INTRODUCTION In a recent study attention was focussed upon delineation of the changing culture British Judo 1 . Despite variations in the cultures of particular judo clubs, it was suggested that a `core' Judo culture exists, which was identified as that which typically occurs in a few large metropolitan clubs that provide a large proportion of Britain's highly graded, international representative players . Such clubs were thought not only to act as examplars, but also to have a direct influence on other clubs and individual players through teaching and the administration of grading examinations . Of particular importance, however, was the suggestion that the core judo culture had undergone, and was still undergoing, a process of transformation, and that three major stages in this process, each with a clear cultural identity, may be detected . In the first stage, which was centred upon the Budokwai Judo Club in London from the early 1920s to the late 1940s 2, the judo club may perhaps best be understood as a `society' with specific interests in judo, selfdefence and oriental philosophy . The use of the term `society' here is intended to convey something akin to the idea of a gentleman's club but rather less exclusive and somewhat more unusual . The members of this core Judo culture were drawn together by common, distinctive interests, which tended, however, to be peripheral rather than central to the lives of participants . Whilst membership was open to men and women from a variety of backgrounds, high status business and professional individuals appear to have formed the dominant group. The relationship between the members and the two Japanese teachers, both of whom were long-term residents in Britain, was essentially one between `cultured' middle class men who, although ofdifferent backgrounds, shared an interest in an essentially amateur activity that had moral significance for both . The second stage, which was centred on the Budokwai and Renshuden 3Judo clubs in London during the 1950s and early 1960s, is that which forms the main subject of this paper . It was characterized by an intense concern with the applications of a Zen related philosophy, intense training practices and an interest in judo that was typically central to the lives of participants . Of great importance in the development of this core judo culture was the emergence of a charismatic leader, an Englishmen who had trained in Japan, together with