Higher Judo: Groundwork

This article is part of the Legacy Feldenkrais Books Archive.

INTRO

Higher Judo: Groundwork is one of Moshe Feldenkrais’s early books on martial arts and an important precursor to the ideas that later developed into the Feldenkrais Method®. First published in French in 1951 and in English shortly thereafter, the book reflects Feldenkrais’s deep involvement in judo during the years when he was also working as a physicist and developing his early ideas about human learning.

In Higher Judo, Feldenkrais presents judo not merely as a system of self-defense but as a sophisticated method for developing coordination, awareness, and efficient action. Many of the principles explored in this book—such as balance, organization of effort, and learning through movement—would later become central to the Feldenkrais Method.

This page provides an overview of the book along with a short excerpt illustrating how Feldenkrais connected martial arts practice with broader principles of human development.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Before he became widely known as the founder of the Feldenkrais Method, Moshe Feldenkrais was a pioneering figure in the spread of judo in Europe. A student of Jigoro Kano’s system and a close collaborator with early European practitioners, Feldenkrais brought both scientific curiosity and practical experience to the study of martial arts.

Higher Judo: Groundwork focuses specifically on the techniques and principles of judo practiced on the ground. Through clear explanations and detailed illustrations, Feldenkrais explores how effective movement depends on organization, timing, balance, and efficient use of effort.

More than a technical manual, the book reflects Feldenkrais’s broader interest in human learning. The principles of leverage, adaptability, and sensitivity described in the book foreshadow the ideas he would later develop in the Feldenkrais Method.

KEY IDEAS IN THE BOOK

• Efficient movement arises from coordination of the entire body rather than isolated muscular effort.
• Balance and leverage are more important than strength in effective action.
• Learning occurs through attentive practice and sensitivity to feedback.
• Martial arts training can serve as a laboratory for understanding human movement.
• The principles underlying judo also apply to everyday movement and personal development.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Editor’s Note

Forewords to the 2010 Edition

A Judo Pioneer in France — Michel Brousse
The Principle of No Principle — Dennis Leri
Turning Point — Moti Nativ

Preface — Moshe Feldenkrais
Foreword — Gunji Koizumi

Introduction

Judo Practice
Uniqueness of Action
Where We Start and Why
Principles of Ground Work
Some Useful Exercises for Ground Work
Ground Work Tactics
Starting Ground Work

Six O’Clock Approach
Right or Left Approach
Head On Approach

The Astride Position
Opponent Facing the Ground

Appendix: Original Photographs
A Biography of Moshe Feldenkrais
Contributors
About the Feldenkrais Method
Resources

EXCERPT

Editor’s Note

Moshe Feldenkrais is best known today as the founder of the Feldenkrais Method® of somatic education; however when Higher Judo was first published in French in 1951, he was much better known as a judo teacher and scientist.

Few people achieve a high level of mastery in a single field, yet Feldenkrais distinguished himself in three: physics, judo, and somatic education. He worked with the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Frédéric Joliot-Curie, helped establish judo in Europe, and later developed the Feldenkrais Method, applying principles drawn from both science and martial arts to human learning and movement.

In Higher Judo one can clearly see the meeting of these three domains. The book is not only an instructive manual on groundwork techniques but also a window into the intellectual foundations that later shaped Feldenkrais’s approach to movement and awareness.

CLOSING REFLECTION

Higher Judo: Groundwork occupies a unique place in the history of the Feldenkrais Method. Written during the period when Feldenkrais was deeply involved in martial arts, the book reveals how the principles of balance, leverage, and awareness developed on the judo mat later informed his work in somatic education.

For readers interested in the origins of Feldenkrais’s ideas, Higher Judo offers a fascinating glimpse into the early experiments that helped shape one of the most influential movement approaches of the twentieth century.

RELATED READING

About Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais
What is the Feldenkrais Method®
Research on the Feldenkrais Method®
Other books by Moshe Feldenkrais