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Men who won the Kodokan rules in the Seven Emperor Judo

  A miracle of the Kyoto University Judo Club in 1986.

  The 35th All Japan Student Judo Tournament in 1986.

The Nippon Budokan was in a turmoil as the Kyoto University Judo Club advanced to the top 16 for the first time in 19 years since the 1942 tournament. Average weight 70.7 kg. How did the lightest ground fighting group out of the 52 participating schools win the All Japan Tournament?

Professor Ryuichiro Matsubara asked the members at that time!

 

Matsubara This time, the members of Kyoto University who entered the top 16 in the All Japan Student Judo Championship in 1986, which I mentioned in a dialogue with Toshinari Masuda of this issue last month, are here at Shichitokudo. We had you gather.

In addition to being a former imperial university where it is difficult for strong players to gather, it is lightweight with an average weight of 70 kg, but now it is possible to cross over with a strong private school under the Kodokan rule, which is not the seven major rules, and break through the Kansai block to win the main race. Everyone who has achieved an unthinkable achievement. Today, I would like to tell you about the story at that time and the technology that seems to be specialized at Kyoto University.

Mr. Naoji Kawamura, who was the captain at the time, Mr. Kei Goto, and Mr. Kenya Nakajima, who are two below, visited us. These three are the members who fought in the championship tournament, and Keiichiro Oizumi, who was a graduate student who played the role of a coach at the time and who knows the members well, and Mr. Fukunaga, who was the manager under one, will also be present. I look forward to working with you today.

 

Thank you for your cooperation.

 

Matsubara Kawamura-san's generation was in the midst of Kyoto University's ten consecutive victories in the Seven Universities at that time. How many consecutive victories did you have when Kawamura was the captain?

 

It was Kawamura's sixth straight victory.

 

Mr. Masuda Matsubara wrote in "Seven Emperor Judoki" focusing on the period when Hokkaido University, to which he belonged, was in a slump. It feels like even a weak team can't help practicing hard every day, but as far as everyone taught me the technique today, from the coherent explanation, Kyoto University at that time was having fun while working hard. I got the impression that it was kana.

 

Kawamura: No, we also have a very tight memory. However, when I was in the first year, new students are treated as customers until the end of the Seven Universities in July, and the practice is not so hard. What's more, when I finished practicing every day, my seniors gave me food and sake, and I wondered what it was like (laughs).

 

Matsubara: It seems that Hokkaido University was the same.

 

Kawamura However, the practice becomes more difficult as if the Seven Universities were over and the palm was returned (laughs). That's why the summer practice in August was difficult. At the training camp, I practice for 6 to 7 hours every day, so I don't feel well.

 

Matsubara 6 or 7 hours ... And every day. When you first entered the school, did you become accustomed to the unique sleeping skills of the Seven Emperor Judo?

 

Goto: When I was in high school, I didn't do much ground fighting, so I had a hard time at first. What I thought was the same as Mr. Masuda's novel was that there was a senior with a small white belt, and we were stronger when it came to standing skills, but when it came to ground fighting, we were often beaten up. I was wondering why my ground fighting was so strong.

Matsubara: Can you teach me a lot of ground fighting at first?

Kawamura: No, you can teach me how to master, narrow down, and protect, but even if I know it with my head, I still can't compete at first.

 

Goto: It's just something I didn't learn when I was in high school. I didn't know the techniques with people's names such as "Asano return", "Takahashi return", and "Yamamoto return".

 

Matsubara: It's going to be tougher from the summer training camp of the first year students, but after that, it seems like they will be dropped by the bang-bang chokehold.

 

Kawamura Yes, it was dropped without mercy (laughs). Regarding the articulation technique, I can "visit".

 

Professor Katsuhiko Kashiwazaki, who teaches at the University of Tokyo, also said, "If you have time to visit, make an effort to escape. However, you should come because your joints will be injured." It's a culture common to all seven universities.

 

Goto: If you're a good senior, you won't have much time to suffer, but if you're a poor senior, only a moan will echo in the dojo ...

 

Nakajima Please drop it early. On the contrary, I went to narrow it down myself (laughs).

 

Matsubara Then, is it only in the third year that practice becomes fun?

