Kyuzo Mifune was possibly the greatest judo technician ever. Beginning Judo training at age 13 or 14, by 30 he was already a 6th dan under Kano, and nicknamed "The God of Judo". At 40, and all of 5'2" tall and 100 pounds, he defeated a 6' tall 240 pound challenger who was skilled in sumo.
Mifune wrote one of the best Judo books, The Canon of Judo: Classic Teachings on Principles and Techniques. Out of print for many years, a new translation is out as a reasonable price.
Fortunately for us, there is reasonable footage of him as an old man throwing younger and larger opponents all over the place. In particular, at 2:30 Mifune demonstrates utsuri goshi (our 9th hip throw) as a counter to harai goshi (5th hip throw), which I have been working on with a couple of my students; followed by utsuri goshi as a counter to hane goshi (6th hip throw):
Isn't that wonderful? Observe how fluid and mobile Mifune is, generating enormous power (and lift!) from motion rather than brute strength.
Inspiring stuff. Watch it again and again: repeat viewing will reveal new insights.
Mifune wrote one of the best Judo books, The Canon of Judo: Classic Teachings on Principles and Techniques. Out of print for many years, a new translation is out as a reasonable price.
Fortunately for us, there is reasonable footage of him as an old man throwing younger and larger opponents all over the place. In particular, at 2:30 Mifune demonstrates utsuri goshi (our 9th hip throw) as a counter to harai goshi (5th hip throw), which I have been working on with a couple of my students; followed by utsuri goshi as a counter to hane goshi (6th hip throw):
Isn't that wonderful? Observe how fluid and mobile Mifune is, generating enormous power (and lift!) from motion rather than brute strength.
Inspiring stuff. Watch it again and again: repeat viewing will reveal new insights.
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