Statue of Jigoro Kano outside The Kodokan Institute (講道館), Tokyo. Photograph by Henrik Probell See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Kodokan_Jigoro_Kano_Statue.jpg
Kano Jigoro (嘉納 治五郎 Kanō Jigorō, 28 October 1860–4 May 1938) was the founder of judo.
On 18 April 1888, Kano Jigoro and Reverend Thomas Lindsay presented a lecture called "Jiujitsu: The Old Samurai Art of Fighting without Weapons" to the Asiatic Society of Japan. This lecture took place at the British Embassy in Tokyo. Its theme was that the main principle of Judo involved gaining victory by yielding to strength.Kano had broad aims for Judo, which he saw as something that simultaneously encompassed self-defense, physical culture, and moral behavior.
Quote:-“Since the very beginning, I had been categorizing Judo into three parts, rentai-ho, shobu-ho, and shushin-ho. Rentai-ho refers to Judo as a physical exercise, while shobu-ho is Judo as a martial art. Shushin-ho is the cultivation of wisdom and virtue as well as the study and application of the principles of Judo in our daily lives. I therefore anticipated that practitioners would develop their bodies in an ideal manner, to be outstanding in matches, and also to improve their wisdom and virtue and make the spirit of Judo live in their daily lives. ...These are the ideal principles of my Judo.”
In March 1922, Kano brought Judo to the world through the introduction of the Kodokan Bunkakai, or Kodokan Cultural Association. This organization held its first meeting at Tokyo's Seiyoken Hotel on 5 April 1922. The mottoes of the Kodokan Cultural Association were translated into English as "Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort" and "Mutual Welfare and Benefit."
Jigoro Kano's Five Principles of Judo:
1. Carefully observe oneself and one's situation, carefully observe others, and carefully observe one's environment,
2. Seize the initiative in whatever you undertake,
3. Consider fully, act decisively,
4. Know when to stop,
5. Keep to the middle.