History of Martial Arts: Judo

History and Founder

Judo is a martial art developed in Japan. Judo means "the gentle way" mainly because it involves very few striking techniques. The only striking techniques are found in one set of kata or pre-arranged form which is taught to very high level black belts. They are not used in practise or in competition. It was invented and developed by a man named Jigoro Kano. Kano was born in 1860 and
in his adult life was mainly an educator. Kano started training in Jujitsu was he was 17. When he got frustrated being unable to beat the more senior students he started incorporating techniques that were not taught at the school notably the "firemans carry" which he learned from watching western forms of wrestling. Kano trained in several forms of jujitsu and some forms and teachers were better at different techniques than the others. This is when he decided he wanted to know the best and most useful techniques from each school.

How Judo was Born

Kano favoured throwing techniques from one of the Jujutsu schools he trained in as they were superior to the other. The other predominant Jujutsu school was very proficient at pins (hold-downs) and chokes. He combined these techniques with some others that he discovered on his own just like the firemans carry which is still taught in Judo called the kataguruma. Kano then opened his dojo and headquarters of his new organization called the Kodokan. The vast majority of Judo still taught is called Kodokan Judo. A main part of Judo training is called randori which mean "Free Exercise". The students either grapple and try to submit each other or try to throw each other. Sometimes both at once under normal tournament rules. This was very important since the students could learn techniques by had to fight to become proficient at using them.

Jigoro Kano statue outside the Kodokan

The Rules of Judo

The current rules that govern Judo in the Olympics are a little different than what they first were in Kano's time. Points come in 3 forms of varying value. Koka is the lowest value gained mainly for tripping someone to the mat. Yuko is the middle value for throws or trips that land with force and Ippon is the greatest value which is actually an instant win. You can achieve this for using a throw turns the persons fully in the air and having them land on their back with force. Ippon actually means "win". During World War II Judo used leg locks as well but they have since been banned in competition and are no longer taught. Double and single leg takedowns that are common in freestyle wrestling are legal in Judo tournaments but are not widely taught. The other way to when in competition is to hold the opponent down in a specific pin for ten seconds.