Trevor Leggett

So I am reading a book called When Buddhists Attack, by Jeffrey K. Mann, who's a Goju practitioner. This book explores Buddhism (mostly Zen) and budo/bujutsu, and I find it very good read. He quotes multiple sources, including Zen & the Ways, by Trevor Leggett. Before reading this book I didn't know/remember that name, so I did a bit of searching and it turns out that Mr. Leggett was a very influential man in the short history of judo, even earning a rokudan from the Kodokan. Apparently he also had a godan ranking in shogi (Japanese chess). He was also (among other books) the editor for Anton Geesink's My Championship Judo, as noted by amazon.com. I've ordered Zen & the Ways, and look forward to reading it.

Is anyone familiar with this man or his works?

See here http://www.kanosociety.org/trevor_leggett.htm

I found some notes about relations czechoslowak judo and Mr. Trevor Pryce Leggett.

Some notes about Mr. Trevor Leggett from year 1936:

Original czech text:

jiujitsu Zlin wrote:O prázdninách téhož roku pořádal VS Praha na letním táboře v Unhošti u Kladna výcvikový kurs jiujitsu a juda, který vedl anglický mistr Price Leget, za účasti zahraničních mistrů Martina Pampella z Němacka a pana Fleka z Rumunska. Price Leget pak ještě v září a říjnu instruoval ve VS Praha a v SK stráž bezpečnosti.

Source:
http://www.jiujitsu.cz/nasehistorie.php

Translation (free):
The holidays that year (1936) club of University Prague held at summer camp in Unhošť near Kladno training course jiujitsu and judo, which led the English champion Pryce Leggett, with the participation of foreign masters Martin Pampell from Germany and Mr.Flek from Romania. Then another in September and October Pryce Leggett instructed in club of University Prague and  in SK security guard.

SK may be Slovakia

One note about Mr. Trevor Leggett in webpage of Judoclub Pilsen (year 1937):

Czech text:

JC Pilsen wrote:Velmi příznivý vliv na zvýšení technické úrovně měl anglický instruktor Mr. Leggett, který Plzeňany v říjnu v r. 1937 zasvětil do tajů Nage-no katy a Katame-no katy.

Source:
http://www.judoclubplzen.cz/?presenter=Klub

Translation (free):
English instructor Mr. Leggett had very positive impact on increasing the technical level to judokas from Pilsen. He initiated them into the mysteries of Nage-no-kata and Katame no kata in October 1937.

Trevor Leggett is the author of the following books;
"Championship Judo : tai-otoshi and o-uchi-gari attacks, by Leggett, Trevor Pryce (1914 - 2000)", Watanabe, Kisaburo, London, United Kingdom, Ippon Books, 1994[2], 64p, 233 x 163 x 5, PB, ISBN 0874572550.
"Championship Judo : Tai-Otoshi and O-Uchi-Gari attacks, by Leggett, Trevor Pryce (1914 - 2000)", Watanabe, Kisaburo, London, United Kingdom, W. Foulsham & Co., 1964[1], 64p, 220 x 143 x 8, HB.
"Kata judo", by Leggett, Trevor Pryce (1914 - 2000), London, United Kingdom, W. Foulsham & Co., 1982[2], 179p, 222 x 145 x 14, HB, ISBN 057201175X.
"Kata judo", by Leggett, Trevor Pryce (1914 - 2000), London, United Kingdom, W. Foulsham & Co., 1964[1], 179p, 222 x 145 x 14, HB.
"Lo spirito del budo", by Leggett, Trevor Pryce (1914 - 2000), Pensante, A., UL, Italy, Luni, 2005, 95p, ISBN13 9788874350773.
"The Demonstration of Gentleness : Ju-no-kata (Renshuden judo library)", by Leggett, Trevor Pryce (1914 - 2000), London, United Kingdom, W. Foulsham & Co., 1964, 62p, 222 x 145 x 9, HB.
"The Demonstration of Holds : Katame-no-kata (Renshuden judo library)", by Leggett, Trevor Pryce (1914 - 2000), London, United Kingdom, W. Foulsham & Co., 1964, 60p, 222 x 145 x 9, HB.
"The Demonstration of Throws : Nage-no-Kata (Renshuden judo library)", by Leggett, Trevor Pryce (1914 - 2000), London, United Kingdom, W. Foulsham & Co., 1960 1964, 70p, 222 x 145 x 9, HB.
"The Dragon Mask and Other Judo Stories in the Zen Tradition" by Leggett, Trevor Pryce (1914 - 2000), London, United Kingdom, Ippon Books, 1995, 128p, 21 cm, PB, ISBN13 9781874572169.
He has translated the following books;
"My championship Judo", By Geesink, (Anton) Anthonius Johannes (1934 - 2010), Leggett, Trevor Pryce (1914 - 2000), New York, United States, Arco Publishing, 1966, 135p, 256 x 182 x 13, HB.