 

Kawamura No, it won't be fun. It's just hard all the time. Responsibility in the game arises when you are in the third or fourth year. That's why I drive myself more.

 

Goto: It's a luxury problem, but at that time Kyoto University was winning the championship in a row. It was a natural atmosphere for alumni to win, and the pressure that they couldn't stop on their own was tremendous.

 

Matsubara: To escape from that, first build the ground. The other is to thoroughly investigate the other party and make it naked.

 

Kawamura: There was a big screen at the training camp, so we all watched the video while eating rice, exchanged opinions, and researched.

 

Oizumi: Professor Matsubara mentioned earlier that "it looks fun", but in fact, Kawamura's generation was on good terms with the same period and was generally bright.

 

Kawamura Well, it's a masochist (laughs). In today's practice, there was a culture of enjoying doing such things and swallowing things like that. But at that time, I didn't feel that it was fun to play judo. Really, I'm looking forward to the beer I go to drink after the practice.

 

Oizumi However, that sense of solidarity should be the driving force behind reaching the top 16 in Japan. Really, you guys were bright.

 

Kawamura: It was when I was in my first year, but before training, it's usually a heavy atmosphere and I'm silent. However, we were laughing without being heavy. Then my senior said, "You guys seem to be having fun, so I have to practice harder" (bitter smile).

 

Matsubara After all, martial arts should have a bright feeling as well as a sad feeling. The University of Tokyo does not have a dedicated dojo, which is impossible at the Seven Universities. Therefore, it cannot be repeated slowly after training. So, since last year, I've been pickled in training at the suggestion of the captain, but even so, I couldn't get any results. It was salvation that there was still no darkness in a place that seemed to be tragic.

 

Kawamura We were with you.

 

Matsubara But I think it would have been fun if we could organize the techniques that much. Did you have a study group?

 

Fukunaga Every day, about 30 minutes after practice, I spent about 30 minutes studying techniques. It was like the captain teaching one or two of the usual techniques every day. When Mr. Kawamura was the captain, he certainly organized and taught the techniques properly.

 

Nakajima: Not only how to hold it down, but also how to return it.

 

Oizumi So everyone remembers and shares the same technique regardless of what they can't do.

 

Matsubara: Do you try it with everyone, not just the first graders?

 

Nakajima That's right. There were many things that seniors and juniors teamed up with.

 

Fukunaga I will do it together with the trainees. It's systematic, but after practice, it's exhausting my physical strength, and I remember being able to do this.

 

Kawamura: It was like choosing your own specialty from the techniques you did in your research.

 

For those who entered the Fukunaga white belt, when I thought that this was suitable, I practiced it and made it my specialty.

 

Matsubara I see. You have shown that you can get results all over Japan and comply with international rules, but in the current Seven Universities, it is the mainstream to attack slowly. Probably because of that, even if the University of Tokyo team tries to do a ground fight in an international rule game, it will be slow and wait. The University of Tokyo won the runner-up in the Seven Universities last year, but it was difficult to comply with international rules, and they lost consecutively until just before, and had trouble adjusting. How have you been aware of and practiced the differences between the seven major rules and the international rules?

 

Kawamura: For us, the Kodokan rules are the Kodokan rules, but the Kodokan rules have "wait", so if you go to a ground fight, you have to take them quickly. However, because we were all small, we had to do kumite speedily anyway, so we practiced without separating the seven major rules and the Kodokan rules.

 

Matsubara Yeah, was that so?

 

Kawamura: Whether it's the seven major rules or the Kodokan rules, it's basically all the same technique. However, in the Seven Universities, it doesn't take "wait", so it's just a matter of aiming for a time-consuming strangulation. Even so, I try my best to set it up as quickly as possible.

 

Matsubara Even in the Seven Universities, it is set up as quickly as the Kodokan rules. If you pull it out, you can quickly set up for the next opponent.

 

Kawamura Yes. At our time, there was no player who could definitely get out, but everyone was doing it with the intention of being an outcast, otherwise we couldn't win.

 

Matsubara: Wasn't Kyoto University at that time a complete division? A player with a white belt that clings to his feet with a tackle turtle.

 

Kawamura: There were nine students in our grade, but three started from the white belt. Two of them can be taken depending on the other party when they are in the 4th grade. One of them joined the club from the second year and was small, so he mainly focused on drawing.

