27.11.2007, 16:46
Folgend ein Ausschnitt aus dem Buch “My Judo” von Masahiko Kimura. Das Buch wurde 1984 geschrieben und am 31 Januar 1985 veroeffentlicht.
The following is what motivated me to start judo. It was around the beginning of my 4th grade year. During a large-scale school cleaning (this is called O-Soji), Mr. Tagawa in charge of my class was absent. When I noticed it, I ran to a nearby Manto (Japanese pastries) Shop, ate four or five Manto, and came back to the school. I then noticed that some of my classmates were carrying the teacher's desk. I ran toward the desk and jumped onto the desk. The desk collapsed making a loud sound. I jumped up and down with joy screaming "Banzai, Banzai". Suddenly, someone grabbed me firmly in the rear lapel and pulled me backward. When I turned my head, I found Mr. Tagawa, who I thought was absent, glaring at me with a very scary look. He yelled "Idiot face!" and slapped me in the face. He then threw me to the floor. He pulled me up, slapped me, and threw me to the floor again. After this, I was scolded in the teachers' room, and stood on the corridor. After this incident, I decided to get even with Mr. Tagawa. I though about how to get revenge on him for about a week, and investigated his background. I then found out that he was a 1st dan in judo. I thought "Is judo such a formidable art? Then, I would be able to throw him around if I became a 2nd dan." Soon after this, I entered Shodokan Dojo nearby my elementary school.
When I was in the 5th grade, I had my first shiai. I participated in a team match with Nakayama Dojo which was about 6km away from my dojo. My opponent was an 8th grader and was bigger than I. I attempted Tai-Otoshi and O-soto-gari, but he did not move a bit. I then tried O-uchi-gari, he reversed it threw me onto the floor, and pinned me by Kami-shiho-gatame. I could not get out of it and lost.
When I was in the 7th grade, my older brother came home crying, saying that he got bitten by dogs. The next night, I went out for revenge. I found mid-size three dogs at a storage of a geisha house that was about 50 meters away from my house. They were the enemies. I called them one by one with a whistle, and kicked it with a geta (wooden sandal) by full force. When I passed by the storage, all the 3 dogs were covered with a bandage. Through this experience, I developed boldness and confidence for fighting with humans.
When I was in the 8th grade, I entered a prefecture sumo tournament and placed 2nd. In the final, I threw my opponent by O-sotogari, but the referee called my opponent the winner saying that my foot got off the ring first. After this incident, Mr. Ogawa of Chinsei Junior High visited my house with a student named Nakayama. He invited me to enter Chinsei Junior High and become a member of the judo club or sumo club. In April 1932, I entered this school. As soon as I entered Chinsei Junior High, I started to practice at Kawakita dojo 3 time a week. I practiced at Chinsei Junior High, Kawakita dojo, Butokuden, and Imperial 5th High (today's Kumamoto University). In those days, I practiced 5 hours a day. In addition, I did 300 push-ups daily.
When I transferred to Chinsei Junior High, I was a 1st kyu. One day, Mr. Ogawa told me to take a promotion test. I went to Butokukai, which was the test center, alone, and threw 5 students of Kumamoto Junior High, and earned the 1st dan. When I took the promotion test for the 2nd dan, I was the captain of the red team, and defeated the remaining 4 members of the white team, all by Ippon. In this way, I became a 2nd dan in April 1933. In order to be a 3rd dan, one must go to the head quarter of Butokukai in Kyoto, and take a written test in addition to a skill test. In the May of my 9th grade year, I went to Kyoto for the first time in my life, and became a 3rd dan. I did not have any problem passing the skill test. But, in the written test, I was completely clueless. The time was running out. I snatched one of the answer sheets finished by someone sitting behind me, wrote my name, and turned it in as mine. I still feel guilty of what I did to the man who wrote the answers. In the summer of my 10th grade year, in a Red-White team match held in Butokuden in Saga Prefecture, as a 3rd dan I threw four 3rd dan opponents and six 4th dan opponents including the captain of the opponent team. As a result of this feat, I was given a 4th dan. A 4th dan 10th grader was very rare in the country. I became well known after this.