In addition to these
http://explore.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?ct=Next+Page&pag=nxt&indx=11&dscnt=0&vl(10130439UI0)=creator&vl(drEndMonth4)=00&vl(drStartDay4)=00&scp.scps=scope%3A(BLCONTENT)&tab=local_tab&dstmp=1407050165117&srt=rank&mode=Advanced&vl(drEndDay4)=00&vl(1UIStartWith1)=contains&indx=11&tb=t&vl(41497491UI2)=any&vl(freeText0)=Leggett&vid=BLVU1&fn=search&vl(freeText2)=&vl(drEndYear4)=Year&frbg=&vl(10130438UI1)=creator&vl(drStartMonth4)=00&ct=Next Page&vl(1UIStartWith2)=contains&dum=true&vl(1UIStartWith0)=contains&vl(46690061UI3)=all_items&Submit=Search&vl(drStartYear4)=Year&vl(freeText1)=Trevor  
at British library
lists twenty something entries also on Śaṅkarācārya on Śaṅkara on the Yoga-sūtra-s. Vol.1, Samādhi. the Vivaraṇa sub-commentary to Vyāsabhāṣya on the Yoga-sūtra-s of Pantañjali Samādhi-pāda. [translated by] Trevor Leggett.

Portions of a biographical sketch of Leggett.
http://books.google.co.jp/books?id=S6z2b44ksNUC&pg=PA327&lpg=PA327&dq=takasaki+kano+jigoro&source=bl&ots=hm0nvniyip&sig=nCMbj_ZRkI8ZVDHuxkYwV32n_zE&hl=en&sa=X&ei=s51VVLfeA4ea8QXc6IDwDA&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=takasaki%20kano%20jigoro&f=false

noboru wrote:I found some notes about relations czechoslowak judo and Mr. Trevor Pryce Leggett.

Some notes about Mr. Trevor Leggett from year 1936:

Original czech text:

jiujitsu Zlin wrote:O prázdninách téhož roku pořádal VS Praha na letním táboře v Unhošti u Kladna výcvikový kurs jiujitsu a juda, který vedl anglický mistr Price Leget, za účasti zahraničních mistrů Martina Pampella z Němacka a pana Fleka z Rumunska. Price Leget pak ještě v září a říjnu instruoval ve VS Praha a v SK stráž bezpečnosti.

Source:
http://www.jiujitsu.cz/nasehistorie.php

Translation (free):
The holidays that year (1936) club of University Prague held at summer camp in Unhošť near Kladno training course jiujitsu and judo, which led the English champion Pryce Leggett, with the participation of foreign masters Martin Pampell from Germany and Mr.Flek from Romania. Then another in September and October Pryce Leggett instructed in club of University Prague and  in SK security guard. ...

Martin Pampel was active in Germany's Jūdō-circles during the Nazi-regime, and "fought" there, in favour of Jūdō, against the influence of Erich Rahn and his "Jiu-Jitsu".