 

At Matsubara University of Tokyo, the role of pulling out and the role of splitting have finally become clear, and the two are still separated. Mr. Kawamura's generation has reached the point where he can take a part even if he enters from the white belt. Was there any knack for practicing?

 

Kawamura After all, it's a training amount, isn't it? You might get angry if you say this, but at that time I was only doing judo (laughs). Perhaps the amount of practice was overwhelmingly longer than that of the strong private university people.

 

I heard that you went to Kyoto Sangyo University under the guidance of Professor Shozo Fujii Matsubara for training. Did you take the white belt there as well?

 

Kawamura Of course I took him. There are also many training camps, and I spent two weeks in a month in autumn. As I said earlier that it is a training camp, I practice 6 to 7 hours a day. I practice from 3:00 pm on normal days. Classes are until 4 o'clock, but if I'm late for lessons, my seniors will get angry, so I'll leave the class and go to the dojo. Well, it was an easy-going era.

 

Goto: It's only after you've become more comfortable that you can get rid of people who used to be white belts. If you can attack and return from the bottom, you will be able to master and exit.

 

Matsubara: I think that there are quite a few athletes who are good at walking, even if you look at the current seven universities as a whole, but when it comes to reaching the point where you can get ahead, you still need time and amount of training.

 

Kawamura That's right. At that time, when I started with a white belt and became a third-year student, I was able to take on a black belt opponent for the first-year student. Athletes who have a good foot will be able to squeeze from the bottom. The front triangle or the hooking. If you can do that, it will be difficult for the other party to come out and it will be easier to return.

 

Matsubara Even so, I'm surprised that Kyoto University practiced the same regardless of the seven major rules and the Kodokan rules. Since the arrival of Professor Kashiwazaki, the University of Tokyo has been instructed that "it is strange to think of the two rules separately. Shouldn't we do the same?", But it doesn't go well. Kyoto University at that time was already doing that.

 

Goto: At that time, the University of Tokyo was raising the issue of rules. "If you only do the seven major rules, it won't work in all Japan," he said. Upon hearing that, we at Kyoto University had something to burn. You will win the Seven Universities, but you will also win the Kodokan rules. That's why I didn't use techniques that only worked in the Seven Universities, or in practice I was conscious of techniques that could be used either way.

Also, when we were in the second or third year, there were quite a few cases where one was taken by foot technique when we pulled in. As a result, I came to the conclusion that it would be dangerous even in the Seven Universities if I didn't learn how to pull in the ground fighting that is valid even in the Kodokan rules. Therefore, instead of simply pulling in, I decided to devise ways to enter by throwing sideways or throwing away.

 

Matsubara I see. That is the same as Mr. Kashiwazaki's idea. Not only pulling in, he tells me to go to Tomoe. Did Yoko Tomoe receive guidance from Professor Fuji Ino?

 

Kawamura Yes. When doing according to the Kodokan rules, if it is a normal tomoe, if it is a big opponent, there is a possibility that the waist will not break and you will be drawn in and be careful. Therefore, if it is a horizontal tomoe, it will be thrown in a hurry, and even if it collapses, it will stand up immediately, so there is little possibility of being warned.

 

Dr. Fuji Ino Fukunaga said, "Don't relax as if you were floating the other person." If it doesn't work, stand up immediately.

 

Oizumi Interestingly, Professor Fuji Ino is not a teacher at Kyoto University. However, the fact that he taught the students of Kyoto University enthusiastically probably meant that he was in favor of Kawamura and his colleagues. A student from Kyoto University enthusiastically comes to practice and asks for a lesson while being beaten up. I think Mr. Fujio was also struck by such an attitude.

 

Matsubara It's interesting. Mr. Fuji Ino has a strong ground fighting skill, but the impression is that he is a standing skill in the first place. Everyone at Kyoto University was wondering if they went to Kyoto Sangyo University to learn how to make kumite.

 

Kawamura: I was also doing ground fighting, and it was a learning experience to work with someone who has a big body and is strong. Our basics are defensive, so it's okay to attack as much as we can, and now we can understand how much it is.

