Title: Ippon! The Fight for Judo’s Soul
Author: Dave Hammond
Publisher: London League Publications Ltd
Publication Date: May 5, 2008
Format: Kindle
Pages: 96
Cover Price: $5.80
ISBN: (Amazon ASIN) B00IHPQ0R2
Content
Author Dave Hammond began practicing judo in 1982, and has competed at the national level for several British judo associations. He is ranked in Tomiki Aikido, and in 2000 became editor of Judoka, national magazine of the British Judo Council.
In the introduction of Ippon! The Fight for Judo’s Soul, Hammond explains the negative effects of a single technique, drop-seoinage, upon British judo. In 2007, one year before the book was published, the British Judo Association banned certain “sacrifice techniques,” such as drop-seoinage. This was partly due to the danger to the uke’s neck and shoulder. Hammond also writes how “Over-emphasis on a throw that requires limited learning time [has been] detrimental to further judo progress. Those brought up on a steady diet of sacrifice techniques struggle to stay on their feet and think of more commanding standing judo”. Hammond recommends that for judo in Britain to be successful again, practitioners and coaches “must return to the core techniques that were taught across the world in the 1950s and 1960s.”
This short book, then, is designed to show how judo started, how it progressed, and how it arrived at the situation Hammond describes in the introduction.
Pros
Ippon! The Fight for Judo’s Soul has several beneficial aspects. It provides some analysis of why professor Kano made the decisions he did regarding the development of judo. It briefly describes the influence of judo on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Sambo. The book incorporates thoughts from judo luminaries like Mifune, Tomiki, Koizumi and Kawaishi. It also provides history beyond the Kodokan and Kano, with topics like introducing weight categories, grip fighting, and tighter and heavier gis. Fitting with the purpose of the book, the last parts concentrate on post-Kano judo history in the United Kingdom.
Cons
From a history standpoint, the book suffers from multiple minor errors. This may be due to reliance on poor sources. For example, Hammond writes in location 222 that “young Jigoro received much of his early education from his father.” This is not true, as Kano attended multiple specialty schools and learned classic Chinese texts with dedicated tutors. Hammond writes in location 309 that “he was by that time [1882] a recognised master of both [Tenshin Shinyo-ryu and Kito-ryu].” This is not true, especially for Kito-ryu. Kano continued training after founding the Kodokan in 1882, as he had not even five years total jujutsu experience in 1882. The book too often cites invented dialogue from Brian Watson’s book The Father of Judo, and includes quotes that have no attribution, such as the “you fought like young bulls locking horns” story at location 1017. Hammond repeats the myth that professor Kawaishi created the colored belt system in the 1930s in France. We have documentation showing that the Kodokan used a colored belt system no later than 1923. He also states at location 646 that Mitsuyo Maeda preferred groundwork, despite there being no evidence of this.
Conclusion
I give this book 4 out of 5 ninja stars.
There was much debate whether to drop another star for the historical issues. I decided that the history was designed to support the author’s thesis concerning the evolution of judo competition. The errors I cited above do not really detract from that argument. It is important for readers to expose themselves to perspectives like this. As many modern judoka may have no idea how judo evolved. The author has many strong opinions, some of which I agree with. Others seem inflammatory for no particularly good reason. For example, at location 690 Hammond writes:
“While these results [Kimura beating Gracie, Yoshida beating Gracie] are by no means a conclusive endorsement of any shallow idea that judo is a better fighting art than Brazilian jujutsu, it does challenge the ludicrous notion that it could possibly be the other way round.”
It would be better to try to build bridges with the jiu-jitsu community rather than poking at supposed fighting prowess. Judo is the activity that is, sadly, struggling to grow, not jiu-jitsu.
Tell me what you thought of Ippon! The Fight for Judo’s Soul. Check out other reviews and commentaries here on Martial Journal.
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