I became the captain of Chinsei Junior High when I was in the 3rd year. When I was in the 4th year in Junior High, my school participated in the National Junior High Championship held in Kyoto. My team advanced to the final. In the final, my team faced Kyoto First Commerce Junior High. This school was very tough and was well known for its strength in Newaza. When my turn as the Captain came, Kyoto First Commerce Junior High team still had 3 members left. I beat these 3 men by O-Uchi-Gari, Newaza, and Newaza respectively. As a result, Chinsei Junior High became the national champion for the first time in its history. Soon after I entered Chinsei Junior High, I was thrown by Funayama, who was 1 year senior to me, by an intense O-Soto-Gari, had a concussion, and could not get up for a while. In those days, I always wanted to get even with him, but could not get to his level, which was at the level of captain. However, he was very cautious and observant of me knowing that I would soon catch up with him. On our 3 km way to Butokuden from Chinsei Junior High, and on our way to Nagarokubashi station, from which I used to take a train to go home, whenever, we walked together, he asked my height and weight. He probably wanted to confirm his physical superiority over me. I really hated it. But being one year junior to him, I could not explicitly say that to him.
I had two big fights during my Chinsei Junior High days. In those days, in Kumamoto, Budo was widely and feverishly practiced. Given this background, it was a natural consequence that a young man who rapidly became famous became a target of challenge. The first fight occurred when I was in the 2nd year. One member of Chinsei Junior High Judo club, whose name was Iida, who competed for the position of 2nd Year Student Captain with me and lost, developed hatred toward me. On a Saturday of June, on my way to the school dojo, he walked up to me and said, "I have a little business with you. So, come with me." In a case like this, the meaning of "business" is tacitly understood. He uttered "You are impudent. I am going to get you today" and took out a jack knife from a pocket, and suddenly thrust it at my abdominal area. I thought I evaded it successfully, but the knife got to my buttock. He got on a bicycle, and started to run away. I also ran after him while bleeding from the buttock, and finally got to his house. He stayed inside the house and did not come out. Instead, his parents came out and apologized to me thoroughly and sincerely. They said, "Our son cut his own hand when he stabbed you, and is in bed now. A doctor is on the way." It turned out that Iida's injury was more serious than mine. But I had to stay away from practice for about 20 days also. In my 3rd year at the school, I was challenged by K (Note: the name of this student is kept secret in the book) who was then considered to be the number 1 street fighter among all the junior high school students in the area. He was a student of Kumamoto Commerce Junior High. He was small in stature, but was known to pull out a knife in every street fight. It was known that when he loses, his parents and relatives all join him and ambush for revenge. On my way back from Butokuden, I was about to cross Nagaroku-bridge, he found me and said "Hold it right there. Come with me". We walked to Shimogawara park near the sunset. He said, "You are Kimura, aren't you?" This was the first time that we saw each other face to face. We glared at each other over a distance of about 1 meter. He then suddenly pulled out a Tanto (short sword), and thrust it forward at me. I evaded it, grabbed him, and threw him hard onto the ground. Now, in this state, he is no match to me. "I am K. I surrender. You are strong." He honestly revealed his identity and apologized. After this, none of his parents came to see me. Moreover, no junior high student challenged me for a street fight.
People call me "Jo-Sho (meaning a man of constant wins or a man who always wins) Kimura". However, I have 4 losses in my judo life. I suffered all these losses when I was a 1st year student at Takushoku University. Until then, I had believed that O-soto-gari, Seoi-nage, O-uchi-gari, and so on as completed techniques, and compiled wins using these techniques. However, in the spring of 1935, my favorite techniques faced limitations for the first time.
In the spring of 1935, soon after I entered the Takushoku University Preparatory Program, in the Red-White Shiai of Kodokan, I beat eight 4th dan opponents. When I faced the 9th opponent, I was already exhausted. In the 9th bout, I was defeated by Miyajima, who was a student at Meiji University, by Harai-Maki-Komi. Still, it was sufficient to receive the 5th dan. When I returned to Ushijima Sensei's juku (Note: Mr. Ushijima owned a house for judo students on scholarship, where Kimura and other judo students were housed. Such a house is called "juku", meaning a learning center), and reported the result, Ushijima Sensei gave me a series of slapping in the face. He said, "Shiai is equivalent to a real sword 'Kill or Get Killed' duel between Bushi. To throw the opponent means to kill him. Being thrown means being killed. You killed 8 men, and got killed by the 9th man. Remember, if you devote your life in judo, you can survive only by throwing your opponents or fighting to a draw no matter how many tough opponents you face."
In May, I participated in a 5th dan Selection Shiai held by the Ministry of Royal Affairs. In the first bout, I faced Osawa 5th dan of Tokyo Police. In an attempt to throw him at once, I grabbed his left deep lapel with my right hand, and held his right sleeve with my left hand. Osawa had positioned his right leg behind. I initiated O-soto-gari by full force. He then pulled his right leg backward all the way, and withstood the pressure. I then made a transition to O-soto-otoshi. The next moment, my body floated in the air, and was flipped in reverse. I fell to the ground head first, had a concussion, and lost consciousness.