 
Goto: However, people at Kyoto Sangyo University didn't come to the ground fighting. I hate it (laughs).

Matsubara: At present, Tohoku University stands out and specializes in the fighting styles peculiar to the Seven Universities, and there is a wind that I think that it should be followed even in international rules. There are even clauses that don't care about winning under international rules, so we are building a team that raises white belts and wins, rather than forcing players with strong black belts to join the club. In fact, Tohoku University has created an era, and its thoroughness is great. The members of Kyoto University who participated in the All Japan Tournament were black belts when they were in high school. How do you see ideas like Tohoku University?

 

Kawamura: I think it's okay to be free because each university has its own way of thinking. I think the judo of the Seven Universities is to think freely and find your own way of fighting.

 

Matsubara I see. One of the things that the members of the University of Tokyo got lost in is what to do with Seoi-nage. For small students who practiced judo until high school, their backpacks are often their weapons. However, it is often the case that if you use your backpack according to the seven major rules, you will be taken back and you will be at a disadvantage.

Therefore, even a player who participated in a national tournament in junior high school had sealed his back when fighting according to the seven major rules. On the other hand, some players still continue to use it. Is there an iron rule? Did you use the seven major rules and the international rules properly for carrying on your back? At the national convention of Kodokan rules, you have to carry on your back.

 

Kawamura I was doing it normally.

 

Goto: On the contrary, I felt safe because I couldn't return my backpack.

 

Matsubara What does it mean that it will not be returned?

 

Goto: Even if I become a turtle, I usually practice to face it immediately, so if I think that it is advantageous to go to a ground fight by myself under international rules, I will be crushed from my back and as soon as the other person gets on top. I was attacking face to face.

 

Fukunaga I don't think there were many people who didn't like being behind me.

 

Nakajima: If you follow the Kodokan rules, they will come to your ground fight as they are.

 


Matsubara Kodokan As you can see from the rules, what about the seven major rules?

 

 

Kawamura: The only thing I was carrying on my back during the Seven Universities was Yamazaki (Masashi).

 

Oizumi Yeah. Only players like Yamazaki who were prominent in ground fighting used their backpacks.

 

Kawamura: However, we didn't feel that we were afraid to use our backpacks in the Seven Universities.

 

Matsubara: In order to use your backpack as a weapon in the Seven Universities, do you have to have a high level of ground fighting skills so that you can immediately return to the front even if you take your back?

 

Goto: I was more scared of the pattern of losing one by being stepped on at the timing of going to Tomoe nage rather than carrying it on my back.

 

Kawamura Yeah, that was easier to match.

 

Goto: Depending on the referee, even if the legs are not cut, one will be taken from Dawn and his back. The University of Tokyo at that time was good at that kind of thing.

 

If it is Tomoe Matsubara, it will be matched by footwork. So what do you guys think about Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ)? BJJ's technology can be used or not used in the rules of the Seven Universities, and I have the impression that it is entering a selection period. There are many people who practice Jiu-Jitsu in Tokyo, and there are no students around who are doing the seven major rules, so the University of Tokyo students have a lot of interaction.

 

Kawamura: I haven't done Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu before, so I don't know the details, but as long as I look at the strangulation and joints, I can study. I can't use the Achilles tendon or knee consolidation, but I also use a lot of elbow joints, wrist flips, and anterior triangles, and there are quite a few parts that I think are similar.

 

Goto: Speaking of other sports, we used to wrestle in our time. I go to the wrestling club of another university to practice. Wrestling techniques can be used quite well, such as Nelson and airplane throwing.

 

Matsubara: Yes, that's why Mr. Goto was quick to tackle. You used it at the All Japan Tournament, didn't you?

 

Goto No, no. But I practiced tackle a lot. Also, in terms of wrestling technology, it's like crotch tearing back.

 

Kawamura: I think the seven major rules are the real thrill of being able to use various techniques. Wrestling, and what I often did at Kyoto Sangyo University was Mongolian sumo. We start by wrapping a string around the thigh, wrapping a sash, and combining them with each other, but since we set up Ouchi Gari with the body together, the core becomes stronger.

 

Matsubara: After getting in close contact with Ouchi, you'll get a lot of strength. That is tight.

