Andrew Thomas asked:


Kyuzo Mifune

Kyuzo Mifune became so famous in judo circles that in referring to him the terms 10th Dan alone was sufficient. He was awarded 10th Dan in 1920.Judo legends says that in his 60 years of practise Kyuzo Mifune never lost a match and was never thrown

Judo has in the modern era gain great popularity and in part this is down to the driving force of Kyuzo Mifune. His book the cannon of judo originally published in 1960 is credited with helping in the formation of the International Judo Association and entry into the Olympic games.

What brought Kyuzo Mifune to judo?

Mifune was born a year after the Kodokan was founded, April 21, 1883 in Kuji City, Iwate Prefecture on Honshu Island. He was apparently incorrigible as a boy, always either performing some mischief himself or organizing others in the same pursuit. He was both bright and cocky. At age 13, his father, a strict disciplinarian who finally gave up on the youngest of his seven children, sent Mifune to a junior high school at Sendai, in northern Japan. There, he discovered Judo, and decided to dedicate himself to it. At age 14, he defeated nine opponents in a row at one tournament with another high school and a legend began.

Student of Jigoro Kano

He became one of Jigoro Kano’s (the father of judo) closest students. He was not physically very big with a height of 159 cm and 56kg.However he over came this with his persistent hard training and scientific approach to training.

His father, finding out he was spending more time at Judo than studying, cut off his allowance, and Mifune, now 22, went out to find work. He began a newspaper, sold advertising, and built it into a thriving enterprise. He was able to sell it at a substantial profit, and entered the economics program at Keio University.

He became known as the “God of Judo” after developing many new judo moves plus his reputation for being unbeaten.

In 1964, Mifune served as an official at the Tokyo Olympic Games, even though he had been diagnosed with throat cancer. In December of that year, he entered a hospital, and died there January 27, 1965, 81 years old. At the time of his death, he was the last of the Judans of Kodokan Judo

Below some quotes of Kyuzo Mifune that give you a good insight into his thinking.

1) “In Judo, a Dan (rank) is awarded to the practitioner by other people. True power, however, comes from within.

Do not seek the acquirement of Dan alone; rather pursue your true power.

Your progression through the Dan grades will follow”

2) “The gist of judo is to find the original characteristic of the man… and to personify true freedom of thought and action.”

3)”To master an actual technique, mental culture should come first.

Acquiring a technique requires a careful, modest, non-mean, free and attentive mind. In other words a player should do his utmost and nothing less.”

4) “A chance to try your technique is in one instant never to be regained, so try it without hesitation”

And finally Kyuzo Mifune motto for judo written 2 weeks before his death

“Emptiness

Devotion

Sublimeness”

Its common practise among martial arts to focus on new ideas and recent events in competition. For any judoka there would be great benefit to study the life of kyuzo mifune here you will find a true love of the art and great kindness towards his students balanced with great fighting ability.

This short article only scratches the surface. Do your own research it will be worth it.

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Muna wa Wanjiru asked:


It is in ground fighting and clinch fighting that grappling technique is used and the various sports that use this grappling technique are Brazilian jiu-jitsu, Judo mixed with martial arts, and even werestling.Grappling involves a collection of techniques like throws, Joint locks and pinning technique where by the opponent is made to lose.



In grappling it is the hands which are put into use mainly and which are needed to be trained as weapons. There are dozens of tiny bones in the hands which can be easily broken by a wrong blow or hit or even by aright hit.

That is why it is essential that the fighter wears a good pair of grappling gloves so it affords the fighter the flexibility to make correct hits and blocks in a proper manner so as to not hurt either the opponent or even oneself.

The grappling gloves are made of leather so that they offer better protection to the hands while the fighter makes strong grips which further cause power packed stronger hits.

These grappling gloves are well padded so that the fingers are well protected and safe when the fighter practices during the training and sparring sessions. All the gloves have double stitches to afford greater durability to the gloves and they are provided with Velcro wristbands which help fasten the gloves snuggly onto the wrists and also help to protect them.