But are you aware, who this "Mr. Flek from Romania" must have been? I'm sure, that he was no less a figure than Julius Fleck, called "the Professor", from Herrmannstadt (Austria-Hungary, until the end of WWI, then Sibiu, Romania), who after WWII, together with his students in Austria, developed, what he called "Judo-Do". While I know, that he was very bustling before (I've read that he even was called "the white Japanese" by newspapers of that time), as well as after WWII, I never knew, that he must have met and known Trevor Pryce Leggett too.

I found and read the article about Leggett sensei. Some parts about him are very interesting for me, may be for you too.

Source:
T P Leggett
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1352215/T-P-Leggett.html

English master of judo who taught his pupils to strangle their partners to unconsciousness and then revive them
TREVOR PRYCE LEGGETT, who has died aged 85, was a renowned judo trainer at the Budokwai in London - the oldest judo club outside Japan - where he influenced a generation of British judoka.
As a shihan, a senior judo master, Leggett, or "T P" as he was known, was fanatically disciplined. He never rested during training sessions and encouraged his students to do the same. During one of his classes they would be instructed to engage in 10 or more sessions of randori (judo free-fighting) a night, with each session lasting up to 15 minutes.
An invitation to join his Sunday class was greatly prized. Participants had to be at least brown belts, and virtually all the leading figures of British judo graduated from these sessions.
Once a year he held a katsu (resuscitation) class. Leggett would make the announcement: "All black belts downstairs to the lower dojo!" In the lower dojo (judo hall) the participants were shown how to revive somebody who was unconscious. Each member of the class would pair up and take it in turns to strangle his partner until unconscious, and then revive him.
Leggett's intense teaching methods were respected and feared. He had the knack of knowing what the student dreaded most and would ensure that it was confronted during training. Anyone caught half asleep on the mat would be buried with an enormous throw. Leggett saw judo as a training for life, as much about character development as combat on the mat.
Trevor Pryce Leggett was born in London on August 22 1914. His father, a professional musician, had been a musical child prodigy and the leader of orchestras under Sir Thomas Beecham. He did not approve of his son's interest in judo, so to begin with Trevor attended sessions in secret.
In 1932 he joined the Budokwai and studied under Yukio Tani, celebrated at the beginning of the century for taking on all comers in public matches. Tani was a strict teacher of the old samurai school and Leggett was trained in that tradition. During this period he also studied law at the University of London, graduating in 1934.
He went to Japan in 1938 and there continued his judo training. He gained his contest fifth dan, a level that even today very few non-Japanese have achieved. He embraced the challenges set by his Japanese fellow students of judo, who were inclined to be unimpressed by the Englishman. On one occasion, after a training session, he stood for an hour in a cold shower when the Japanese man next to him refused to be the first to leave. In the end, both men agreed to leave together so that neither would lose face.
When the Second World War broke out in Europe, Leggett was attached to the British embassy in Tokyo. In 1941 Japan entered the war and he was interned along with the other embassy staff. During his internment he continued his judo training with his guards. He left Japan as part of an exchange with London-based Japanese embassy staff.
From 1943 to 1945 Leggett served in India at the British South-East Asia Military Headquarters, where his fluency in Japanese proved a great asset. When the war was over he returned to London and in 1946 joined the external services of the BBC. He was a valued member of the Far Eastern section as Japanese editor. In 1950 his post was redesignated as programme organiser of the Japanese section. A sympathetic and courteous colleague, he was highly respected for his knowledge of Japan and its people, and remained with the BBC until his retirement in 1969.
Leggett began teaching at the Budokwai in 1945, and in 1954 was made a senior instructor. But in 1964 he suddenly severed all connections with judo teaching. He decided he had produced enough competitors and teachers. Instead he turned his attention to writing books about judo, Budo (the Japanese equivalent of European chivalry), eastern philosophy (Adhyamata Yoga) and Zen Buddhism.
While in Japan, Leggett had undergone a ritual training at a Buddhist monastery. Part of this involved sitting outside the building for a number of days followed by a prolonged period in the lotus position, once admission had been gained. When he returned to live in London, he became a regular lecturer at the Buddhist Society.
A Japanese friend once described Leggett as "more Japanese than the Japanese". Such was his love of Japan custom that he even wore a fundoshi, the loin cloth worn only by the most traditional Japanese man. Leggett published 30 books, among them Zen and the Ways; Championship Judo - Tai-Otosho and Ouch-Gari Attacks; Cloth and Stone - Stories of Yoga; and Zen and the Spirit of Budo.
For his contribution to introducing Japanese culture to Britain, he was awarded the Order of the Sacred Treasure by the Japanese Government in 1984.

