Judo

History

Judo is derived from Jujutsu (see Jujutsu). It was created by Professor Jigoro Kano who was born in Japan in 1860 and who died in 1938 after a lifetime of promoting Judo. Mastering several styles of jujutsu in his youth he began to develop his own system based on modern sports principles. In 1882 he founded the Kodokan Judo Institute in Tokyo where he began teaching and which still is the international authority for Judo. The name Judo was chosen because it means the "gentle way". Kano emphasised the larger educational value of training in attack and defense so that it could be a path or way of life that all people could participate in and benefit from. He eliminated some of the traditional jujutsu techniques and changed training methods so that most of the moves could be done with full force to create a decisive victory without injury.

The popularity of Judo increased dramatically after a famous contest hosted by the Tokyo police in 1886 where the Judo team defeated the most well-known jujutsu school of the time. It then became a part of the Japanese physical education system and began its spread around the world. In 1964 men's Judo competition became a part of the Olympics, the only eastern martial art that is an official medal sport. In 1992 Judo competition for women was added to the Olympics.

Description:

Judo is practiced on mats and consists primarily of throws (nage-waza), along with grappling (katame-waza), which includes pins (osaekomi-waza), chokes (shime-waza), and armbars (kansetsu-waza). Additional techniques, including striking (atemi-waza) and various joint locks which are found in the judo katas. Judo is generally compared to wrestling but it retains its unique combat forms. As a daughter of Jujutsu, these techniques are also often taught in Judo classes.