Announcing Judo MIND Project Committee - All Japan Judo Federation

Announced by the All Japan Judo Federation (AJJF) Apr 6, 2014
Judo MIND Project (in Japanese) established the 'Judo MIND Project Special Committee' to examine revitalizing the teachings of Kano shihan in judo.  This came from the special project last year headed by Yamashita to root out power and sexual harassment.  



I can't find the names of the committee members but will check.

NBK

Edit - corrected link thanks to FredLinux

Correct link:

http://www.judo.or.jp/p/32712

Hmm. Interesting to see where this might all lead ... starting with "whose idea of manners?"

BillC wrote:Hmm.  Interesting to see where this might all lead ... starting with "whose idea of manners?"

I assume that they're talking about traditional judo 'reigi', which starts most every old judo book with chapters on it - correct activity in the dojo, how to bow, etc etc.

NBK wrote:

BillC wrote:Hmm.  Interesting to see where this might all lead ... starting with "whose idea of manners?"

I assume that they're talking about traditional judo 'reigi', which starts most every old judo book with chapters on it - correct activity in the dojo, how to bow, etc etc.

That might have a larger effect than one would imagine. Earlier in the week I commented on a post from an Italian team ... a picture of kids sitting on the mat with backs against the wall, arms looped around their knees ... I noted that that in the dojo there are seiza and anza and no other way to sit. Got a "thumbs up" from a FB friend I have never met in a country I am not encouraged by my government to visit.

Yamashita has it right ... the education of people to be good citizens starts with manners. Unfortunately, huge sections of the globe are cut off from that concept.

NBK wrote:

BillC wrote:Hmm.  Interesting to see where this might all lead ... starting with "whose idea of manners?"

I assume that they're talking about traditional judo 'reigi', which starts most every old judo book with chapters on it - correct activity in the dojo, how to bow, etc etc.

I thought judo etiquette was called 'Reishiki' and 'Reigi' being the the etiquette about bowing procedures. Now I'm confused

Ryvai wrote:

NBK wrote:

BillC wrote:Hmm.  Interesting to see where this might all lead ... starting with "whose idea of manners?"

I assume that they're talking about traditional judo 'reigi', which starts most every old judo book with chapters on it - correct activity in the dojo, how to bow, etc etc.

I thought judo etiquette was called 'Reishiki' and 'Reigi' being the the etiquette about bowing procedures. Now I'm confused

Reishiki means manners or etiquette, but 'reigi' is traditionally used in judo texts to describe judo etiquette. It also means manners, etiquette, and courtesy.

Judo MIND Project Members - very provisional names and associations (folks move around....)

柔道MINDプロジェクト特別委員会

委員長 - Chairman
   山下　泰裕  Yamashita Yasuhiro

副委員長  Vice Chair
  宇野　博昌 Uno Hiromasa (Tokyo Judo Federation)

委員 Members
   友添　秀則 Tomozoe Hidenori - sports educator, commentator
   菊　　幸一 Kiku Koichi - U. Tsukuba
   宮嶋　泰子 Ms. Miyajima Yasuko - TV Asahi sports announcer
   寒川　恒夫 Sogawa Tsuneo - Waseda U. sports
   大作　晃弘 Daisaku Akihiro?  lawyer?
   北田　典子 Ms. Kitada Noriko, judoka, All Japan Judo Federation
   小志田憲一 Shoshida Ken'ichi
   落合　俊保 Ochiai Toshiyasu, All Japan Judo Federation Lifetime Learning Committee Chair
   本橋　順二  Motohashi Junji, Kodokan, All Japan Student Judo Federation
   保坂　慶蔵 Hosaka Keizo, All Japan Sports / Judo Div Chief
   吉見　浩二  Yoshimi Koji, judoka / All Japan Student Judo Federation
   栗原　孝至  Kurihara Takashi, AJJF, Musashi U. judo
   松井　　勲 Matsui Isao, 1981, 1984 Asian Games gold medalist 8dan judoka
   遠藤　義安  Endo Yoshiyasu - Paralympics judo coach

Nice to see Ochiai-sensei, of Go-no-kata distinction, in that list.

Jonesy wrote:Nice to see Ochiai-sensei, of Go-no-kata distinction, in that list.

He caught my eye, too.

It will be interesting to see if this turns out to be something substantial. The Jûdô Renaissance at the time was announced with lots of bells and whistles and mostly seems to resemble a big soufflé: Ppppffffffftttt, floop. Certainly international. I am sure that in Japan the word "Jûdô Renaissance" prominently appeared on some posters and stuff, but in the mean time the term has even been quietly removed from the Kôdôkan web pages, and we haven't exactly seen an objective evaluation of the goals it achieved and failed to achieve.

