Best Judo

Author: Isao Inokuma & Nobuyuki Sato
Pub: 1979 by Kodansha
Pages: 255
Ranking:
In Print:

What?? You don't already HAVE this book? It's in print, so there's no reason not to own this excellent book on Judo. 253 pages, and over 1,200 photos... this book is a must have!!

This is by far one of the better general coverage books on Judo - with many competition techniques and variations described - this book is simply a must have for every Judoka's library.

				Contents 

 Foreword by Shigeyoshi Matsumae                               7 
 Preface                                                       8 
 
   JUDO  FUNDAMENTALS                                         11 
 Posture 12/Salutation 13 / Holding Methods 14/Tsukuri 
 and Kake 14 / Kuzushi 14 / Movement 16 / Ukemi 17 / Judo 
 Techniques 22 

  THROWING  TECHNIQUES                                        23 
 Tewaza (hand techniques) 24 / Koshiwaza (hip techniques) 
 36 / Ashiwaza (leg techniques) 48 / Ma Sutemiwaza (rear 
 body-drop throws) 72 / Yoko Sutemiwaza (side body-drop 
 throws) 82 / Other Nagewaza 92 

  GRAPPLING  TECHNIQUES                                       97 
 Basic Postures and the Attack Pattern 98/Osaekomiwaza 
 (holding techniques) 99 / Shimewaza (strangle techniques) 
 131 /Kansetsuwaza (armlock techniques) 140 

  COMBINATION TECHNIQUES                                     153 
 Nagewaza --> Nagewaza 154 / Nagewaza --> Katamewaza 
 178 / Katamewaza --> Katamewaza 190 

  TRAINING                                                   209 
 About Training 210/Training without Equipment 211 / 
 Training with Equipment 216 

  JUDO AND I                                                 227 
 FIGHTING SPIRIT by Isao Inokuma 228 
 NEVER SAY DIE! by Nobuyuki Sato 237 

 Appendix: Judo Records                                      246 
 Glossary of Common Judo Terms                               253 
 General Index                                               254 
 Index of Judo Techniques                                    255 

FOREWORD

Shigeyoshi Matsumae
President, Tokai University

It is wonderful to see how popular Kodokan judo has become throughout the world today. I would like to congratulate Isao Inokuma and Nobuyuki Sato on their timely instruction book, Best Judo, which has been designed for judo enthusiasts in all the countries of the world. It is a book I have been looking forward to. for I have long felt Inokuma and Sato to be among the best qualified to speak on the real spirit and techniques of judo. For those who follow the sport, these two men need no introduction. They are both former All-Japan judo champions and have excellent international reputations, having won titles in the Olympic Games, in World Judo Tournaments, and in other international contests. Today, as instructors at Tokai University, they are uncovering and training many top class judoists. One of their students is Yasuhiro Yamashita, who won the coveted All-Japan title at the age of only 19. The authors' outstanding records, experience, leadership, enthusiasm, and numerous activities, including books like this one, have indeed made them into a major force for the popularization of judo on an international scale.

Judo is a representative Japanese sport which has an international character. Constituting a culture in itself, judo is contributing enormously to friendship and peace among the nations of the world today by offering an area in which people can come together for fruitful exchange. In this way, judo is helping to promote the happiness and prosperity of all mankind. This is judo's mission and there can be no loftier goal.

Inokuma and Sato are two men who fully understand this role that judo has to play. They are judoists who are capable of bringing the ideals of judo into actuality. Best Judo incorporates all their experience and studies in judo, and I am confident that it will make a strong impression on judo enthusiasts everywhere. My joy will know no bounds if, through this book, the readers come to know what this subtle art of self-defense really is, not only its techniques, but its spirit. I would like those who use this book to understand the object of their training and, through judo, widen the circle of their friendships and contribute to international peace and goodwill.

In conclusion, I would like again to compliment Isao Inokuma and Nobuyuki Sato on their efforts in writing this book. I recommend their work highly to judoists throughout the world.

