Toshihiko Koga

A New Wind

Some people train martial arts, and many excel at the competition scene, but a very few are so great that they redefine its boundaries and bring it to a new level. Those are the ones that inspire the rest of us to keep training hard in the pursuit of excelence.

Toshihiko Koga brought a new wind to Judo with his innovative take downs and commitment for the ippon.

Check this short video with highlights of his technique and competition skills.

Kyuzo Mifune

Considered the most technical judoist of all times, 10th Dan Kyuzo Mifune and his students demonstrate in this old video stand up and ground techniques, randori, self defence and kata. This long video (about one hour) is a masterpiece narrated in japanese, very inspirational, and only watching it fully one can grasp how close to perfection Shihan Mifune was in his art.

He began Judo at age 13 and joined the Kodokan in 1903. By 1912, he was already a 6th Dan black belt and a Kodokan instructor. Unbelievably energetic and eventually stood at the head of the Kodokan’s instructors. The speed with which he mastered the techniques of Judo can only be matched by the rapidity of his promotion. He received the grade of 10th Dan on May 25, 1945, was the second youngest man to be promoted to 10th Dan, and he held his rank nearly 20 years, the longest of any 10th Dan.

Mifune was a permanent member of the Kodokan Dojo Consultative Group. He is the author of the Canon of Judo. In 1964 the Japanese Government awarded him the honour of the Order of the Rising Sun. He became the first person ever to be honoured this way during his lifetime. Before his death on 27th of January, 1965, the legendary master was the only tenth Dan alive in the world.