The IJF's "Judo for Peace" is another storm in a glass of water and the only place it has achieved peace so far is in the wallets of the IJF Executive Board members. Sure, there have been a couple of seminars in developmental countries, for which some retired big name champions were invited, and sure there were some jûdôgi donated to some poorer countries which is great, but all in all still of infinitesimally limited proportions to fill up a subject heading as grandiloquent as "Judo for Peace". Wars are still raging in many countries, people still kill others for little reason if they can get away with it, hypocrisy, xenophobia and discrimination still enthusiastically prevail, and so on. It has been more a marketing aspect for the IJF than anything else and the developmental countries where such an IJF seminar may have been held are still in the same shit as they were before and so are the kids who with big smiles were showcased on the routine pics shoulder to shoulder with the IJF world improvers. Admittedly, even if the IJF instead of a commercial money-making and casino other grey-arey revenue money laundering machine would closely stick to the educational views of Kanô success would not be guaranteed as every serious philosophy scholar familiar with Kanô would quickly explain that Kanô's views were embarrassingly affected by naiveté and simply could not survive serious philosophical scrutiny, perhaps one of the reason why the name Kanô barely appears in any serious pedagogical reference text and not at all in any serious philosophy reference. The goals of jûdô are honorable, no doubt, but especially where they go beyond the mere physical education training, are utopian.

Lets wait and observe what "Judo Mind" will actually achieve in verifiable results beyond mere words on a poster or small talk.

I assume the process went something like this (in Japanese of course)

Cichorei Kano wrote:It will be interesting to see if this turns out to be something substantial. The Jûdô Renaissance at the time was announced with lots of bells and whistles and mostly seems to resemble a big soufflé: Ppppffffffftttt, floop. Certainly international. I am sure that in Japan the word "Jûdô Renaissance" prominently appeared on some posters and stuff, but in the mean time the term has even been quietly removed from the Kôdôkan web pages, and we haven't exactly seen an objective evaluation of the goals it achieved and failed to achieve.

The IJF's "Judo for Peace" is another storm in a glass of water and the only place it has achieved peace so far is in the wallets of the IJF Executive Board members. Sure, there have been a couple of seminars in developmental countries, for which some retired big name champions were invited, and sure there were some jûdôgi donated to some poorer countries which is great, but all in all still of infinitesimally limited proportions to fill up a subject heading as grandiloquent as "Judo for Peace". Wars are still raging in many countries, people still kill others for little reason if they can get away with it, hypocrisy, xenophobia and discrimination still enthusiastically prevail, and so on. It has been more a marketing aspect for the IJF than anything else and the developmental countries where such an IJF seminar may have been held are still in the same shit as they were before and so are the kids who with big smiles were showcased on the routine pics shoulder to shoulder with the IJF world improvers. Admittedly, even if the IJF instead of a commercial money-making and casino other grey-arey revenue money laundering machine would closely stick to the educational views of Kanô success would not be guaranteed as every serious philosophy scholar familiar with Kanô would quickly explain that Kanô's views were embarrassingly affected by naiveté and simply could not survive serious philosophical scrutiny, perhaps one of the reason why the name Kanô barely appears in any serious pedagogical reference text and not at all in any serious philosophy reference. The goals of jûdô are honorable, no doubt, but especially where they go beyond the mere physical education training, are utopian.

Lets wait and observe what "Judo Mind" will actually achieve in verifiable results beyond mere words on a poster or small talk.

The project of 'Judo for peace' where first started in Norway, labeled 'Judo For Fred' (literally Judo for peace in Norwegian), but then taken to the IJF by Jan Eirik Schiøtz. It was not his idea to begin with, but he of course took credit for the project's 'invention'. Anyways, in Norway this project is still going strong, completely independent from IJF interference. We have our own board of Judoka that does not take a single penny in commission and almost every cent that is allocated to the cause is well-spent in development countries. 'Judo For Fred' receives economic support from NORAD (The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) and are classified as an aid-organization under NIF (The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports).

I cannot speak for 'Judo For Peace' (IJF) and their projects, but believe me, the work that is done by 'Judo For Fred' in Norway is remarkable and has given children in several development countries food on the table, safe transportation from school to training where rape and abduction is happening on a daily basis and new Judo clubs are being created. Just because the name; 'Judo For Peace' seems grandiose, does not mean that one cannot help others just because world-peace cannot be achieved in a day. JFF has done a lot of work in Afghanistan, they have financed the building of 4 dojos in Khabul, 3 mobile-dojo in Aschiana (centre for street children) and 1 dojo for the orphanage for boys, Tahi Maskan, just to name a few. 'Fighting for freedom and liberty' is one of the phrases used by this organisation. I find it catchy and very in-line with Sei-ryoku zen'yô, don't you think CK?

