T. P. LEGGETT 8th Dan (6th DAN KODOKAN) - CHAMPIONSHIP JUDO

Published in 2021 by

Trevor Leggett Adhyatma Yoga Trust

PO Box 362

King’s Lynn

PE31 8WQ

United Kingdom

Website Address; www.tlayt.org

First published by W.Foulsham & co Ltd, London in 1964

Ippon Books edition published in 1994

Copyright Trevor Leggett Adhyatma Yoga Trust and Kisaburo Watanabe

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilised in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval systems, without the prior written permission of the publisher

ISBN: 978-1-011467-12-0

This book is dedicated to John Newman MBE, 5th Dan (1935-1993) who demonstrated exemplary judo skills during his career which included 2nd Dan champion of Europe.

In Championship Judo, he was the capable uke.

CONTENTS

Foreword Foreword The Trevor Leggett Adhyatma Yoga Trust (‘TLAYT’)is a registered charity established following the death of Trevor Leggett in August 2000. Its objectives are to promote the public knowledge of Yoga, Vedanta, Buddhism, Zen, Judo and Shogi. Before his sad death in September 2019, Kisaburo Watanabe was aware of and approved the Trustee’s intention to republish ‘Championship Judo – Taiotoshi and Ouchigari attacks’ in new softback and e-book editions. The Trustees would like to thank Nicolas Soames for his kind permission to reprint his Preface, that first appeared in the Ippon Books edition of ‘Championship Judo’ in 1994, and for his valuable advice and his encouragement to bring out this new edition. Our thanks are also due to Tony Sweeney, Dr Michael Callan, Ben Anderson and Dave Horton-Jones for the help that they have given to us in the preparation of this edition. The Trustees Trevor Leggett Adhyatma Yoga Trust February 2021

Preface Preface Championship Judo – Tai-Otoshi and O-Uchi-Gari Attacks by Trevor Leggett and Kisaburo Watanabe was the first judo book written in English which truly revealed the hidden riches and complexities in judo technique. In that sense, when it was published in 1964, it proved a milestone to many who read it. Here, at last, was a comprehensible account of the careful development of a throw – Taiotoshi – from its very first beginnings to its full glory when, joined with a sister throw, it was ready to be executed under contest conditions. Its clear description of crucial details – whether the grips or the standards of uchikomi which need to be attained – made it one of the very few judo books which could be usefully studied. Like all important texts, it hasn’t really dated. The photographs may not be up to modern standards but the content is as relevant now as it was 30 years ago. This, alone, means that it should remain in print. When I first read it, I was a brown belt aspiring to a dan grade and it made an enormous difference to my personal understanding of judo. More importantly, the effect of the book stayed with me for years, and proved to be a direct inspiration for the foundation of the Judo Masterclass series published by Ippon Books. Looking back at Tai-Otoshi and O-Uchi-Gari Attacks, I wonder whether any judo book will be able to match it for sheer clarity, purpose and understanding. In the end, this book is a model not just for two specific throws but for all our judo training. I cannot commend it to you more highly. Nicolas Soames (1994)

Introduction

1. How to Build Up Attacking Movement

2. Basic Analysis of Taiotoshi

3. The Left-hand Pull

4. Foot Position

5. Circling Uchikomi

6. The Right Hand

I. The Slip

II. The Slip from on Top

7. Comparisons

8. Uchikomi with a Pillar

9. Throwing the Weight in Taiotoshi

10. Different Points of Contact

11. The Chase

12. The Sukashi Counter to Uchimata

13. Tricks of Holding

14. Jumping Taiotoshi as a Counter

15. Two Counters

I. Hiza-guruma

II. Ko-soto

16. The ‘Y’

17. Renraku-waza: Ouchi into Taiotoshi

18. A Feeble Ouchi

19. Throwing the Weight in Ouchigari

20. Ouchigari–Taiotoshi Rally

21. Kosoto into Taiotoshi

I. Against a Taller Opponent

II. Against a Shorter Opponent

22. Contest Pictures

23. Taiotoshi in Action

Foreword

The Trevor Leggett Adhyatma Yoga Trust (‘TLAYT’)is a registered charity established following the death of Trevor Leggett in August 2000. Its objectives are to promote the public knowledge of Yoga, Vedanta, Buddhism, Zen, Judo and Shogi.

Before his sad death in September 2019, Kisaburo Watanabe was aware of and approved the Trustee’s intention to republish ‘Championship Judo – Taiotoshi and Ouchigari attacks’ in new softback and e-book editions.

The Trustees would like to thank Nicolas Soames for his kind permission to reprint his Preface, that first appeared in the Ippon Books edition of ‘Championship Judo’ in 1994, and for his valuable advice and his encouragement to bring out this new edition. Our thanks are also due to Tony Sweeney, Dr Michael Callan, Ben Anderson and Dave Horton-Jones for the help that they have given to us in the preparation of this edition.

The Trustees

Trevor Leggett Adhyatma Yoga Trust

February 2021

Preface

Championship Judo – Tai-Otoshi and O-Uchi-Gari Attacks by Trevor Leggett and Kisaburo Watanabe was the first judo book written in English which truly revealed the hidden riches and complexities in judo technique.

In that sense, when it was published in 1964, it proved a milestone to many who read it. Here, at last, was a comprehensible account of the careful development of a throw – Taiotoshi – from its very first beginnings to its full glory when, joined with a sister throw, it was ready to be executed under contest conditions.

Its clear description of crucial details – whether the grips or the standards of uchikomi which need to be attained – made it one of the very few judo books which could be usefully studied.

Like all important texts, it hasn’t really dated. The photographs may not be up to modern standards but the content is as relevant now as it was 30 years ago. This, alone, means that it should remain in print.

When I first read it, I was a brown belt aspiring to a dan grade and it made an enormous difference to my personal understanding of judo.

More importantly, the effect of the book stayed with me for years, and proved to be a direct inspiration for the foundation of the Judo Masterclass series published by Ippon Books. Looking back at Tai-Otoshi and O-Uchi-Gari Attacks, I wonder whether any judo book will be able to match it for sheer clarity, purpose and understanding.

In the end, this book is a model not just for two specific throws but for all our judo training. I cannot commend it to you more highly.

Nicolas Soames

(1994)

Introduction

The main aim of this book is to introduce the reader to general attacking Judo movement, using as examples the throws which are centred round Taiotoshi. We are trying to convey something of the spring and dash of a good Judo attacker; for this purpose the camera strips are not a series of individually posed pictures but are stages of one and the same continuous movement.

From the very beginning it is a good thing if the student tries to imitate to some extent the free and flexible action of the expert; analysis of individual techniques tends to cramp the movement, because a beginner may think that everything has to start off from a given position in order to succeed. Whereas the truth is that successful Judo is largely dependent on being able to keep balance and control in the fast interchanges. The standard of individual technique in world Judo is getting higher; the weakness is in the general movement, and this book aims at that. We are taking mainly the Taiotoshi movement to illustrate the themes because if too many throws are described the student once again falls into the error of supposing that until every detail has been mastered nothing can be done, and the student also tends to suppose that for each position there is one appropriate throw.