At the beginning of the century, without knowing each other and without consulting, other men had the same idea as Jigoro Kano of bringing people together. Kano thought that the Olympic Games could be a way to achieve this. But at the same time, he believed that the day judo became an Olympic discipline,…
In 1954, a book titled Les Fondements du Judo by Yves Klein was published. There’s a picture of you demonstrating the ju-no-kata with Klein. How did this book project come about? Klein was a very intelligent person; he observed a lot. During his stay in Japan, he took photos and started this book on…
Was there a pivotal moment for you in understanding judo? Yes, the early 1950s, particularly the year 1952. That was when three key individuals arrived in France: Jean Beaujean, Ichiro Abe, and Tokio Hirano. The year 1952 was very fruitful for judo. What did these individuals contribute? Beaujean had spent two years in Japan…
Kano started practising jujutsu for his own enjoyment, correct? Yes, initially Kano practised jujutsu for his pleasure. He observed various schools that taught how to fight and defend oneself. Kano learned these different methods. Then, he realised that there was a relationship between jujutsu and physical education: the training of the body. From that…
What was The College of Black Belts? The College of Black Belts was instrumental in the development of judo in France. To understand its significance, you need to go back a bit before the Liberation. At that time, there were very few judo clubs in France, but once the first black belts were awarded…
In the early stages of judo, what guided your research? The pleasure of successfully executing a movement. Also, the pleasure of achieving maximum efficiency. But often, I thought I understood, only to realise during practice that it wasn’t quite right. I had to keep searching. For example, I worked on hane-goshi for years. I…
Did you start teaching at an early stage? When I was still a blue belt, I had to move to Belgium because I was offered a job there. But in Belgium, there wasn’t much judo, just like in France. I searched for over a month for a club in Brussels and couldn’t find one….
What was your mindset when you first started practising judo, beyond the initial discovery? I felt like I was embarking on a quest; it was like learning a science. Most judoka, in fact, considered judo to be a scientific discipline. How was this science presented? Feldenkrais, for example, wrote a treatise in English where…
Kano had a very broad vision, of which judo was only a part. He was much more than just a judoka: he taught philosophy, law, economics… He was a scholar and was very active in numerous fields. He created the Kodokan in Tokyo with the idea that it would be a place where people…
AcknowledgementsKiki, Christine and Isabelle Correa,Charlemagne Delaporte, Christian Demarre, Jean-Marc Douguet,Aurora Doz Claver, René Duran, Nicolas Frühauf, Gilles Grelet,Dr Toshio Hirano, Werner Knoll, Sylvain Leroy, Michel Luguern,Xavier Martel, Sol Suffern-Quirno, Manou Tournoux. ISBN X-XXXXX-XXX-X interviews with Igor Correa, conducted by Rudolf Di Stéfano and Laurent Bruel followed by Junomichi no kotoba, edited by Loïc Le…