Children getting ready for Judo-practice in Khabul, Afganistan (courtesy of 'Judo For Fred');

Ryvai wrote:

The project of 'Judo for peace' where first started in Norway, labeled 'Judo For Fred' (literally Judo for peace in Norwegian), but then taken to the IJF by Jan Eirik Schiøtz. It was not his idea to begin with, but he of course took credit for the project's 'invention'. Anyways, in Norway this project is still going strong, completely independent from IJF interference. We have our own board of Judoka that does not take a single penny in commission and almost every cent that is allocated to the cause is well-spent in development countries. 'Judo For Fred' receives economic support from NORAD (The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation) and are classified as an aid-organization under NIF (The Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports).

I cannot speak for 'Judo For Peace' (IJF) and their projects, but believe me, the work that is done by 'Judo For Fred' in Norway is remarkable and has given children in several development countries food on the table, safe transportation from school to training where rape and abduction is happening on a daily basis and new Judo clubs are being created. Just because the name; 'Judo For Peace' seems grandiose, does not mean that one cannot help others just because world-peace cannot be achieved in a day. JFF has done a lot of work in Afghanistan, they have financed the building of 4 dojos in Khabul, 3 mobile-dojo in Aschiana (centre for street children) and 1 dojo for the orphanage for boys, Tahi Maskan, just to name a few. 'Fighting for freedom and liberty' is one of the phrases used by this organisation. I find it catchy and very in-line with Sei-ryoku zen'yô, don't you think CK?

Children getting ready for Judo-practice in Khabul, Afganistan (courtesy of 'Judo For Fred');

Great to hear if this is an accurate assessment of what has been achieved via the involvement of the Norwegian Judo Federation. I was obviously talking about the IJF, the Kôdôkan, and implicitly of the AJJF, not the NJF and certainly not the "ordinary people" and volunteers who often do the real work and are the real idealists. There are a couple of video clips about similar achievements:




This is, however not really proof of sucess. In many cases, initiatives in developmental countries fail to survive because they are insufficiently adapted to local culture, because people have other more major concerns, etc. Some friends of mine, had set up farms in Africa. They could easily produce videos and pictures with laughing faces to give you an impression of that success. The reality is a complete failure. As soon as they left, the locals just promptly ate all the life stock, forgot about how to run the farm, and within 2 weeks after they had left the businesses collapsed and what they had in cash was used for other purposes. A surprise ?  Not really. Initiatives in countries with other traditions and cultures are notoriously difficult. Remember how the US made sure the locals in Iraq and Afghanistan were trained to run their own security and law enforcement. As soon as the Americans left, the police fled their offices, and within days Jihadists has taken over. Or remember how they were going to change the local regimes in the Arabic world and made them in to nice Western Democracies ?

When I see pictures or Videos with a laughing IJF President and his Executive Staff in yet another "Judo for Peace" initiative I more wonder who paid for his first-class airplane ticket, and that of his staff as the guy surely doesn't fly middle seat in the sardines cabin, and he also doesn't stay in a room with shared bathroom at the local Motel 6. From just the cost spent to all that a lot of food and medicine for locals could have been bought, and why his presences was necessary and what these executives actually manually and practically contributed to directly make the life of the locals better is a bit murky to me ...  But again ... talking IJF here ... although the national NGBs are notorious too. Did you know that one of our previous NGBs nearly went broke here ?  When financial records were examined, it turned out that the NGB's president had flown to Japan first class full-fare and stayed at a 5-start hotel whereas the athletes had to share rooms in a cheap hotel. This is rather common than the exception. The IOC top is even far worse than that and behaves as if they were royals. I doubt that their attitudes suddenly make a 180° turn and become Franciscan monks who took an oath of poverty ...

But if Judo for Peace really exists then I will be happy to see the next time an Iranian and Israeli jûdôka hold a match that they will respectfully bow to each other and shake hands afterwards. My gut feeling tells me that though that their true feelings will still prevail even though neither probably ever has met the other one before, nor did either one ever did anything wrong to them, but the simple ownership of their ethnicity and citizenship and what in the mind of the other that is supposed to represent will be sufficient to maintain their anticipated feelings toward each other.

In your reply, you probably mean ji-ta kyô-ei rather than sei-ryoku zen'yô ?

Cichorei Kano wrote:
When I see pictures or Videos with a laughing IJF President and his Executive Staff in yet another "Judo for Peace" initiative I more wonder who paid for his first-class airplane ticket, and that of his staff as the guy surely doesn't fly middle seat in the sardines cabin, and he also doesn't stay in a room with shared bathroom at the local Motel 6. From just the cost spent to all that a lot of food and medicine for locals could have been bought, and why his presences was necessary and what these executives actually manually and practically contributed to directly make the life of the locals better is a bit murky to me ...