 

Kawamura: The Seven Universities Athletic Meet rules can be applied to various techniques, and I think they are truly attractive battles with a high degree of freedom.

 

Goto: By the way, there used to be a person who tried to throw a loincloth with a belt. Really like Mitsu before sumo (laughs).

 

Kawamura: Judo freestyle.

 

Matsubara Currently, it is forbidden to grab trousers, but there may be Kodokan technology that will only remain in the Seven Universities in the future. In that sense, I think again that the Seven Universities should be left to posterity. I would like to go back to the All Japan Tournament and ask what you were aiming for.

 

Kawamura First of all, my goal was to participate in all Japan. After winning the qualifying in Kansai and deciding to participate, uh ...

 

Nakajima First of all, is it the first match?

 

Kawamura Yeah, you talked about that. It's okay to participate, but if you lose in the first round, it won't be a story. From there, I have to go as far as I can go.

 

Matsubara This is a high-level tournament. Did you rethink the measures for big players?

 

Kawamura: No, since all the players were small, how to fight the big ones from the first year was an unwavering common theme. I've been thinking about it for four years, so I've decided how to fight.

 

Matsubara Anyway, let's break through the first round.

 

Kawamura Well, even if you don't like the name Kyoto University, it gets a lot of attention, so you have to play a match that is not embarrassing. However, as a tactic, as I said earlier, the Kodokan rule is that "wait" is quick, so if so, let's go with a technique that can go fast. That's about it.

 

Matsubara: Do you feel like making a fast technique for the slow technique used in the Seven Universities?

 

Kawamura: No, I know what technique to use and how long it will take, so I will try to find a technique that can be used depending on the situation.

 

Matsubara: There is a classification map in my head, and I choose a combination that can go fast and attack.

 

Nakajima For example, in the case of the seven major rules, there is no "wait", so first aim for a chokehold, and then the opponent's side will be vacant and you will develop another technique. However, in the case of the Kodokan rules, there is no such time, so if you show the strangulation in the first ground fight and "wait", then you pretend to be the strangulation in the next ground fight and take your armpit.

 

Matsubara I see. Foreshadowing is included with "wait".

 

Nakajima Yes. If you set one of the seven major rules, you will take care not to let it go to the next place, but in the case of the Kodokan rule, it is rough, but if you decide on one place, you will go to the decision at once. Besides, I am confident that I will not be able to take it even if the system becomes disadvantageous due to the ground fighting, so if I do my best, it will take "wait".

In the case of the Seven Universities, once you are brought into a disadvantageous position, it is difficult to reverse the situation, so you must be cautious. However, according to the Kodokan rules, if I go steadily and "wait", I will switch to going again at the next chance. Anyway, so that you don't have to "wait", when you get into a ground fight, you don't stop and attack.

 

Matsubara: It's the theory to attack and move. Then, it was a match at that time, but I have a record of watching the tournament by Yoshimitsu Naniwa. It is necessary to "cut off" one "in a completely mastered course" in the tournament summary. The winning person was able to do that because he had to have a winning pattern. However, he also said that he was still lacking in power and hits.

 

Fukunaga I think I was lucky in the 16th best, but from the player's point of view, I felt like I did my best. However, the war criticism is very severe.

 

Matsubara: It's written that you usually lack power because you're doing soft judo, but what does this "soft" mean?

 

Kawamura: I think you're probably talking about hits, but even if you're a strong private player, even if you're in a ground fight, you're hit hard. However, seven college students like us suppress it with a fluffy feeling. I think you point out that the difference is completely different.

 

Matsubara Is it the pressure of how to suppress it? There, in the first round of the match against Okayama University of Science, Mr. Yamazaki of the next sword took one on all sides.

After that, Mr. Goto, a middle-ranked player, was distracted and lost. The result was 1-1 content win.

 

Goto: I aimed too much at my legs and got attention.

 

Matsubara: Did you have a tendency from that time that you shouldn't do much tackle?

 

Goto Yes. I was warned that I would do it too persistently.

 

Kawamura: I was a general, but the difference in the content of 1-1 came into play, so I was thinking of drawing without any fouls here.

 

Matsubara In the video, Mr. Kawamura has moved from the inner thigh to the armpit, and is really persistent in judo.

