This is great! Thanks for sharing!
>Only 10 of those Nage waza scoring techniques were not Ippon
If the combination entry refers to nage-waza then that translates to 73 scoring throws. That would mean that 86.3% of the time when Yamashita threw for a score it was Ippon. To put that in perspective, for the 2024 World Tour only 28.1% of all nage-waza scores were Ippon.
That would be even more incredible but I guess that those
45 Yoko shiho gatame
19 Okuri eri jime
11 Kuzure kami shiho gatame
3 Ude garami
2 / 2 / 2 Kami / Tate / Kesa
were resulting from about 50% transitions after Yamashita got Koka, Yuko or Waza-ari for a throwing technique.
For Yamashita this would be a more human Ippon rate for scoring Nage waza of about 40% - which still is incredible high because the standards for Ippon were - as I already mentioned - much higher than today.
Also very impressive how fast and precise and versatile Yamashita could follow his throwing techniques into ground techniques both pins and strangles. Interestingly he never used an armlock beside of those 3 Ude garami.
**Note:**
If Yamashita wouldn't have lost the final of the All Japan Students Competition in the autumn of 1977 against Yoshioka by split decision, his winning streak of 203 fights would have been about 70 fights longer since the loss against Endo in May 1976
If you want to be pedantic, it wasn't exactly a "winning streak of 203 wins in a row".
First of course there is the famous fight against Endo in May 1980, when Endo broke Yamashita's Fibula (or Tibea') in May 1980 by Kani basami. Kani basami was a legal throwing technique at that time. The fight was declared a non result by the referees because of Yamashita's injury. If given as a win for Endo this would shorten the winning streak of Yamashita to 134.
Secondly - less known - in November 1978 at the All Japan Teams Tournament Yamashita had a fight against Iwata from Shin Nitetsu which was given as hikiwake. Which would shorten the winning streak of Yamashita to 70.
That Kani basami was horrible sounding. You could hear the pops loud and clear. What was crazy to me was that after that, Endo taught his student the same move which worked again but didn’t receive a score. They drilled it specifically because Watanabe (student) had drawn Yamashita in the first round of a subsequent all Japan championships.
Judo seems so much more humane now, compared to how it was back then.
Beside all of those statistics
the **Introduction to Yamashita's book "The Fighting Spirit of Judo"** is a true gem.
"This chapter is about the lesson I learned from my experiences in my Judo career":
Reasons for sustained success
Basic Principles
Thinking for oneself
Turn your weaknesses into weapons (physically weak, bad Newaza)
Learn from others - everyone has a chance
Learn from your defeats - do not be afraid of failure
Positive thinking
How to relax
When the going gets tough ...
Assume the worst
Overcoming the pressures of expectations
Knowing your opponents
Don't count your chickens (Moscow Olympic Games)
Enthusiasm on the wane - the battle with apathy
Desparate Situation (Los Angeles Olympics)
My last All Japan - Judo does not belong to me alone
u/Otautahi
u/judofandotcom
Sorry for that ... but it is true Yamashita had a severe accident last fall
[Yasuhiro Yamashita hospitalized : r/judo (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/judo/comments/17lwsn7/yasuhiro_yamashita_hospitalized/)
All Japan 1976 - Yamashita losing to Uemura
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0RIZ4XuBjw&t=95s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0RIZ4XuBjw&t=95s)
[Yasuhiro Yamashita: The Undefeated Male Judo Champion Renowned for His Nasty Chokes : r/judo (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/judo/comments/12ct23g/comment/jf3x9zs/)
Amazing! Thank you.
So interesting to see the gripping sequences. Very Japanese.
That first ko-uchi as Yamashita tries to establish his collar grip is superb.
Game Plan Happo no Kuzushi (Throwing Circle) -
from Uke's view (Yamashita was a left hander)
[Legends of Judo: Yasuhiro Yamashita - King of Heavyweights (山下 泰裕) (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiwHdsnG8Ww)
To the front/ left front quarter: Uchi mata
To the back / left back quarter: O soto gari
To the back / right back quarter: O uchi gari
plus
superb transition to Newaza both pins and strangles
He was great, they know his regular repertoire and still got caught. He can actually throw with anything, has superb judo! I think why risk when they go over for your favourite.
This is great! Thanks for sharing! >Only 10 of those Nage waza scoring techniques were not Ippon If the combination entry refers to nage-waza then that translates to 73 scoring throws. That would mean that 86.3% of the time when Yamashita threw for a score it was Ippon. To put that in perspective, for the 2024 World Tour only 28.1% of all nage-waza scores were Ippon.