I won All Japan Championship in the fall of 1937. My dream came true. I pinched my cheek several times. It really hurt. It was not a dream. After dinner, I did 500 push-ups, bunny hop 1km, and Makiwara strikes of karate 500 times. I could not fall asleep that night due to the fatigue and pain incurred during the bout. All Japan Judo Championship was held on October 23 and 24, 1937 in Kodokan. I defeated Jinnosuke Yanagizawa 5th dan, Noboru Ueno 5th dan in the first bout, and semi-final, respectively, by O-soto-gari. I faced Masayuki Nakajima 5th dan who was the representative of Manshuu. His name was well known throughout Japan as well as Manshuu. He was 182 or 183 cm, and 100kg. He had formidable O-soto-gari, O-uchi-gari, Uchimata, and Tai-otoshi. A number of strong men and big men got treated like kids by him when he applied these techniques. In particular, his tai-sabaki (Note: footwork and moves) that precisely captures his opponents in a quick motion seemed like an exceptional talent he was born with. The final was 1 round 15 minutes. The minimum standard of judgment was Waza-ari. For the first 4 or 6 minutes, I was dominated by him. In those days, my lower body was still weak and had not mastered enough techniques. So, whenever Nakajima pulled me around, my legs wobbled. To be honest, I had no confidence in the techniques I applied. Moreover, I could not afford to play a chess match with him. I moved only in response to his techniques. I and Nakajima fell together down onto the press seats, which were about 1 meter below the Shiai-Jo (platform) many times. Every time I fell with him, our heads and backs got slammed so hard that we became unable to breath properly for a while. We both got up to the tatami while feeling half unconscious. Neither of us scored anything decisive, and the 2nd round overtime started. I guess I was lucky. At the very moment he extended his right arm, I grabbed the sleeve of his right arm with my left hand, and initiated Ippon-seoi. This caught Nakajima off-guard. I then scored Waza-ari. While continuing a hard battle, I felt relieved, and thought, "Now, my victory has been secured." However, the next moment, he delivered an intense Uchi-mata. By reflex, I lowered my hip and withstood this. But Nakajima must have calculated this. I felt relieved when I withstood the intense attack (I was very immature). My hip was raised step by step as he initiated the next attack, i.e, Ken-ken Uchi-mata. I could not withstand this attack any longer, and collapsed making a loud sound. He scored Waza-ari!
“My Judo” von Masahiko Kimura
The following is what motivated me to start judo. It was around the beginning of my 4th grade year. During a large-scale school cleaning (this is called O-Soji), Mr. Tagawa in charge of my class was absent. When I noticed it, I ran to a nearby Manto (Japanese pastries) Shop, ate four or five Manto, and came back to the school. I then noticed that some of my classmates were carrying the teacher's desk. I ran toward the desk and jumped onto the desk. The desk collapsed making a loud sound. I jumped up and down with joy screaming "Banzai, Banzai". Suddenly, someone grabbed me firmly in the rear lapel and pulled me backward. When I turned my head, I found Mr. Tagawa, who I thought was absent, glaring at me with a very scary look. He yelled "Idiot face!" and slapped me in the face. He then threw me to the floor. He pulled me up, slapped me, and threw me to the floor again. After this, I was scolded in the teachers' room, and stood on the corridor. After this incident, I decided to get even with Mr. Tagawa. I though about how to get revenge on him for about a week, and investigated his background. I then found out that he was a 1st dan in judo. I thought "Is judo such a formidable art? Then, I would be able to throw him around if I became a 2nd dan." Soon after this, I entered Shodokan Dojo nearby my elementary school.
When I was in the 5th grade, I had my first shiai. I participated in a team match with Nakayama Dojo which was about 6km away from my dojo. My opponent was an 8th grader and was bigger than I. I attempted Tai-Otoshi and O-soto-gari, but he did not move a bit. I then tried O-uchi-gari, he reversed it threw me onto the floor, and pinned me by Kami-shiho-gatame. I could not get out of it and lost.
When I was in the 7th grade, my older brother came home crying, saying that he got bitten by dogs. The next night, I went out for revenge. I found mid-size three dogs at a storage of a geisha house that was about 50 meters away from my house. They were the enemies. I called them one by one with a whistle, and kicked it with a geta (wooden sandal) by full force. When I passed by the storage, all the 3 dogs were covered with a bandage. Through this experience, I developed boldness and confidence for fighting with humans.
