About Judo
Judo is a dynamic full contact activity; its origins are from the Japanese martial arts. Although Judo was founded in the late 1800’s by a man called Jigaro Kano, Judo skills date back to the period of 1600, the Bushido period which was the time of the Samurai (Japanese Warrior).
The Samurai would often use a large variety of judo techniques in unarmed combat which involved techniques such as throwing, sweeping, hooking, tripping as well as arm-locks, strangles, choking, kicking and punching. The above fighting form was given the name ‘Ju-Jitsu’.
Judo originated from Ju-Jitsu
In the late 1800’s a young man by the name of Jigaro Kano decided to learn the art of Ju-Jitsu. Being of small frame, he was constantly bullied so he decided to take up martial arts in order to defend himself. Kano proved to be an outstanding individual - practising every day to improve his skills. He soon became an expert in various Ju-Jitsu forms.
Kano saw a vision within Ju-Jisu - that by taking out all the punching and kicking he was able to structure a form which he called Judo.
Judo translated means ‘the gentle’ or ‘the supple way’.
In 1882, Kano was successful in starting his own school which had just 9 students. Then he went on to create the Kodakan School of Judo. (Kodakan means ‘hall of study’).
Judo first became established in the Olympic Games in 1964 at the Tokyo Olympics. It is now an internationally recognised sport which is studied all over the world by many.