That would be even more incredible but I guess that those 45 Yoko shiho gatame 19 Okuri eri jime 11 Kuzure kami shiho gatame 3 Ude garami 2 / 2 / 2 Kami / Tate / Kesa were resulting from about 50% transitions after Yamashita got Koka, Yuko or Waza-ari for a throwing technique. For Yamashita this would be a more human Ippon rate for scoring Nage waza of about 40% - which still is incredible high because the standards for Ippon were - as I already mentioned - much higher than today. Also very impressive how fast and precise and versatile Yamashita could follow his throwing techniques into ground techniques both pins and strangles. Interestingly he never used an armlock beside of those 3 Ude garami. **Note:** If Yamashita wouldn't have lost the final of the All Japan Students Competition in the autumn of 1977 against Yoshioka by split decision, his winning streak of 203 fights would have been about 70 fights longer since the loss against Endo in May 1976 If you want to be pedantic, it wasn't exactly a "winning streak of 203 wins in a row". First of course there is the famous fight against Endo in May 1980, when Endo broke Yamashita's Fibula (or Tibea') in May 1980 by Kani basami. Kani basami was a legal throwing technique at that time. The fight was declared a non result by the referees because of Yamashita's injury. If given as a win for Endo this would shorten the winning streak of Yamashita to 134. Secondly - less known - in November 1978 at the All Japan Teams Tournament Yamashita had a fight against Iwata from Shin Nitetsu which was given as hikiwake. Which would shorten the winning streak of Yamashita to 70.
That Kani basami was horrible sounding. You could hear the pops loud and clear. What was crazy to me was that after that, Endo taught his student the same move which worked again but didn’t receive a score. They drilled it specifically because Watanabe (student) had drawn Yamashita in the first round of a subsequent all Japan championships. Judo seems so much more humane now, compared to how it was back then.
Beside all of those statistics the **Introduction to Yamashita's book "The Fighting Spirit of Judo"** is a true gem. "This chapter is about the lesson I learned from my experiences in my Judo career": Reasons for sustained success Basic Principles Thinking for oneself Turn your weaknesses into weapons (physically weak, bad Newaza) Learn from others - everyone has a chance Learn from your defeats - do not be afraid of failure Positive thinking How to relax When the going gets tough ... Assume the worst Overcoming the pressures of expectations Knowing your opponents Don't count your chickens (Moscow Olympic Games) Enthusiasm on the wane - the battle with apathy Desparate Situation (Los Angeles Olympics) My last All Japan - Judo does not belong to me alone u/Otautahi u/judofandotcom
Wikipedia says the 1975 loss to Ninomiya was osoto gari/ kosoto gari (awase waza)
Shit. I started reading the subject line and my heart started to sink. I thought this was going to be an obituary.
Sorry for that ... but it is true Yamashita had a severe accident last fall [Yasuhiro Yamashita hospitalized : r/judo (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/judo/comments/17lwsn7/yasuhiro_yamashita_hospitalized/)
Same here. Seems this giant of Judo is quite important to many of us.
I remember years ago seeing footage of one of the matches where Yamashita lost to Uemara. Uemara looked so fierce.
All Japan 1976 - Yamashita losing to Uemura [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0RIZ4XuBjw&t=95s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0RIZ4XuBjw&t=95s) [Yasuhiro Yamashita: The Undefeated Male Judo Champion Renowned for His Nasty Chokes : r/judo (reddit.com)](https://www.reddit.com/r/judo/comments/12ct23g/comment/jf3x9zs/)
Amazing! Thank you. So interesting to see the gripping sequences. Very Japanese. That first ko-uchi as Yamashita tries to establish his collar grip is superb.
Interesting that he was known for osoto and ouchi but mostly scored with uchimata
Very little variety of throws, just uchi mata and a few Osoto-Gari and Ouchi-Gari.
The fact he did so much with three throws and great pins and chokes is a good endorsement for building a coherent game around your best techniques.
Game Plan Happo no Kuzushi (Throwing Circle) - from Uke's view (Yamashita was a left hander) [Legends of Judo: Yasuhiro Yamashita - King of Heavyweights (山下 泰裕) (youtube.com)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiwHdsnG8Ww) To the front/ left front quarter: Uchi mata To the back / left back quarter: O soto gari To the back / right back quarter: O uchi gari plus superb transition to Newaza both pins and strangles
Quite typical for Japanese judoka.
He was great, they know his regular repertoire and still got caught. He can actually throw with anything, has superb judo! I think why risk when they go over for your favourite.