Bruce R Bethers

Shushinho - The superior level of Judo Bruce R Bethers

Professor Jigoro Kano classified Kodokan Judo under what he called the 3 cultures or levels of Judo: Shobuho (as warrior and combat art), Rentaiho (as a physical and sports education system) and Shushinho (as a method for moral development), intellectual and ethical). On this occasion, the study is directed towards Shushinho, which according to Jigoro Kano is the highest level of Kodokan Judo. It is well known the capacity and depth that Kano showed in his writings and documents where we conclude that he was an exceptional man, an educator ahead of his time and a Bujutsu teacher who tirelessly helped preserve traditions while adapting the methodology of his school to modern times. Therefore, moral and intellectual development had a relevant role in the doctrine of the founder of Kodokan Judo. It is for this reason that we have ventured to collect, classify, translate and publish ancient writings by Jigoro Kano that appeared mainly in old interviews, contributions in newspapers and specialized magazines, in ancient Kodokan Judo readings, etc. We have divided it into 7 chapters arranged chronologically. In all the chapters, Kano speaks to us about the need to use time correctly, about austerity in expenses, he advises us on the ideal form of combat, feelings and of friendship, of the best way to resolve conflicts between people, of the values that must prevail in any society, of honesty, etc. Sometimes he even explains his doctrine in a hard, direct tone and with some criticism of what was happening in judo and in society at that time. Reading and assimilating each chapter makes the reader move to the mind of who was an exemplary man, of a visionary who knew how to extend the benefits of Kodokan Judo to Japan at that time and later to the rest of the world.