You have a good point. Whenever you see him at an event, you know it's money wasted somewhere. He should stay away from these aid-events. His plane ticket is probably from the IJF's "representation" budget though, probably not eating away at the 'Judo For Peace' budget

Cichorei Kano wrote:But if Judo for Peace really exists then I will be happy to see the next time an Iranian and Israeli jûdôka hold a match that they will respectfully bow to each other and shake hands afterwards.

I would watch that fight with tension, expecting bombs to go off any minute. However, I've met a lot of Iranians, and informed people are not like their crazy supreme leader. In fact, most people don't even support him, he is just "elected" by 98% of the population, gee I wonder how? hehe. Their Iranian leader spoke on national TV and blamed USA for the drought that was happening, you see, USA had "stolen" their clouds and should be decapitated for it. You are right that religion and culture is completely messed up but I still believe both the Iranian and Israeli judoka would bow and shake hands :p

Cichorei Kano wrote:In your reply, you probably mean ji-ta kyô-ei rather than sei-ryoku zen'yô ?

Yes of course! Was sleepy from work still

Cichorei Kano wrote:... The IJF's "Judo for Peace" is another storm in a glass of water and the only place it has achieved peace so far is in the wallets of the IJF Executive Board members. Sure, there have been a couple of seminars in developmental countries, for which some retired big name champions were invited, and sure there were some jûdôgi donated to some poorer countries which is great, but all in all still of infinitesimally limited proportions to fill up a subject heading as grandiloquent as "Judo for Peace". Wars are still raging in many countries, people still kill others for little reason if they can get away with it, hypocrisy, xenophobia and discrimination still enthusiastically prevail, and so on. It has been more a marketing aspect for the IJF than anything else and the developmental countries where such an IJF seminar may have been held are still in the same shit as they were before and so are the kids who with big smiles were showcased on the routine pics shoulder to shoulder with the IJF world improvers. Admittedly, even if the IJF instead of a commercial money-making and casino other grey-arey revenue money laundering machine would closely stick to the educational views of Kanô success would not be guaranteed as every serious philosophy scholar familiar with Kanô would quickly explain that Kanô's views were embarrassingly affected by naiveté and simply could not survive serious philosophical scrutiny, perhaps one of the reason why the name Kanô barely appears in any serious pedagogical reference text and not at all in any serious philosophy reference. The goals of jûdô are honorable, no doubt, but especially where they go beyond the mere physical education training, are utopian. ...

Usually, I'm as cynical, as one can be, I sometimes speak as sarcastically, as one can do, and I'm as critical of politicians and other "leaders", as I think fit, BUT: a slogan like "Judo for Peace" doesn't sound like a grandiloquent statement like "Peace for the (whole) World" in my ears. Moreover, even if some, or possibly most of Kanō-shihan's philosophical views, ideas and teachings may be considered as being naïve or utopian by scholars and experts in that field, they are exactly what I'm admiring most of this man, despite of all his possible flaws, and also despite of my affinity to the small jūjutsu-world instead of the big jūdō-world. Similar animadversions could've been made regarding Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Henri Dunant, and many more. They all also had their natural weaknesses, and, as the Italians say:"Tutti i santi hanno i loro difetti" (without wanting to call Kanō a saint, of course).

I look at this initiative in a similar way. Even if it is predetermined to fail miserably, or to silently fall to sleep after some time, if, in it's course, it's able to change the life of even one single child for the better, it was worth all the efforts and funds, INCLUDING some possible waste by any functionaries.

Cichorei Kano wrote:... Lets wait and observe what "Judo Mind" will actually achieve in verifiable results beyond mere words on a poster or small talk.

Yes.

http://www.judo.or.jp/p/34597
13.- 14.2.2015  was held judo MIND forum lead by Yasuhiro Yamashita
Translation from Google Translator
"February 13, two days of the 14th, the National Sports Science Center, at Ajinomoto National Training Center, the first of the "judo MIND Forum" was held. Bringing together the judo MIND personnel nationwide, each other reported judo MIND promotion activities in each region, was intended to seek the way of further activities. And the person in charge of 47 people from all over the country, Yamashita Yasuhiro judo MIND project Special Committee started the committee the length members of the gathering, it was done.
First day forum Yamashita chairman keynote, judo MIND activity case study presentations, Yamashita chairman, Tsuneo Sōgawa committee, Hidenori Tomozoe Committee, held a symposium by Miyajima Yasuko committee. On the second day in a subcommittee that was divided into each region, is discussed is the way of promotion activities, in the subsequent subcommittee report meeting, such as "the need for improvement of qualities of leadership" from each district has been cited as summarized.
"It is not possible to regain immediately what came lost in the long years, everyone with human development, let's continue to work towards the realization of human education" first forum from Yamashita chairman that in determination and concluded was. It should be noted that the plan for more information on this judo MIND forum is posted on the bulletin magazine "Mind"."