Jigoro Kano (1860-1838)

The Founder of Kodokan Judo

Jigoro Kano is the man who developed modern Judo.

As a young man, Jigoro Kano studied Ju Jitsu under several different masters. By his mid-twenties, he had been initiated into the secret teachings of Kito Ryu and Tenshin-Shinyo Ryu.

In 1882, Jigoro Kano established the Kodokan Institute, with a tiny 12 tatami dojo and just nine students, and created the system called Judo.

The Japanese character "Ju" means gentle, and any art ending in "Jitsu" means it is a combat art. Professor Kano took these combat arts and turned them into a "Do" art, which means "a Way"... as in a Path to self discipline and improvement. (It is the same Chinese character as "Tao" - like the "Tao of Gentleness".

In Kodokan Judo, Jigoro Kano Sensei adopted the teaching methods of both Randori (free practise) and Kata (formalized routines). He added physical education to the intellectual training and the moral traditions.

One of Kano Sensei's champion Judo students was Kenji Tomiki.

Tomiki then studied Aikido under Morihei Ueshiba, and was the first of Ueshiba's students to earn an 8th Dan black belt in Aikido.

Tomiki then took the formal structured training system of Judo and applied it to the techniques of Aikido, as taught by O-Sensei, Morihei Ueshiba.

Ueshiba's personal style of teaching was famous for its lack of structure. Some would even call it haphazard. This is not a slur on O Sensei (who was a genius) or of Aikido. Back in those days, being taught most Japanese martial arts was not structured like today. You were often thrown around like a rag doll until something eventually stuck in your brain!

Happily, most styles have a formal training structure today.