Judo Ron 8 Sensei Kawaishi And Abe_doc

Judo discussion and investigation of selected topics by Ronald Desormeaux

Judo-Ron 8 Japan’s judo masters massive contribution to Judo in Europe Sensei Kawaishi and Abe’s influence on French Judo In the early 1900, several Japanese masters tried to establish a presence of Jujutsu and later the Kano Judo system with very little success. Sensei Koizumi in England was successful and so were Sensei Kawaishi and Abe, the former in the 1930 and the latter in the 1950. Michel Brousse in his essay on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the French Judo Federation in 1996 wrote about the important contributions made by Sensei Kawaishi and Abe. These two giants of the judo world changed the technical approaches and the cultural settings around them. They were the Yin-Yang that energized the whole judo phenomena. Sensei Kawaishi Mikinosuke venue in France is reported to be associated with the interests and contribution of the Jewish engineer Moshe Feldenkrais who had met both Kano Shihan and Kawaishi in London in the early 30’s. Kawaishi was a certified 4th dan from the Kodokan (Dec 1924) and served as a teaching assistant to Sensei Koizumi at the Budokwai in London. Kawaishi, who was born in Himeji in 1899, was the sixth of seven infants whose father was a sake brewer-dealer. After the death of his father, the older brother took command of the family affairs and Kawaishi Mikinosuke was awarded some yearly inheritance funds. He graduated from the liberal University of Waseda and was trained in judo by Sensei Kurihara Tamio from the Budokukai. He left Japan to go to the USA where he attended the San Diego University and taught judo and kendo outside school hours. His family’s incomes having been suspended by his older brother, he supplemented his incomes and family revenues by teaching judo at several locations. He later assumed the name of Matsuda and engaged in several paid demonstrations-fights against several individuals. He travelled extensively in the U.S.A. making San Diego and New York his residences. He went to Brazil and met with a colleague from Waseda University Sensei Maeda for a while. He left Sao Paulo to go to Europe and landed in England. In 1931 he met Moshe Feldenkrais in London. He had taken the position of teaching assistant to Sensei Koizumi Gunji at the Budokwai for two years. In 1933, he took over the Jujutsu class at the Anglo-Japanese Club in London. When Feldenkrais moved to Paris to attend the scientific establishment ESTP, he requested the participation of Kawaishi and the latter became the technical director of the Jujutsu Club of France in 1935. That dojo was administered by Feldenkrais with another scientist named Paul Bonet-Maury and was located on the premises of the University campus. That Dojo became the nucleus of the French judo activities for the years to come. Kawaishi adapted his strict and military judo teaching method to best suit the French culture and the University milieu in which he found himself. He developed a whole program of teaching around the use of the colour belt system as he had seen in England

Judo discussion and investigation of selected topics by Ronald Desormeaux

and he assemble a total educational and training programme around it that proved to be very cognitive, logical and progressive system. He made use of the demonstration system alike the Gestalt where perception and insight of techniques were prominent. He broke down each technique in segments and his students repeat them using Uchi Komi style drills. He made use of the colour belt to identify the various progress made and establish a judo hierarchy amongst his students. He further reinforced the use of Randori and Butsukari as principal methods to safely experience with live combat situations. His teaching encompassed Randori-Kata-jujutsu and Kiai. Because of the student interest in jujutsu, he retained and taught legs, arm locks and other techniques not found in the Kodokan syllabus. That approach proved to be very popular with his audience. Since his first groups students came from the academic and scientific milieu. He was intellectually challenged by them and able feed their curiosity and interest far beyond what other teachers had tried before him. His groups of students augmented rapidly and spread across France to open their own dojo. Some students became part of the leading French society. During that period, the French population had a carving for all kinds of elements of the Japanese culture and Kawaishi represented to them, the archetype that could fulfill their aspirations. Kawaishi assumed the roles of Sensei, administrator and mentor towards many judokas. He provided the spiritual guidance and exercised his personal influence in many sectors of the French judo federation. He became a sort of judo guru. He spoke little, was a disciplinarian on the tatamis, sought technical perfection, was able to read the personalities of his students and requested total loyalty and commitment from them in return. He was considered as the supreme Japanese presence within the judo milieu. His words and decision became Dogma. He understood the level of his influence and used it both technically and commercially. He had his hands and mind in the development and progression of students, the organization of the federation and the commercial exploitation of all judo successes. During the war of 1939, the geopolitical climate in France changed. The Japan-German Alliance and the occupation of Northern France by Germany rendered the practice of judo and jujutsu very difficult. Kawaishi left France towards the end of the war to return to Japan. He came back in December 1948 holding a 7th dan from the Butokukai of Kyoto. (The Kodokan confirmed his level of 7th dan in May 1949). Upon his return in France, he found out that the governance of Judo had changed considerably. The French Government had passed various laws introducing new rules and values in sports and established organizational directives affecting all sports bodies including judo which was forced to merge with the National Wrestling Association. There was little room to manoeuvre and reinstate his personal and commercial ventures. The need for cultural exchanges had diminished. Kawaishi’s overall supremacy over French judo had been deluded extensively and his leadership had now to be shared with several other governing entities including the College des Ceintures Noires, a sort of Yudanshakai now responsible for the grading and the pedagogic programs. Kawaishi

