Monday, February 28, 2011

Fitting before gripping - Cichorei Kano

So I was reading JudoForum, and my favorite anonymous Judo guru, Cichorei Kano posted on a topic that I thought was worth spreading.


Postfelixzog wrote -


I'm not sure I fully understand this part of the article on Tokio Hirano on the JudoInfo site:

"Traditional nage-waza (throwing techniques) were taught in the following sequence: kumu (gripping), tsukuru (the entry and proper fitting of your body into position taken just before the movement required for completion of your throwing technique), kakeru (completing), and nageru (throwing).

Hirano revolutionized the order to tsukuru, kumu, kakeru and nageru."

Does this mean that he would fit-in as he was establishing a grip so as to telegraph less? Comments?



Cichorei Kano spoke:

In the traditional judo sequence there is critical chance for acting very judo-unlike. Many people who establish a certain grip do so with a certain throw in mind. That in itself really is entirely judo-unlike, just like 'setting-up' a throw. The only people who 'set-up' throws are people who are clueless about what judo is. The throw and what grip you will end up with, should be a consequence of the opponent. Battling an opponent's grip (in most cases) is absurd and contrary to the idea of judo. A grip by your opponent if imposed on you means that it includes force. Judo requires that you use that force, not that you counter that force. The grip which your opponent establishes and what he does IS the tsukuru or a throw. Tsukuru should not be something you do yourself, but something that too really is done by the opponent. As tsukuru established by your opponent unfolds, the grip that follows by you is the natural consequence of the mistakes in the action of the opponent, hence why kumu should follow tsukuru and not the other way around.

The problem is that to succeed this one needs to have achieved full understanding of what judo works, and what principles it is subject to. You need to be able to sense, and let everything that happens be a natural reaction to the action initiated by the opponent. Essentially that is what Mifune also did, although Mifune did not go so far as to convert this into an entirely new approach to judo, by challenging the traditional sequences of a throw. Mifune felt he could sufficiently explain judo by emphasizing action/reaction and by postulating ōmyō. This latter concept implies a mysterious quality, sensing, sourcing and understanding that exceeds what the average mind can perceive by using just your eyes, or explanations of physics. This includes part such as control with the hara by manipulating center of gravity without changing body position, or the ability to ability to completely anticipate what it is you are going to do long before you have completed that action, as well as many other things. To some extent Mifune's ōmyō and Hirano's nami (waves of water) converge. Hirano postulated that every action in judo functions like a wave in water. He identified that there are 7 different types of waves in water. For example, whirlpool is an entirely different type of wave than a traditonal wave arriving the beach. If you produce a wave in water, you can anticipate its evolution. Hirano used the system as a sonar from a whale. By sending out 'pulses', he knew the opponent had to do something with it (resist, accept, deviate. By linking the type of wave that would be produced, he could anticipate the proper kuzushi, as all he needed to do was to amplify the returning wave and position his body so that the mass of the opponent would by toppled. The wave itself would have a momentum an direction, and position his body specific to that wave allowed him to achieve maximal efficiency at minimal effort.


Original Thread

1 comment:

  1. Yes, Cichorei Kano seems to be an insightful judoka. I am reading his posts on ambidextrous judo.

    ReplyDelete