When a fighter is looking for grappling gloves it is essential that he or she purchases a pair of gloves that fits him or her perfectly and at the same time giving enough space inside for the fingers to breathe.

They should be well padded to give that cushioning effect to the palms and hands so that injury to the hands is kept at a minimal. There should be at least three-fourth of padding so as to help protect the knuckles when they are giving blows to the opponents.

All grappling gloves are made from good quality leather and they have lots of padding over the knuckles to give increased protection to both the hand and wrist from injury. The seams are reinforced and the open palm construction and the finger slots in all grappling gloves make for the free movement of the fingers with comfort.

The wrist wrap makes the gloves fit securely around the wrist while offering ample protection to it also.

The internet is one of the best places to look if you are thinking of buy a good pair of grappling gloves. Here you will get an idea about all the different companies who manufacture grappling gloves and have a look at them online.

Of course you can also go to the nearest sport shop close to your home and check out the various gloves for yourself and try them out personally before you make a purchase. Trying out a glove is the best way to make a purchase than buying it on the internet.



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Peter Woronoff asked:


The GOOD News

I hope it has been in all the newspapers and TV news shows.I hope you saw it on Oprah and heard it on the radio.

There is enough bad news in the typical newscast to depress a dozen optimistic souls. Just listen to the news to bring your energy down. It is a sad, frightening, depressing world out there if you trust the news media. And it seems to be getting worse again.

Just kidding. But, have you heard? The latest research on aging strongly suggests we can be far more fit than we ever thought possible, and this is due to the adaptability of our bodies. It is not too late even for those who could have, or should have started sooner.

It seems that most of the previous studies regarding fitness and aging, have been done on the unfit. That is, they studied sedentary individuals who were not exercising and were in the study in large measure because they were not fit. They forgot to include fit individuals in the senior category.

We have gotten many of our notions about what is possible in senior fitness from seniors who were not fit or from the average senior.

A study of the average senior says little to nothing about those who are exceptional, that is, those who have succeeded in creating a fit life style.

We can learn more from those who are successful, especially if we wish to be one of them. Now that they are beginning to study fit seniors, what is possible for all of us appears much more exciting.

No one suggests that aging has no impact. But it is far less than previously thought. And for those who begin or increase or refine their fitness program in later years, they can be more fit than they ever were.

That includes looking good, feeling good, and having increased energy, and a positive balance of body chemicals. Researchers say, it’s due to how adaptable the human body is, “that people can start serious training at an older age and become highly competitive” Also, according to their their findings, some physiological factors needed for good performance are not much affected by age.

“You should be able to maintain your muscles as you age, including the muscle enzymes needed for good athletic performance.” You have to know how to train, but that is true at any age for any endeavor .

“Older athletes still can have spectacular performances”, Dr. Tanaka, an exercise physiologist at the University of Texas, notes. For example, the world best marathon time for men 70 or older (2:54:05) was set by a 74-year-old. That time is more than four minutes faster than the winning marathon time at the first modern Olympic Games, held in Athens in 1896.

That may not be as fast as a younger runner can achieve, but it is an impressive achievement. Perhaps now would be a good time to decide what it is we wish to achieve. Perhaps being fit, looking great, feeling great, is more important as we age than setting records.

In many sports achievement is measured according various categories, e.g. age, sex, weight.For example in boxing, judo or karate, competition is by weight. There are numerous sports with age categories, e.g. tennis.

There are other sports where athletes over a certain age no longer play professionally as football or basketball. So one consideration is competition. Another consideration is looking great, feeling great, being healthy and fit.

We feel proud of our achievements because we know it was a challenge we took on successfully. We do not expect the impossible. We celebrate our victories.

There are several areas of physical expertise which do not have these categories. Aikido is an example. Practitioners are noted as excelling even more as they age. If we wish to set records, we can research such areas of expertise and choose one that is not limited by age.



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