When I was in the 8th grade, I entered a prefecture sumo tournament and placed 2nd. In the final, I threw my opponent by O-sotogari, but the referee called my opponent the winner saying that my foot got off the ring first. After this incident, Mr. Ogawa of Chinsei Junior High visited my house with a student named Nakayama. He invited me to enter Chinsei Junior High and become a member of the judo club or sumo club. In April 1932, I entered this school. As soon as I entered Chinsei Junior High, I started to practice at Kawakita dojo 3 time a week. I practiced at Chinsei Junior High, Kawakita dojo, Butokuden, and Imperial 5th High (today's Kumamoto University). In those days, I practiced 5 hours a day. In addition, I did 300 push-ups daily.
When I transferred to Chinsei Junior High, I was a 1st kyu. One day, Mr. Ogawa told me to take a promotion test. I went to Butokukai, which was the test center, alone, and threw 5 students of Kumamoto Junior High, and earned the 1st dan. When I took the promotion test for the 2nd dan, I was the captain of the red team, and defeated the remaining 4 members of the white team, all by Ippon. In this way, I became a 2nd dan in April 1933. In order to be a 3rd dan, one must go to the head quarter of Butokukai in Kyoto, and take a written test in addition to a skill test. In the May of my 9th grade year, I went to Kyoto for the first time in my life, and became a 3rd dan. I did not have any problem passing the skill test. But, in the written test, I was completely clueless. The time was running out. I snatched one of the answer sheets finished by someone sitting behind me, wrote my name, and turned it in as mine. I still feel guilty of what I did to the man who wrote the answers. In the summer of my 10th grade year, in a Red-White team match held in Butokuden in Saga Prefecture, as a 3rd dan I threw four 3rd dan opponents and six 4th dan opponents including the captain of the opponent team. As a result of this feat, I was given a 4th dan. A 4th dan 10th grader was very rare in the country. I became well known after this.
I became the captain of Chinsei Junior High when I was in the 3rd year. When I was in the 4th year in Junior High, my school participated in the National Junior High Championship held in Kyoto. My team advanced to the final. In the final, my team faced Kyoto First Commerce Junior High. This school was very tough and was well known for its strength in Newaza. When my turn as the Captain came, Kyoto First Commerce Junior High team still had 3 members left. I beat these 3 men by O-Uchi-Gari, Newaza, and Newaza respectively. As a result, Chinsei Junior High became the national champion for the first time in its history. Soon after I entered Chinsei Junior High, I was thrown by Funayama, who was 1 year senior to me, by an intense O-Soto-Gari, had a concussion, and could not get up for a while. In those days, I always wanted to get even with him, but could not get to his level, which was at the level of captain. However, he was very cautious and observant of me knowing that I would soon catch up with him. On our 3 km way to Butokuden from Chinsei Junior High, and on our way to Nagarokubashi station, from which I used to take a train to go home, whenever, we walked together, he asked my height and weight. He probably wanted to confirm his physical superiority over me. I really hated it. But being one year junior to him, I could not explicitly say that to him.
I had two big fights during my Chinsei Junior High days. In those days, in Kumamoto, Budo was widely and feverishly practiced. Given this background, it was a natural consequence that a young man who rapidly became famous became a target of challenge. The first fight occurred when I was in the 2nd year. One member of Chinsei Junior High Judo club, whose name was Iida, who competed for the position of 2nd Year Student Captain with me and lost, developed hatred toward me. On a Saturday of June, on my way to the school dojo, he walked up to me and said, "I have a little business with you. So, come with me." In a case like this, the meaning of "business" is tacitly understood. He uttered "You are impudent. I am going to get you today" and took out a jack knife from a pocket, and suddenly thrust it at my abdominal area. I thought I evaded it successfully, but the knife got to my buttock. He got on a bicycle, and started to run away. I also ran after him while bleeding from the buttock, and finally got to his house. He stayed inside the house and did not come out. Instead, his parents came out and apologized to me thoroughly and sincerely. They said, "Our son cut his own hand when he stabbed you, and is in bed now. A doctor is on the way." It turned out that Iida's injury was more serious than mine. But I had to stay away from practice for about 20 days also. In my 3rd year at the school, I was challenged by K (Note: the name of this student is kept secret in the book) who was then considered to be the number 1 street fighter among all the junior high school students in the area. He was a student of Kumamoto Commerce Junior High. He was small in stature, but was known to pull out a knife in every street fight. It was known that when he loses, his parents and relatives all join him and ambush for revenge. On my way back from Butokuden, I was about to cross Nagaroku-bridge, he found me and said "Hold it right there. Come with me". We walked to Shimogawara park near the sunset. He said, "You are Kimura, aren't you?" This was the first time that we saw each other face to face. We glared at each other over a distance of about 1 meter. He then suddenly pulled out a Tanto (short sword), and thrust it forward at me. I evaded it, grabbed him, and threw him hard onto the ground. Now, in this state, he is no match to me. "I am K. I surrender. You are strong." He honestly revealed his identity and apologized. After this, none of his parents came to see me. Moreover, no junior high student challenged me for a street fight.