Judo discussion and investigation of selected topics by Ronald Desormeaux

tried to regain as much influence as he could but was unable to reinstate is past governance style. In 1951, in an attempt to promulgate and standardize his approach, he secured the assistance of his scientific friends and published his books: The Kawaishi Judo Method that will influence the judo teaching standards in many countries around the world. In the late 1956 the unification of the Kodokan and Kawaishi systems were amalgamated into the new French Federation. When no longer at the employ by the French judo federation as the technical director, he created his own independent Judo Academy where he continued to train and guide his principal followers until his death. The other judo giant is recognized in the person of Sensei Abe Ichiro, a 6th dan from the Kodokan who arrived in France in 1951 on a student bursary offered by the Laserre brothers of Toulouse who ran the Shudokan dojo. George and Robert Lasserre were wealthy business men and prominent judokas seeking to expand the judo sphere beyond the reach of the individual charisma surrounding the great Kawaishi. They made several contacts with the Kodokan and offered special teaching bursaries to outstanding Japanese students in order to broaden the cultural exchange and expand the teaching universe in the martial arts. There was some reticence from the French national administrators as this endeavour as it was seen to be disloyal to Kawaishi. Nevertheless, the offer was made and the excellent technician that was Abe Ichiro arrived in the south of France as the official delegate from the Kodokan. His style and technical expertise soon attracted many followers from diverse regions. Many seniors judoka readily converted to the Kodokan style and approach and were left enriched by being in the presence of this fine judoka.

His temporary teaching bursary having expired, Sensei Abe moves to Paris to present his credentials. His arrival in Northern France was seen by many locals as being a direct confrontation to Kawaishi’s style and a threat to the current membership of the Federation. Sensei Abe’s disciples and followers and newly converted members encouraged him to continue his mission in order to ensure judo would be reoriented along the original principles set by Jigoro Kano and presented along a more universal and positive program to permit its greater evolution. Tension mounts between the two camps and the Japanese ambassador was required to make a decision and awarded his support to Kawaishi who already had an imprint. With due respect to this decision, Sensei Abe left France and established his dojo in Brussels where his new influence and teachings would expand far beyond the Belgium borders. In 1954, the Toulouse and southern regional group formed an independent association to regroup the Kodokan teaching followers and expanded its reach across France’s territory. The dissident group would later be amalgamated with the new French Federation in 1956.

Judo discussion and investigation of selected topics by Ronald Desormeaux

Sensei Abe’s teaching permeated across France and represented a return to the basic principles. It was delivered with a universal access philosophy. The training method was different, more dynamic and flexible. It exemplified the liberty of movement and freedom of expression. A greater use of Kuzushi, Tsukuri and Kake combined with the necessity to feel the technique as it was executed made the fundamental difference to the students who were previously accustomed to learn by performing drills and Uchi Komi from static postures. With Sensei Abe’s influence, Judo as a physical and spiritual exercise became an intelligent encounter where fun and friendship can be derived. France was indeed the winner from the distinctive approaches displayed by both. The charismatic Kawaishi set the ground rules and the technical fluency and adaptability of Sensei Abe approach made the refinements possible. The French federation took the best of both philosophies and added its own occidental processes rendering Judo one of its principal “sport” and physical education system.