 

Kawamura: I remember that my opponent was a big player who weighed over 100kg. It's unconscious that I went aside.

 

Matsubara: You can see the determination to divide anyway while attacking. The next match against Fukuoka Institute of Technology in the second round was a 4-0 victory.

 

By the time General Kawamura's turn came around, I had already decided to win 3-0, so I was able to relax in this match.

Goto: I was a third general, but I fought with the feeling that my opponent was small and I had to take it here. As a result, I'm glad I won.

 

Matsubara: It's a match that you defeated with a tackle and then pulled your leg into the hall to finish it. And the third round is Kokushikan, a candidate for victory. Although he suffered a big defeat of 0-6, the overall impression was that Kokushikan did not stick to the advantage of standing skills, but dared to go to bed with him and came to crush Kyoto University. What I was worried about was that the back collar was taken off and the game was controlled.

 

Goto: There were many strong universities in Kansai, but Kokushikan was at a different level.

 

Matsubara Goto-san was strangled by a ground fight, but ...

 

Goto: In the end, I wasn't able to squeeze sideways, and I was defeated by paying in, but at that time the director of Kokushikan was Mr. Hitoshi Saito. Probably because Kyoto University won, I think I was instructed to go with a ground fight instead of a standing fight. Otherwise, I wouldn't have attacked with such a persistent ground fight.

 

Kawamura Kokushikan was strong, wasn't it? As Mr. Matsubara says, the back collar cannot be cut.

 

Matsubara: I used to shift the angler in the games before that. Mr. Kojima, the deputy general, repeatedly pinched crabs and played a jumping cross, but at the end he was thrown by Osotogari. I'm doing everything I can, but at the end I'm blown away. Did it consume stamina over time?

 

Goto: I lost one, so I couldn't feel the exhaustion of my physical strength.

 

Matsubara But it's amazing that I was able to avoid that horizontal strangulation. It looks like you're losing one when you're exhausted.

 

Goto: That may be true. After all, if the other party is big, you will get tired.

 

Matsubara Did you think that the fact that the other side came in a ground fight put you in a difficult situation?

 

Kawamura No, that wasn't the case. The score is 0-6, but only two were taken in the ground fight.

 

Matsubara means that I had a hard time in the match with Okayama University of Science because my opponent didn't come in a ground fight. Does that mean that Kyoto University would be grateful if you could come to the ground fighting technique?

 

Kawamura That's right.

 

Matsubara Even if it's Kokushikan with all the giants?

 

Goto: Yes, it's easy to give.

 

Matsubara: It looks like Mr. Goto, who is petite, is having a hard time with his neck tightened by a giant, but in reality, is it that he can stay calm in his ground fighting?

 

Kawamura Well, we usually have a hard time (laughs).

 

Goto: Our pride at that time was that no matter how first-class the opponent was, we couldn't lose in the ground fighting. Even if that Yasuhiro Yamashita is the opponent, the turtle should not be taken. I've been told that by my seniors.

 

Matsubara That's wonderful. It's a word that shows the pride of the seven college students.

Finally, it's been a long time since you became a member of society, but how do you live in the struggle of those days?

 

Kawamura After all, it's "confidence." For example, I have many opportunities to talk with people who have studied a lot or who have worked hard at work and in private, but it is very easy to understand and talk. As a result, it will be connected in a good direction both publicly and privately, and personal connections and relationships will expand. It's not immediately visible, but it's true that the experience at that time has been a plus for my life.

 

Ryuichiro Matsubara Matsubara Ryuichiro
Born in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture in 1956. Graduated from the Department of Urban Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Tokyo. Completed the doctoral course at the Graduate School of Economics. Currently a professor at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. Majors are socioeconomics and correlated social sciences. Born in the judo club of Nada Junior and Senior High School, which was founded by Jigoro Kano. At the age of 33, he entered Daido Juku, and is currently the 4th Dan of the International Federation of Daido Juku. Cram school businessman class teacher. He has written many books such as "Contemporary Controversy as Martial Arts", "Thinking Martial Arts", "Living in Martial Arts", "Keynes and Hayek-Questions on Money and Markets".  


  (From "Gong Martial Arts" July 2013 issue "Showa 61, Kyoto University Judo Club Best 16 Miracles.")

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