Judo

Kodokan judo is a martial art and self development system created by educational pioneer Kano Jjgoro at the turn of the 20th century. Kano’s judo revolutionised the way martial arts are taught and practiced and his influence and innovations can be seen in almost all dojo, regardless of the style practiced. Today judo is recognised as an Olympic sport and practiced worldwide. The character “ju” in judo means pliability or softness and is identical to the one in jujutsu. Judo was originally known as Kano jujutsu and can be thought of as a modern evolution of jujutsu principles. The preference for using an opponent’s force and balance over sheer muscular strength when executing technique is evident in all of judo’s repertoire. Kano replaced the “-jutsu” suffix with”-do” to declare his intent in creating a system to benefit personal development rather than just an evolved fighting method and his writings go into great detail about how judo and its principles can be of benefit to the individual and by extension to society. Kano was alive during the unprecedented modernisation of Japan’s society after the Meiji restoration and he felt that the jujutsu of the past was not suited to the new modern era. He rationalised the curriculum and made training safer and more dynamic, shifting the emphasis from battlefield effectiveness to personal physical and mental development through training. Judo is based on the principles of “zenryoku seiyo” (the most efficient use of energy) and “jita kyoei” (mutual prosperity). These philosophies are reflected in the efficient and effective way techniques are performed and the mutual learning that structured training with partners facilitates. With a combination of Kano’s extensive contacts in the government and education system and the kodokan’s victories in public challenge matches, Judo soon became Japan’s premiere martial art. It has been adopted by the Japanese police and as compulsory physical education in schools. The core curriculum of judo was taken and adapted from several schools of classical jujutsu and the throwing and grappling emphasis it inherited is plain to see. Powerful hip and leg throws are the trademark techniques. Originally judo had no ground fighting techniques as these were not present in its battlefield inspired parent styles but over time, newaza became an important part of judo training and competition, especially in the fiercely fought Japanese high school championships. Judo training is divided between learning correct form through kata and free practice of techniques called randori. In this way the student can easily bridge the gap between theoretical and practical training. Judo competition is an important part of training where players will compete on a matted area, ideally aiming to cleanly throw the opponent down, hold them in a pin for 25 seconds or get a submission from joint locking or constriction techniques.