The research I have done in connection with writing a book concerning the science behind the tactics and techniques of the martial arts has led me to appreciate the genius of Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo, specifically Kodokan judo. Renzo Gracie and Royler Gracie, in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Theory and Technique, put it quite nicely:
Kano was not a great innovator in technique; most of what he knew in terms of technique was taken from older jujutsu schools. His great innovation lay in the way he taught and trained his students in those techniques.Kano named his school Kodokan. Ko is said to refer to lecture, to study, or to spread information; Do is the way compared to jutsu which refers to skill, technique, or art; and Kan is training hall, dojo, or school. Kodokan is said to mean the place for the study of the way.
My approach, encouraged by the Jan de Jong jujutsu methods, and fostered by my mentor, instructor, fellow instructor, training partner, and dear friend, Greg Palmer, is the study of the skill or technique. In homage to both Kano who transformed the martial arts world, De Jong and Palmer, and to reflect my approach to the martial arts, I'm considering naming my school Kojutsukan: the place for the study of martial arts skills.
