Kodokan Judo

by Neil Ohlenkamp

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Judo is derived from Jujutsu. It was created by Professor Jigoro Kano who was born in Japan on October 28, 1860 and who died May 4, 1938 after a lifetime of promoting Judo. Mastering several styles of jujutsu including Kito-Ryu and Tenjin-shinyo Ryu 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 photo below shows Jigoro Kano with a gathering of jujutsu leaders in 1921.

The name Judo was chosen because it means the "gentle way". Kano emphasized 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.

Judo is practiced on mats and consists primarily of nage-waza (throws), along with katame-waza (grappling), which includes osaekomi-waza (pins), shime-waza (chokes), and kansetsu-waza (armbars). Additional techniques, including atemi-waza (striking) and various joint locks are found in the judo katas. Judo is generally compared to wrestling but it retains its unique combat forms. As a daughter to Jujutsu these techniques are also often taught in Judo classes. Because the founder was involved in education (President of Tokyo University) Judo training emphasizes mental, moral and character development as much as physical training. Most instructors stress the principles of Judo such as the principle of yielding to overcome greater strength or size, as well as the scientific principles of leverage, balance,efficiency, momentum and control. Seiryoku zenyo (maximum efficiency) and Jita kyoei (mutual welfare and benefit) are best known of the principles of Judo.

Judo would be a good choice for most children because it is safe and fun.

Judo training has many forms for different interests. Some students train for competition by sparring and entering the many tournaments that are available. Other students study the traditional art and forms (kata) of Judo. Other students train for self-defense, and yet other students play Judo for fun. Black belts are expected to learn all of these aspects of Judo.

Because Judo originated in modern times it is organized like other major sports with one international governing body, the International Judo Federation (IJF), and one technical authority (Kodokan). Unlike other martial arts, Judo competition rules, training methods and rank systems are relatively uniform throughout the world.