http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC6Pywitmjk

Is this the "soft" Judo that I have heard / read about?

On a similar note.... I have heard many criticism's of Judo players now days being too stiff, hard, and rigid. I can't remember where I saw it, but some guys were talking about "soft" Judo, and made a reference about being more "true" (whatever that means) Judo much like what Kano had in mind. I have to assume that Mifune would fall into this category?
Can anyone shed some light on this? I am ignorant about Judo so please be kind

Kano was fluent in Chinese and English, among other languages. Even so, there some things that get lost in translation. The Chinese character Rou, or Ju in judo, does not mean soft. Flexible, is another word used to describe ju, but it still leaves something missing. The best translation I can give comes straight from Tim. Well, my girlfriend gave a decent translation as well, but we weren't talking about it in a martial context.

Rou/Ju, think of a spring. When you push on a spring, it will give way, but there is tension there. When you pull the spring from both ends, it will stretch, much like putting a spring on a door. There is enough give to open the door and walk through. But when you let the door go, the spring will pull the back to its original position.

So the question remains, why did Kano translate Rou/Ju, as soft? Judo is one of the first didactic martial arts. The ultimate goal of judo isn't to beat someone, but to become a better human being. With the advancements made in firearms, martial arts were becoming obsolete. But instead of completely disregarding the old, Kano decided to use the old, modify it into a sport, and use it to indoctrinate people, of all races, to become better citizens, to contribute something to society. Kano was a strong vocalist against war. He spent most of his life promoting judo as a peaceful means to coexist with one another. Kano was a vocal critic of Japan's invasions of China, Korea, and other Asian nations.

Kano talks about relaxing in the beginning, so one does not get hurt when being thrown, and to use one's energy efficiently.

Many people talking about "soft" or "true" judo or even Tai Ji Chuan don't know their head from their ass. When competing, you don't want to be stiff, but you don't want to be a wet noodle either. You're gonna break a sweat doing judo, but you shouldn't be gassed out after five minutes of randori.

That's just basic Uchikomi- http://judoinfo.com/uchikomi.htm It looks like that in every judo dojo I've every been in. It wasn't too special.

Some people believe in it and others don't.

http://64.233.169.104/search?q=cache:yw1yD0biz7QJ:www.judoinfo.com/pdf/drills.pd f+Uchikomi+no+good&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us&ie=UTF-8

I'm not a big fan, but it has it's place.

When you see a player who is relaxed and fluid against someone who is jerky and stiff, and the relaxed fellow is throwing the crap out of the other, that's when it looks like magic.

That being said, stiff power can often be hard to deal with, that's why we naturally revert to it in crisis.

Thanks guys, and Abdullah that was a great post (how ya been bro?). But I referring to an article, or ad I saw a while back (sorry, lack of brain cells) that made reference to spefically calling themselves Soft Judo (whatever that means). I was just wondering...
Thanks
Jake

no i dont think that is soft judo, but im not sure.

it always peeves me during uchikomi when people do that foot thing before they throw like they are a cat covering crap, is that really necessary? youre not gonna do that during rondori. i remember one of my judo teachers telling me that doing that foot thing was wasted movement.

""That being said, stiff power can often be hard to deal with, that's why we naturally revert to it in crisis.""

or out of lack of experience. Stiffness will really only overcome other beginners.

If you wanna see "soft" judo, go to the Kodokan when they've got Company. In Japan, when elite competitors retire from competition, they get hired as security guards by Japanese corporations/companies, hence the term. They even have their company's logo embroidered on their judogi.

These former elite judoka are paid to do nothing but lift weights and train judo every day of the week. They go to the Kodokan during firing night to get in some hard randori. There will be 200-400 black belts on the mat, and we start by doing 5 minute rounds of randori. After one hour, the clock goes to 4 min 30 sec. rounds, then down to 3 min. rounds for the last 30 min. That's two hours of solid randori.

I've never seen anything so beautiful. Their judo looks like Aikido, like it's all choreographed and every other person is jumping very high for their partner. Having been on the receiving end, I can tell you that it didn't fee like I was out muscled at all.

But these are highly competitive judoka, who don't like losing. You'll also see lots of fist fights, w/elbows knees, kicks, the occasional leg lock, and randori that's happening OFF the mat! It looks more like vale tudo w/judo gis on than judo. But no one says anything, b/c after the bell rings, signaling the end of the round, both judoka stop, get up, hug each other, and mop up whatever blood they've spilled. Then everyone changes partners and it happens all over again.

I've been better. I got my black belt (in Judo) a couple of months ago. That same month, one of my heavy weights tore my ACL. I'll be out for the better part of a year. How's Seattle treating you?

Well bro thanks! And congrats on your shodan! Are you in Japan now?
Jake

Now, I'm in NM at the moment. I may visit some friends in Japan before I go to China this summer.

Iizumi sensei is Kodokan trained and teaches at San Diego Dojo.
http://www.softjudo.com
Guest mat fees are $15 a class
http://www.sandiegojudo.com/index.php
ask Sensei Iizumi for yourself what is meant by SOFT JUDO.

Thats the cat!
Thanks Jamie! I cannot ask much since I live a bit north of him, but if I make it down there I surely wilL!
Thanks
Jake

There is a questions section in the ad.
You could try that.