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THE DO OF KANOS
recognisedasthehomeofKodokanJudoworldwide.
KodokanJudoAssociationofSouthAustralia
WorldJudoFederationTheMissionoftheWorldJudo
TaiichiOhnoimageToyotaCorporation
Federation (WJF) is to promote Traditional Kodokan
Judo worldwide with a foundation of mutual respect
Thisprincipleofjudooffersabasicprinciplethatcanprovidea forallstylesorsystems.
TAIICHIOHNOLEANTHINKER sound answer for every situation and every question. The
easiestwaytomasterthethisbasicprincipleistopracticethe
wazaofjudoandtoembarkonthedo.Thatisbecause,throughpracticethatincorporatesboth
amartialartandphysicaleducation,onecanlearnamethodformakingthemosteffectiveuse
of ones mental and physical energy. Then one learns to apply this to every aspect of human
affairs.Ibelievethatthisbasicprincipleisthemostappropriatemethodforresolvingvarious
moralissues.SenseiJigoroKano(MindOverMuscle,p.83)
In the book, Mind over Muscle, Jigoro Kano discusses in depth what he held in his mind when he
conceivedofJudoanditspurpose.ChiefamongstthesepurposeswasthethoughtthatJudoshouldbe
morethanjustamartialart,morethanjustasport,andmorethanjustsomethingonedoesforafew
hoursaday,oneveryotherday.Heconceivedthatweshouldmakemoraldecisionsandchoicesthat
wereeffective,decisiveandaddedvaluetotheworld.Forthepurposeofthisarticle,letmedefinemoral
tomeantheunderstandingwehaveaboutrightandwrongbehaviour.Somemightcallitattitude.
KanodevelopedJudoinatimeinwhichJapanhadbeenundergoingareemergenceintotheworldat
large,andtheMeijiRestorationin( 1868),sawtheMeijiera( 18681912)begin.
Japanwasopeningitsdoorstotrade,commerceandanexchangeofideas,particularlythosefromthe
West,andEuropeinparticular.These40oddyearssawJapanemergeasaworldpower,andmanyof
thesystemsweusetodayinmanufacturing,suchasLeanThinking, owe their origins to the changes
thatwereimplemented.ItistruethatHenryFordbeganthistypeofproduction,butitwastheJapanese
whotookittothelogicalnextlevel,andtheToyotaProductionSystem(TPS)andtheToyotaWay, is
arguablythepinnacleofthismethodology.MaximumEfficiencyorSeiryokuZenyo.
So,IwanttogoevenonestepfurtherandsuggestthatKanosphilosophyofJudo,anditsPrinciples,
particularly Seiryoku Zenyo actually epitomises this way of thinking, that the mutual concern and
assistanceforeachotherallowsus,isinfactthekey,tomaximisingourtimeandenergies.Thatisjudo
in a nutshell, and while it might be going a bridge too far to suggest that Kano was responsible for
ToyotasTPS,itiscertainlyclearthatTaiichiOhno(February29,1912May28,1990)would
havebeenexposedtotheNationalPhysicalEducationSystemthatwasbeingpracticedinJapanatthat
time. Its ethos would have been firmly imprinted in every person undertaking formal education in
Japan.
TheevidenceisthereifwelookattheaboveexampleoftheToyotaWay,inthatittooespousesclosely
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similarapproachestowhatKanohadinhismindwhenhedevelopedjudo.IfwecomparewhatSensei
Shinichi Oimatsu says about Kanos intentions for all humanity, that through Judo we can come to
realisethatwearepeopleofvalueandhavemuchtoaddtooursocietybybeingso,andfurther,that
wecanactinawaythatproducesmutualbenefit(jitakyoei)forall,thenIdonotthinkitisafarcryto
seethattheToyotaWayhashadmuchinfluencefromthephilosophyofJudo.(source:TheBulletinfor
the Scientific Study of Kodokan Judo, Volume VI, 1984 cited at www.judoinfo.com a thoroughly
excellentarticle.)
Now,letussayIhavedrawnalongbowhere,andthatthesimilaritiesarejustcoincidentalatthevery
leastwecansaythatIhaveshownthattheworldhasbenefittedfromanattitudeofSeiryokuZenyoand
JitaKyoei.Wherewouldmanufacturingbetodaywithoutit?Thisbringsmetothequoteatthetopof
this article. Much of modern judo has forgotten that judo was meant to be more than what it has
become.WeseeargumentafterargumentthatmodernjudoepitomisesthewholeSeiryokuZenyoand
JitaKyoeithatKanodevised.Ijustdontseeit.WhatIdoseeisjudokawhoplaytowinatallcosts,
wholookdownattheirjustdefeatedopponentandlookatthemwithdisdain,orrunaroundthemat
pumpingtheirfistsintheair,oreven,ashappenedtomeafewyearsago,myopponentbelchedinmy
faceafterhavingjustbeatenme.Thereisnorespectofothersintheseactstheyareselfishacts,andnot
morallysensitive.
ThatisntjudoitcertainlyisntthekindofthingKanohadinmindwhenhecoinedthosedualphrases
forjudo.Iseeduplicationofresources,orbottlenecksinsystemsthatpreventfundingfromreachingall,
particularly grassroots level players, and the waste of time spent on pursuing strength judo is
astounding. Yes, lets become strong in body, mind and spirit, but lets do so by commitment to the
waza,torandori,tokata,toshiaiandtoeachother.ThinkonthetitleofthebookImquotingfromits
calledthatforaspecificreason.
InMindoverMuscle,SenseiKanopointsoutthat:
When people are by themselves, the principles of seiryoku zenyo can be applied without any
trouble, but when there is a group of two or more people, it simply takes one person to act
selfishly,andconflictcaneasilyarise.Butifeverypartyinagroupavoidsactingselfishlyand
actsaccordingtotheneedsandcircumstancesofotherpeopleinthegroup,thenconflictcan
naturallybeavoidedandharmonyachieved.Conflictistomutualdetrimentasharmonyisto
mutualgain.(ibid.p.70)
Itisdisingenuoustoplayjudo,thenrunaroundscreamingVictoryismine!afterasuccesfulbout,as
thiskindofmoralconductdoesnothingtopromotejudoorassistyourfallenbrother/sisterinjudo,and
all to promote selfishness, winning and the me first attitude. Sure, celebrate, but leave the show
stoppingstufffortheprivacyofthechangeroom.Thedoofjudois,asKanopointsout,theway,andthe
way is learned by mutual participation and agreement through waza, that allows you to train in
harmonywiththoseinyourclub,tocompeteinharmonywiththosefromotherclubs,andtoapplythe
lessonsthatjudowritesonourbodies,mindsandspiritsinoureverydaylives.TrueJudohappenswhen
itisthewayyoulive,notjustwhatyoudo.SeiryokuZenyoandJitaKyoeiareawayoflife,andnotjust
afashionaccessory.
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