God of Judo

[Pauline Winters]

Kyuzo Mifune became so famous in judo circles that in referring to him
the terms 10th Dan alone was sufficient. He was awarded 10th Dan in
1920.Judo legends says that in his 60 years of practise Kyuzo Mifune
never lost a match and was never thrown
Judo has in the modern era gain great popularity and in part this is
down to the driving force of Kyuzo Mifune. His book the cannon of judo
originally published in 1960 is credited with helping in the formation
of the International Judo Association and entry into the Olympic
games.
What brought Kyuzo Mifune to judo?
Mifune was born a year after the Kodokan was founded, April 21, 1883
in Kuji City, Iwate Prefecture on Honshu Island. He was apparently
incorrigible as a boy, always either performing some mischief himself
or organizing others in the same pursuit. He was both bright and
cocky. At age 13, his father, a strict disciplinarian who finally gave
up on the youngest of his seven children, sent Mifune to a junior high
school at Sendai, in northern Japan. There, he discovered Judo, and
decided to dedicate himself to it. At age 14, he defeated nine
opponents in a row at one tournament with another high school and a
legend began.
He became one of Jigoro Kano's (the father of judo) closest students.
He was not physically very big with a height of 159 cm and
56kg.However he over came this with his persistent hard training and
scientific approach to training.
His father, finding out he was spending more time at Judo than
studying, cut off his allowance, and Mifune, now 22, went out to find
work. He began a newspaper, sold advertising, and built it into a
thriving enterprise. He was able to sell it at a substantial profit,
and entered the economics program at Keio University.
He became known as the "God of Judo" after developing many new judo
moves plus his reputation for being unbeaten.
In 1964, Mifune served as an official at the Tokyo Olympic Games, even
though he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. In December of that
year, he entered a hospital, and died there January 27, 1965, 81 years
old. At the time of his death, he was the last of the Judans of
Kodokan Judo
Below some quotes of Kyuzo Mifune that give you a good insight into
his thinking.
1) "In Judo, a Dan (rank) is awarded to the practitioner by other
people. True power, however, comes from within. Do not seek the
acquirement of Dan alone; rather pursue your true power. Your
progression through the Dan grades will follow"
2) "The gist of judo is to find the original characteristic of the
man... and to personify true freedom of thought and action."
3)"To master an actual technique, mental culture should come first.
Acquiring a technique requires a careful, modest, non-mean, free and
attentive mind. In other words a player should do his utmost and
nothing less."
4) "A chance to try your technique is in one instant never to be
regained, so try it without hesitation"
And finally Kyuzo Mifune motto for judo written 2 weeks before his
death
"EmptinessDevotionSublimeness"
Its common practise among martial arts to focus on new ideas and
recent events in competition. For any judoka there would be great
benefit to study the life of kyuzo mifune here you will find a true
love of the art and great kindness towards his students balanced with
great fighting ability.
This short article only scratches the surface. Do your own research it
will be worth it.

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