Our guest today is Sachiko Ragosta, a writer, musician and judoka. We discuss their background in writing and martial arts, and they present us with core Judo principles that they also apply to their writing practice, such as “maximum efficiency minimal effort,” i.e. not trying to force a plot, or the idea of practicing for “mutual welfare and benefit,” and how that can apply to ethics in writing. We also discuss collaboration and surrendering oneself to the outcome, whether in music or writing, and how writing a story about Judo finally got Sachi back onto the mats after a long hiatus.

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Guest Bio

Sachiko Ragosta (they/them) is a Bay Area-based sexual and reproductive health researcher, fiction writer, musician, and judoka. They hold an MFA from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop where they were a Truman Capote Fellow. Their essays and fiction can be found in Ms., It Came from the Closet: Queer Reflections on Horror, and Apex Magazine. Find them online at sachikor.com or @v3rsachiko.

Show Notes

Judo background and principles:

• Judo (柔道) “the gentle way,” founded by Jigoro Kano
• Seiryoku-zenyo (精力善用) maximum efficiency/minimum effort
• Jita kyoei (自他共栄) practicing for mutual welfare and benefit

References:

• A Swim in a Pond in the Rain, a book of essays by George Saunders, from where Sachi references a quote about anticipating the reaction of the reader in fiction
• Interview with Sachi in Apex Magazine
• Evil Does Not Exist, a film by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
• Saki references an old clip of Kyuzo Mifune doing judo
• Chain-Gang All-Stars, a novel by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
• Tannery Bay, a collaborative novel by Steven Dunn and Katie Jean Shinkle
• The Art of Learning, a book by Josh Waitzkin

Credits

• Theme music by The Necklace, a project by Taylor Shields and Morgan Võ.