Isao Inokuma

Judo today is an international sport knowing no boundary between states or races. It is a sport in which millions of people throughout the world are engaged, whether for simple recreation or for more serious purposes. The world-wide popularity of judo is evidenced by the more than one hundred nations that belong to the International Judo Federation, by the acceptance of judo as an Olympic event, and by the numerous international judo contests held each year, such as the World Judo Tournament.

Several decades ago. judo was considered a sport in which only the Japanese could excel. But with the international character of the sport today, the performances of judoists from various countries have improved considerably and show a skill and power on a par with that of their Japanese counterparts. Geesink and Ruska of the Netherlands and Novikov of the Soviet Union, for example, have already surpassed Japanese judoists to become Olympic or world champions. Their accomplishments clearly show that judo is no longer a monopoly of Japan but a common property of the entire world. That judoists from many nations are training hard to perfect their spirits and techniques can only help stimulate the further spread and development of judo.

As a man brought up in the judo world, I take pride in seeing how Jigoro Kano-sensei's sport has become so popular since its organization a hundred years ago. And I have made it my mission to see that the spirit of judo, through correct understanding of its principles, becomes as widely practiced as the sport itself. I am grateful that I have been given an opportunity to take one step toward this goal through the publication of Best Judo, written by Nobuyuki Sato and myself, Sato, like me, is devoted to the internationalization of judo and the judo spirit. The judo presented in this book is that which is recognized by the Kodokan, the official judo organization in Japan. Covered here are the fundamental and representative techniques performed from a standing posture, while on the mat, and in combination. Judo is practiced by many people for pure recreation because it is a satisfying and intelligent sport, it should be pointed out, however, that judo is a systematic sport and that judo practice techniques and strategies like those in this book all derive from the Kodokan rules governing organized tournament competition. By confining your practice to the techniques presented here you will avoid injury and be able to practice fairly with other judoists anywhere. If the opportunity presents itself we would like in the future to write a more advanced and technical work that focuses on some of the high-level techniques that are also frequently used.

In order to help the reader understand judo quickly we have relied on action-sequence photos instead of voluminous text explanations. The models for the photos are, aside from Sato and myself, Hideharu Shirase, Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki, Katsumi Suzuki, and Yasuhiro Yamashita, all of whom are representative judoists of Japan. These men have trained under us and have achieved brilliant records in competition. We hope that the reader will be able to grasp the vital points of the various judo techniques presented here by carefully studying each photo. We have also allocated a substantial number of pages in the book to physical training methods and to essays on judo. We believe that the fostering of basic physical power is a prerequisite for modern judoists, and we hope that our impressions of judo may be of interest and help to our readers in numerous ways.

In order to become strong in judo there is only mastery of the fundamentals and hard training every day. Everyone starts training by learning the basic movements of judo such as posture and how to be thrown. You will be thrown to the mat innumerable times during your training, but the time will eventually come when you will at last be able to throw your opponent. There is no one who is able to throw his opponent or hold him down with a mat technique from the beginning. We would like to recommend that you keep this always in mind and train hard to master the fundamentals as soon as possible. The importance of a teacher cannot be overrated. But if no teacher is available to you, try to attend judo contests or watch them on television whenever they appear.

The techniques of judo are limitless and the spirit of judo is sublime. All the countries in the world have their own particular fighting arts, and it is our opinion that from now on we judoists must make a comprehensive study of these arts together with the study of our own sport.

Readers coming to judo for the first time may be dismayed at the original Japanese judo terms used in this book. These terms are used here because they have gained wide acceptance throughout the world as the language of judo. English equivalents are, however, given at the first appearance in the text, in the glossary and indexes, or in the major text headings.

We would like to express our thanks to the organizations and individuals that helped us: the Kodokan, the Matsumae Young People's Judo School, the Tokai University Judo Club, Toshiaki Hashimoto, Hideharu Shirase, Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki, Katsumi Suzuki, and Yasuhiro Yamashita. We would also like to thank the staff of Kodansha International for their encouragement and advice.