Customer Reviews

The Father of Judo: A Biography of Jigoro Kano (Bushido--The Way of the Warrior)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I was disappointed with the lack of scholarly research in this book. There are only six references listed, none of which are Kano's original writings. For someone as important in the modern Olympic movement as the author depicts Kano, there must be some of Kano's work extant. The author provides a large number of quotes and conversations, several from letters Kano wrote, but does not provide sources for this. Most of the conversations seem stilted and forced. I can't say I gained much insight into Kano's philosophy and the development of Kodokan judo.

Available for 5 years now, one can still pick up a First Edition copy in most book stores. Mr. Watson does a fine job at basically presenting Kano Jigoro to a public that is especially starved of information about the man and his many accomplishments, on and off the mat.

However, from the perspective of good biography and as an historical work, it does not go nearly deep enough into Kano's life and, frustratingly so, can (and does) leave the reader with more questions than answers about this remarkable man's life.

That said, there is so very little that has been written about Kano that I grudgingly rate it at 4 stars. For this reason alone, I think it belongs on the library shelf of any self-respecting judoka. Mr. Watson, however, could have given this subject a much more extensive treatment.

For most judo students, this will provide an excellent introduction to the founder of judo. Prior to this, there was very little available on the life of Jigoro Kano and the majority of judo students only knew Kano from a question sure to be on the promotion test and perhaps a picture in the practice hall. I, for one, would like to see Brian Watson go back to his notes and provide us with a much more detailed tome.

For a Jodoka who has always been totally fascinated with Judo, Kano Sensei has been a form of idol, or superstar, to me. Unfortuantely, the very few books about him have never been well done and it's always been obvious that real research has been lacking. Finally, thanks to Mr. Watson, I am able to learn more about my fovorite historical figure and have Jigoro Kano practically come to life. Osu.

The book provides some historical information on Kano's life but I was very disappointed. The book went through Kano's life very quickly and failed to cover large segments of his life. It provided good detail in some areas but was woefully lacking in other areas. Plus, the book was written on a very low level, practically at a child's level. In addition, it was obvious that the author did not have much to contribute because he filled the book at the end with tournament results. How this had anything to do with the subject is beyond me. It is a necessary book to have but I expected better.

This book is valuable for providing little-known information about an important figure. Unfortunately, it is written at about an eighth-grade level. Those who read history seriously will be frustrated by the book's superficiality. It is difficult to determine what is documented and what is contrived for readability. The author states up front that he has created dialogue to make the book more interesting, but there is no way to tell which dialogue is created. For example, were those really Kano's last words? On the other hand, the photographs are terrific, and a time-line of events (at the end of the book) is very helpful.

I enjoyed this book. I have been doing judo all my life, run the largest and most popular judo web site (judoinfo.com), and wrote my own book about judo (Judo Unleashed), but I still learned things while reading Brian N. Watson's contribution to judo historical literature. It is well written, easy to read, and gives a good feeling for who Jigoro Kano was and why he was so important. Mr. Watson's subsequent book, Judo Memoirs of Jigoro Kano, meet the demand for more research and English language material, but The Father of Judo provides all the average reader needs to know.