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…
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…
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…
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….
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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,…
There is something that often happens in training. I remember one occasion in particular. As I arrived on the tatami at the Collège des Ceintures Noires, someone I did not know came to greet me. I greeted him in return, took hold of his judogi, and immediately found myself on the ground. He had…
In what way does imbalance come into play in judo? Imbalance does not come into play in the way it is usually conceived. Then how? I can give an example. Take this pen and place it vertically on the table. There. That is a stable balance. Now push it. What happens? It falls. That…
I can make you feel something, give me your hand. … Now do something, move your hand in any direction you like. … Whatever your movement, I am ahead. I feel what you are going to do because I am in control continuously. What is the link with kumikata? That is kumikata. Now you…
You have probably already seen bullfights, you have seen the bullfighters. The encompass they perform is something extraordinary. When the bull passes, they remain facing it. They do not turn away to let it pass. The first thing they do is an encompass. Only afterwards do they turn towards the bull. It is the…
I had a student, a doctor, who was a charming man. We were used to working together. When he controlled me on the ground, he would say to me every time, “Mr Corréa, you will not get out!” I would answer him, “No, I will not get out, but I am getting out right…
We work here in a very restricted space. All your dojos have in common that they have been small. What interest is there in having so little space? One is obliged to be constantly vigilant, if only to avoid injuring others, to avoid throwing partners against the walls. One must train to throw very…
If one forces oneself to preserve all the principles, non-opposition, mobility, control, encompass, and decision, one will improve one’s attitude, and by the same token improve one’s effectiveness. Because one must not lose sight of the fact that all exercises, kata, randori, uchi-komi, competition, are done to improve the practice of judo. One of…
When one begins to practise judo, one makes the choice of an attitude in behaviour, a way of being that moves towards what is better. The better of oneself, at the same time as the better of relationships, mutual help and mutual concessions as defined by Kano. That means that each day one wishes…
I know from experience almost all the accidents that can happen on a tatami, in randori, in combat, or in training. I also know, but I do not want to know them, the accidents deliberately caused by dangerous techniques. Those are the most serious. People do not realise it, but several people have died…
In your life, did the question of having a profession, of exercising a trade, ever arise? No, not really. I did like everyone else, I tried to earn my living. I did a bit of anything, without ever saying to myself, “I am going to do this to make a living.” Yet you had…