The Origins of the French Teaching Method of Judo (1936-1967): Acculturation, International Sporting Stakes and Gaullism

Abstract

Judo has a special place in French society, due to its educational picture, accordance with the method created by Kano in the nineteenth century. But judo history also reflects an acculturation of dominant Japanese models, as evidenced particularly by the development of a French teaching method of judo. At the crossroads between cultural history of pedagogical thoughts and social history of people involved, this study questions the assertion of a French specificity in judo teaching between 1936 and 1967. We analysed written sources (manuals, journals, Federal archives) and interviews with pioneers. The creation of a French teaching method is in continuity with the ideas of the French judo pioneers who adapt the Japanese models to Western and national culture. Developed between 1964 and 1967, this national method is a pillar of the Teacher-Training reform, and a means to unify teaching. But this method is mainly a way to increase the sporting and technical level of French judokas whose international results decline in a context of development and sportification of judo. The French method contributes also to Gaullism, aimed at a strong and independent France, including through Federal Sport.