Last year released the film A Man of the Ways (2014) about T.P.Leggett.
Some informations are on https://judo.forumotion.com/t1955-red-carpet-bafta-screening-to-celebrate-trevor-leggett-s-centenary#16785/
or  
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3579216/

Is possible buy or see this film anyway?

noboru wrote:Last year released the film A Man of the Ways (2014) about T.P.Leggett.
Some informations are on https://judo.forumotion.com/t1955-red-carpet-bafta-screening-to-celebrate-trevor-leggett-s-centenary#16785/
or  
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3579216/

Is possible buy or see this film anyway?

You could ask here:
http://www.manoftheways.com/contact.htm

noboru wrote:Last year released the film A Man of the Ways (2014) about T.P.Leggett.
Some informations are on https://judo.forumotion.com/t1955-red-carpet-bafta-screening-to-celebrate-trevor-leggett-s-centenary#16785/
or  
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3579216/

Is possible buy or see this film anyway?

I attended the BAFTA premiere. A great day and a very well made short film.

Here are some photos of T.P.Leggett. They are from perslonal archive of Mr. Václav Bauer 6.Dan. was member of judo national team Czechoslovakia, a coach assistent of judo national team, coach of junior judo national team Czechoslovakia,coach of judo club Škoda Plzeň.

Photo with his signature


Photo with jiujitsu members of club AC Plzeň from Czechoslovakia, year October 1937. (Plzeň is city in west Czech Republic - in outside could be known as Pilsen - Pilsner Urquel beer).


From the same event

trenttheuncatchable wrote:So I am reading a book called When Buddhists Attack, by Jeffrey K. Mann, who's a Goju practitioner. This book explores Buddhism (mostly Zen) and budo/bujutsu, and I find it very good read. He quotes multiple sources, including Zen & the Ways, by Trevor Leggett. Before reading this book I didn't know/remember that name, so I did a bit of searching and it turns out that Mr. Leggett was a very influential man in the short history of judo, even earning a rokudan from the Kodokan. Apparently he also had a godan ranking in shogi (Japanese chess). He was also (among other books) the editor for Anton Geesink's My Championship Judo, as noted by amazon.com. I've ordered Zen & the Ways, and look forward to reading it.

Is anyone familiar with this man or his works?

BTW the short version is that the link between Buddhism and martial arts is mostly overstated, in part because of the influence of gents like the formidable Mr. Leggett. In particular Kanô shihan had zero emphasis on Buddhism. His family was titularly Nichiren Buddhist, but his funeral was Shintô, probably out of deference to his father's birth as the son of a Shintô priest, and someone's misguided notion of making a more state-like affair of his funeral. I think Kanô shihan would have been appalled at the notion, but I don't know if there was a decision made ahead of time. Shintô funerals were and are very rare - I've been to only one in 30 years in Japan.

More on Trevor Leggett at the site dedicated to his works, there is a section of articles relating to his interest in Judo. This site appears to have recently undergone an overhaul, it's a bit bright! Probably more info than one could want... Google tlayt and it should come up.

Please does anyone know why Leggett terminated his judo practice and teachings and started studying zen? What was the main reason for this? Thank you.

lucubrat wrote:More on Trevor Leggett at the site dedicated to his works, there is a section of articles relating to his interest in Judo. (…)

updated link :
https://www.tlayt.org/judo/