Float like Mifune: Old Judo Concept Used for MMA, Etc.
Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2021 1:23 am
Ramsey Dewey
Jun 13, 2021
Kyuzo Mifune was one of the most prolific judo practitioners next to the founder of the art himself, Jigoro Kano.
After an MMA training session, I showed some of my students an old film real of Mifune doing randori (sparring in judo, where the objective is to throw the other man to the floor) with a group of highly skilled advanced black belts, beating them all one after the other. Mifune was close to 80 years old at the time of filming. Mifune stood only 5’2” tall and weighed a meager percentage 100 lbs. Yet throughout his life, Mifune was able to defeat much larger, stronger opponents with his martial arts skills.
The cat-like reflexes, balance, and weight distribution, and “floating” movement quality Mifune shows in these video clips is a demonstration of the highest level of judo, and yet, it is something mechanically simple that can be integrated into many different aspects of grappling, wrestling, BJJ, Muay Thai, and mixed martial arts. In this video, I show some wrestling applications of Mifune’s “floating” movement to counter takedown and sweep attempts.
I decided to share these thoughts after my friend Lukas https://youtu.be/G3uScF8rZII used a similar “floating” counter during a sparring session at the Shanghai UFC Performance Institute. This is not a “how to” video. The intention is not to teach you how to do a floating harai goshi counter throw in mid air. Instead, I want you to start asking questions about the efficiency of your own movement patterns and training routines.
There is much to be learned from old film studies. Give it a try!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utCY6YRnycw
Jun 13, 2021
Kyuzo Mifune was one of the most prolific judo practitioners next to the founder of the art himself, Jigoro Kano.
After an MMA training session, I showed some of my students an old film real of Mifune doing randori (sparring in judo, where the objective is to throw the other man to the floor) with a group of highly skilled advanced black belts, beating them all one after the other. Mifune was close to 80 years old at the time of filming. Mifune stood only 5’2” tall and weighed a meager percentage 100 lbs. Yet throughout his life, Mifune was able to defeat much larger, stronger opponents with his martial arts skills.
The cat-like reflexes, balance, and weight distribution, and “floating” movement quality Mifune shows in these video clips is a demonstration of the highest level of judo, and yet, it is something mechanically simple that can be integrated into many different aspects of grappling, wrestling, BJJ, Muay Thai, and mixed martial arts. In this video, I show some wrestling applications of Mifune’s “floating” movement to counter takedown and sweep attempts.
I decided to share these thoughts after my friend Lukas https://youtu.be/G3uScF8rZII used a similar “floating” counter during a sparring session at the Shanghai UFC Performance Institute. This is not a “how to” video. The intention is not to teach you how to do a floating harai goshi counter throw in mid air. Instead, I want you to start asking questions about the efficiency of your own movement patterns and training routines.
There is much to be learned from old film studies. Give it a try!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utCY6YRnycw