Title: Mind Over Muscle: Writings from the Founder of Judo

Author: Jigoro Kano; Compiled by Naoki Murata; Translated by Nancy H. Ross

Publisher: Kodansha International

Publication Date: May 6 2013; First edition 2005

Format: Hardcover

Pages: 160, 5.5 in x 7.7 in

Cover Price: $19.95

ISBN: 978-1568364971

Content

Professor Jigoro Kano was the founder of judo, an educator, Japan’s representative to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and a member of Japan’s House of Peers. This book collects a subset of his writings. The earliest dates from 1889, seven years after he founded the Kodokan and created judo. The latest dates from 1939, one year after his passing at sea, returning from an IOC meeting in Cairo, Egypt. The late Naoki Murata, who recently passed away in April 2020, was a Kodokan judo 8th dan. Murata sensei served as the curator of the Kodokan museum. He compiled the writings, and received translation assistance from Nancy Ross. The forward was writen byProfessor Kano’s grandson, Yukimitsu Kano, in his capacity as the fourth president of Kodokan. Yukimitsu Kano passed away recently in March 2020.

Three Chapters

The first and shortest includes two sections on the development of judo. It is based on Kano’s 1926 articles, his 1889 paper on jujutsu, and a 1933 article in the journal Judo.

The second chapter is the longest and discusses “the spirit of judo”. It draws from two articles published in the Judo journal in 1925 and 1937. Materials published after Kano passed away, appearing in print in 1939, are also included. This chapter discusses Kano’s philosophies, namely “seiryoku saizen katsuyo,” or “the best use of one’s energy”. Kano shortened this to be “seiryoku zenyo,” or “maximum efficiency”. Along with “jita-kyoei,” or “mutual prosperity for self and others,” these became the cornerstones of his judo philosophy.

The third chapter addresses judo training. It incorporates material from articles in Judo magazine and other sources, dating from 1918 to 1936. On pages 94-95, Kano gives an example of how training and philosophy merge:

“We have now established judo’s three aspects:  training for defense against attack, cultivation of the mind and body, and putting one’s energy to use. We have also affirmed judo’s highest goal as self-perfection for the betterment of society. For the sake of convenience, let us place the foundation, training for defense against attack, at the bottom and call it lower level judo. Let us call training and cultivation, which are byproducts of training for defense against attack, middle level judo. Study of how to put one’s energy to use in society comes last, so let us call it upper-level judo. When we divide judo into these three levels, you can see that it must not be limited to training for fighting in the dojo, and even if you train your body and cultivate your mind, if you do not go a level higher, you cannot truly benefit society.”. 

Pros

Mind Over Muscle is a must-have book for anyone practicing judo or a derivative art like Brazilian jiu-jitsu. It neatly captures professor Kano’s thoughts on a variety of topics. At 160 pages and in a fairly compact format, it is a quick read. The book shows how deeply Kano thought about his art. And how practitioners of all kinds could benefit themselves and the wider world.

Cons

My only concern with this book involves the way it was compiled. The references at the end show the source for the text of each chapter. It is impossible to know exactly what text aligns with which source. In some cases, I have read some of the original material. That means that I recognize it when it appears in Mind Over Muscle. At other times, I have no idea which source applies. Some sources are in Japanese, and required translation, and Kano wrote others in English. Some scholars may prefer referring to the original sources, assuming they can read both English and Japanese.

Conclusion

I give this book 5 out of 5 ninja stars.

I greatly enjoyed reading Mind Over Muscle. Anyone practicing a “traditional” martial art would probably like the book too. If your style awards black belts and wears white gis, you benefit from the work done by professor Kano in the late 19th and early 20th century. This is the book that I plan to return to, for reconnecting with professor Kano’s vision of martial arts.

Have you read Mind over Muscle? Tell me what you thought in the comments. Check out other reviews on Martial Journal including my review of A History of Judo.

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Richard Bejtlich

Richard took his first martial arts classes in judo, karate, boxing, and combatives as a cadet at the US Air Force Academy in 1990, and continued practicing several styles until 2001. He resumed training in 2016 by practicing within the Krav Maga Global system, earning Graduate 1 rank. Richard now studies Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with Team Pedro Sauer. Richard is married and has two daughters, and as a cybersecurity professional he helps organizations find and remove computer hackers. Richard is co-author, with Anna Wonsley, of the book Reach Your Goal: Stretching and Mobility Exercises for Fitness, Personal Training, and Martial Arts.

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