Judo

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Date of Origin: 1882 Country of Origin: Japan Technique: Grappling, Throwing, Bare Hands

Judo
What is Judo?

Judo literally translated is ju (gentle) and do (way or path) or "the gentle way."

Judo is practiced internationally by more than 400,000 men, women and children. It is taught through forms, which are prearranged series of throws, and randori, which is the equivalent of sparring. Because Judo is taught in a similar fashion globally, a clear sequence of instruction has been established. Unlike other martial arts, Judo competition rules, training methods, and rank systems are relatively uniform throughout the world.

Judo is practiced on mats and consists primarily throws, arm-locks, chokes and pins, there are no strikes in competitive Judo. These techniques are performed upon opponents in Judo tournaments in order to score points. 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. Each Judo match begins with the ceremonial bow between the two contestants, after which each grabs the other's jacket collar and sleeve. The objective in a Judo match is to score an ippon (full point), or waza-ari (almost ippon). The competition is ended once such a score is obtained.

Judo training has many forms for different interests. Some students train for self-defense while others train for competition. Others will study the traditional art and forms (kata). Still others practice Judo simply for fun. Black belts are expected to learn all of these aspects of Judo.