"じゅうどうは日本のスポーツです。"
Translation:Judo is a Japanese sport.
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I've met many japanese people who don't like calling Judo a sport and kind of don't agree with having Karate as an Olympic sport. Martial arts mean a lot to them and it seems they would like to keep them an "art"/"way of life"... You can see how international Judo is more strength-based while Japanese Judo is more about technique, or how Kendo focuses a lot in striking "gracefully". That's nice.
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Judo has evolved a lot, there are DEFINITELY judoka in Japan who are pulling hard and will force throws through. Koga is a great example, one of Japan's greatest. At this point the style is dependent more upon the athlete than ever; Judo was spread throughout the world, as Kano wanted.
What a beautiful gift.
Yes, with the caveat that 空手 (からて) was developed in the Ryūkyū Islands, which didn't become part of Japan until the 17th century at its earliest, or even the 19th century if you consider the "Ryūkyū Kingdom" was semi-independent until then.
As a longtime practitioner and professional competitor in Chinese Wushu (what people normally mean when they say "kungfu"), I would like to note here that kungfu or gongfu 功夫 in its original Chinese actually means skill or excellence, e.g. a skilled chef is said to have gongfu. We generally prefer to use other (often discipline-specific) terms such as wushu, taiji, changquan (longfist), yongchunquan (the wing tsun of Ip Man/Bruce Lee fame), wudang, etc.
Also, my respect to practitioners of judo, kendo, karate, and all other forms. There is no "best" martial art, only striving to reach excellence and true gongfu in whichever way you follow!
- 145
Well the motto for 柔道 is 柔（じゅう）よく剛（ごう）を制（せい）す. Using a gentle way can beat a tough opponent. A Chinese saying though.
My Japanese teacher (who's also a black-belt judoka) actually taught us this expression yesterday. He said it can often be seen in dojos as a 四字熟語 or "4 character form": 柔能剛制. (with 能 being よく）
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【柔能制剛】 じゅうのうせいごう
Referenced from ancient Chinese literature 三略（さんりゃく）
軍讖曰：（ぐんしんに いわく） From the book "Military Wisdom,"
柔能制剛（じゅう よく ごうを せいす） Softness can control hardness.
弱能制強（じゃく よく きょうを せいす） Weakness can control Strength.
柔者徳也（じゅうは とく なり） Softness is a conduct.
剛者賊也（ごうは ぞく なり） Hardness is a harm.
弱者人之所助（じゃくは ひとの たすくる ところ なり） Weak people attract help from others.
強者怨之所攻（きょうは うらみの せむる ところ なり） Strong people attract grudges.
柔有所設（じょうは もうくる ところ あり） There are times to set softness.
剛有所施（ごうは ほどこす ところ あり） There are times to put hardness.
弱有所用（じゃくは もちうる ところ あり） There are times to use weakness.
強有所加（きょうは くわうる ところ あり） There are times to add strength.
兼此四者（この よっつの ものを かねて） If one can simultaneously serve these four elements,
而制其冝（その よろしきを せいす） Then one can control the goodness.
When I learned Judo we were told that the name was to be interpeted as "the way of flexibility". The legend I was given by my sensei was that one winter Jigoro Kano saw a willow tree being covered in heavy snow, with its branches yieldig to the weight until the snow fell suddenly and the branch sprang back to its original position, giving him the idea of the iconic judo technique 一本 背負投 (ippon seoi nage)
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Definitely a legend. This story was first told as an explanation for the origin of jujutsu, where the observer of the tree was a certain bespectacled polymath named Akiyama, a doctor of some kind.
Hagiography is definitely one of my favorite things about martial arts. So funny.
