Judo is a remarkably standardized martial art. Wherever you find judo in the world, you will see a lot that is either the same or at least familiar.
They work on the same techniques in Spain as they do in southwest Mississippi. Judoka use the same semi-Japanese terminology in judo classes in Russia as they do in Washington D.C. 182 of the 197 countries on the Earth are members of the International Judo Federation so that they have the opportunity to participate in the Olympic Games.
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But everywhere you go each class will also be distinctive. Each player puts his own particular spin or twist on his own particular tokuiwaza (favorite techniques). Each sensei emphasizes slightly different aspects of the art, depending upon what he thinks is the crux of the matter.
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Mokuren Dojo is no different. We teach a judo that is recognizable anywhere in the world, but Mokuren Judo is definitely a product of its environment, its people, and its lineage of teachers.
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I got to thinking about what is distinctive of Mokuren Dojo's Judo program and where those ideas came from - and here is what I came up with:
- classical (1950's era) Kodokan Judo
- emphasis on small ashiwaza (Kotani, Osawa, Daigo...)
- balanced newaza program (Shirai, Ushijima)
- non-competitive
- emphasis on lifetime Judo for adults (Geis, McNeese)
- practical for self-defense (Tomiki, Merritt, Shirai, Miyake...)
Does that sound like the sort of martial art that you would like to practice?
Come find me on Facebook at my Mokuren Dojo FB group
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Patrick Parker
www.mokurendojo.com
