed to that perfection. Can Judo be both gentle and rough? Yes and yes which makes Judo a sport for all ages, for men and women, for the competitor or someone just wanting a little exercise, for the intense or the relaxed, or for someone looking for just a little discipline in their life.
“Jita Kyoei” – “Mutual Welfare and
Benefit for All”
Clearly stated, whatever we do in Judo, in our lives or in practice, the end results are beneficial for yourself as well as for your partners. In Judo, this means practices are not always combative, but cooperative and intended to train the body to apply techniques in a non-aggressive way so that the body and mind can learn how to do these techniques easily and efficiently. It is not the purpose to injure your opponent. In Judo, your opponent becomes your partner to learn, whether in a competitive tournament or in a dojo (practice hall) to practice.
It is the purpose to learn the principles of Judo of harmony and cooperation with yourself, with your partner, with your environment. In this way, you bring equilibrium to your world and hopefully happiness to your life.
As you leave the doors of the DOJO, your mission, your Jita-Kyoei starts there. Judo is a life’s lesson that is practiced in the dojo as well as in your life.
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“Seiryoku Zenyo” – “ Maximum Efficiencyin the Use of Mind and Body”
By definition Judo means “The Gentle Way”. Because of this, many interpret maximum efficiency to mean minimal effort. This is not true. Maximum efficiency is perfection in an effort. It is doing things without thinking. It is to be in perfect synchronization with your body and your opponent. It is throwing an opponent in the most efficient manner possible and perfectly. Whether this means using your opponents force against them by sidestepping their action or creating leverage on your part to create an imbalance, the resulting effort should exhibit a smooth and effective action to make an opponent move someplace where they do not want. This is the physical definition – simple physical laws of physics/motion to create movement along a path resulting in one person lying on their back.
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“Sempai Kohai” – The teacher/student parallel
The Sempai is the teacher, the Kohai is the student. In most modern societies and especially in eastern (Asian) traditions, there is a deep and abiding understanding of respect and reverence to one who is older, higher rank, upper class, a parent, a teacher, a boss, one of higher authority (police, military), or anyone perceived to be of higher status.
There is no question that a student should always respect their teacher; children, their parents; an employee, their boss. The parent has more life’s lessons (wisdom) than their children. The teacher has more education than their students. The boss has the right to direct his/her company the way they see fit. The general must command the troops to follow orders. But one should also consider the alternative. What if there were no kohai’s (students), would you still be a sempai (teacher)? If there were no children to raise, would you still be a parent? Would a general still have an army, if there were no troops to lead?
I believe that the Sempai – Kohai relationship, should be based on Mutual Welfare and Benefit for all. It is important for the Sempai to not only command respect but to earn the respect of the Kokai. You command respect with words and deeds, personal and organizational. You command respect by your ethics and attitudes. You command respect with discipline but also with kindness and empathy. In other words, you command respect by giving RESPECT first. Paradoxically, one can also say that the Sempai should give greater respect to the Kohai than in the reverse.
Earning respect is characterized in the same way as commanding respect. You are unlikely to earn respect with dishonesty, anger, resentment, antipathy, treachery. You are unlikely to earn respect if you do not care about people, your students, your employees. You are unlikely to earn respect if you do not follow up on your word – “say what you do and do what you say.” You are unlikely to earn respect if you are not completely trustworthy and honest, especially if someone is not watching.
I believe that respect comes for your core and your heart. It is the basis of all human interaction and is one of the most important characteristics of becoming a black belt in Judo.
The BOW:
In Judo as in many martial arts, bowing is an important part of showing respect. It is the equivalent of shaking hands and more. In most Asian cultures, the Kohai bows much lower that the Sempai, to show respect, deference to the rank. However in Judo, regardless of rank, each bows to each other at the same degree (approx. 300). This is Mutual Welfare and Benefit for ALL.
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At Chicago Tenri Judo Dojo, our core principles depend on each of our members, youth and adult, to develop excellence in Judo as well as excellence in their lives, to be productive members of society, to contribute to a better world, to pass on their wisdom to the next generation including the students/Kokai’s coming up below them. This is the obligation of each of our members. This is how we pay it forward as each of us paves the JUDO WAY from Kohai to Sempai.