People call me "Jo-Sho (meaning a man of constant wins or a man who always wins) Kimura". However, I have 4 losses in my judo life. I suffered all these losses when I was a 1st year student at Takushoku University. Until then, I had believed that O-soto-gari, Seoi-nage, O-uchi-gari, and so on as completed techniques, and compiled wins using these techniques. However, in the spring of 1935, my favorite techniques faced limitations for the first time.
In the spring of 1935, soon after I entered the Takushoku University Preparatory Program, in the Red-White Shiai of Kodokan, I beat eight 4th dan opponents. When I faced the 9th opponent, I was already exhausted. In the 9th bout, I was defeated by Miyajima, who was a student at Meiji University, by Harai-Maki-Komi. Still, it was sufficient to receive the 5th dan. When I returned to Ushijima Sensei's juku (Note: Mr. Ushijima owned a house for judo students on scholarship, where Kimura and other judo students were housed. Such a house is called "juku", meaning a learning center), and reported the result, Ushijima Sensei gave me a series of slapping in the face. He said, "Shiai is equivalent to a real sword 'Kill or Get Killed' duel between Bushi. To throw the opponent means to kill him. Being thrown means being killed. You killed 8 men, and got killed by the 9th man. Remember, if you devote your life in judo, you can survive only by throwing your opponents or fighting to a draw no matter how many tough opponents you face."
In May, I participated in a 5th dan Selection Shiai held by the Ministry of Royal Affairs. In the first bout, I faced Osawa 5th dan of Tokyo Police. In an attempt to throw him at once, I grabbed his left deep lapel with my right hand, and held his right sleeve with my left hand. Osawa had positioned his right leg behind. I initiated O-soto-gari by full force. He then pulled his right leg backward all the way, and withstood the pressure. I then made a transition to O-soto-otoshi. The next moment, my body floated in the air, and was flipped in reverse. I fell to the ground head first, had a concussion, and lost consciousness.
I won All Japan Championship in the fall of 1937. My dream came true. I pinched my cheek several times. It really hurt. It was not a dream. After dinner, I did 500 push-ups, bunny hop 1km, and Makiwara strikes of karate 500 times. I could not fall asleep that night due to the fatigue and pain incurred during the bout. All Japan Judo Championship was held on October 23 and 24, 1937 in Kodokan. I defeated Jinnosuke Yanagizawa 5th dan, Noboru Ueno 5th dan in the first bout, and semi-final, respectively, by O-soto-gari. I faced Masayuki Nakajima 5th dan who was the representative of Manshuu. His name was well known throughout Japan as well as Manshuu. He was 182 or 183 cm, and 100kg. He had formidable O-soto-gari, O-uchi-gari, Uchimata, and Tai-otoshi. A number of strong men and big men got treated like kids by him when he applied these techniques. In particular, his tai-sabaki (Note: footwork and moves) that precisely captures his opponents in a quick motion seemed like an exceptional talent he was born with. The final was 1 round 15 minutes. The minimum standard of judgment was Waza-ari. For the first 4 or 6 minutes, I was dominated by him. In those days, my lower body was still weak and had not mastered enough techniques. So, whenever Nakajima pulled me around, my legs wobbled. To be honest, I had no confidence in the techniques I applied. Moreover, I could not afford to play a chess match with him. I moved only in response to his techniques. I and Nakajima fell together down onto the press seats, which were about 1 meter below the Shiai-Jo (platform) many times. Every time I fell with him, our heads and backs got slammed so hard that we became unable to breath properly for a while. We both got up to the tatami while feeling half unconscious. Neither of us scored anything decisive, and the 2nd round overtime started. I guess I was lucky. At the very moment he extended his right arm, I grabbed the sleeve of his right arm with my left hand, and initiated Ippon-seoi. This caught Nakajima off-guard. I then scored Waza-ari. While continuing a hard battle, I felt relieved, and thought, "Now, my victory has been secured." However, the next moment, he delivered an intense Uchi-mata. By reflex, I lowered my hip and withstood this. But Nakajima must have calculated this. I felt relieved when I withstood the intense attack (I was very immature). My hip was raised step by step as he initiated the next attack, i.e, Ken-ken Uchi-mata. I could not withstand this attack any longer, and collapsed making a loud sound. He scored Waza-ari!