The Japanese Martial Art of Judo

Judo is a modern Japanese martial art and Olympic sport. The Japanese word Judo is translated as "gentle way." Its most memorable feature is its competitive component. The object is to throw one's opponent to the ground, immobilize, or subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver. Or one can also force a contestant to submit by joint locking the elbow or by choking.

Strikes and thrusts as well as weapons defenses are part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms which are called Katas. Katas not permitted in judo competition or free practice. This martial art originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Eventually, the philosophy and successive pedagogy developed for judo became the model for just about all modern Eastern martial arts that developed from "traditional" colleges.

The spread of Judo throughout the world has led on to the development of a number of offshoots like Sambo and Brazilian Ju-Jitsu. The history of judo is inseparable from that of its founder, the Japanese teacher Jigoro Kano. Kano was born into a wealthy Japanese family.

Small and weak as a boy, he was sometimes picked on by bullies. He initially began studying the art of Ju-Jitsu at the age of seventeen, but only met with minimal success. This was in part due to difficulties in finding a teacher who would take him on as a student. When he went to school to analyze literature at the age of 18, he continued his self-defense skills studies, ultimately gaining a referral to Fukuda Hachinosuke, a master of the Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū.

Fukuda Hachinosuke is alleged to have stressed strategy over formal exercise, sowing the seeds of Kano's stress of free practice in Judo training. Whilst Judo includes a number of rolls, falls, throws, hold downs, chokes, joint-locks, and strikes, the first focus is on throwing and groundwork.

Throws are divided in 2 types, standing strategies and sacrifice methodologies. Standing tactics are further divided into hand strategies, hip methods, and foot and leg systems. Sacrifice techniques are split into those in which the thrower falls immediately backwards, and those in which he falls onto his side.

The ground fighting systems are split into attacks against the joints or joint locks, strangleholds or chokeholds and holding or pinning methodologies. A sort of sparring is practiced in judo, known as randori meaning "free practice". In randori, 2 adversaries may attack one another with any judo throw or grappling system. Striking methods like kicking and smacking, with knife and sword systems are kept in the kata training.

This form of instruction is generally reserved for higher ranking practitioners, but are banned in contest, and often prohibited in randori for reasons of safety. Also for reasons of safety, chokeholds, joint locking, and the sacrifice systems are subject to age or rank limitations.

In the US many facilities require that one must be thirteen or older to use choke holds, and sixteen or older to use arm locks. Judo remains a popular martial art with heavy influence on various other forms. Judo is a modern Japanese martial art and sport. The Japanese word Judo can be translated as "gentle way." Its most memorable feature is its competitive component. The object is to throw one's opponent to the ground, immobilize, or subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver. Or one can force an opponent to submit by imposing a joint lock on the elbow or by executing a choke.

Strikes and thrusts as well as weapons defenses are part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms which are called Katas. Katas not permitted in judo competition or free practice. This martial art originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Eventually, the philosophy and successive pedagogy developed for judo became the model for just about all modern Eastern martial arts that developed from "traditional" colleges.

The spread of Judo throughout the world has led on to the development of a number of offshoots like Sambo and Brazilian Ju-Jitsu. The history of judo is inseparable from that of its founder, the Japanese teacher Jigoro Kano. Kano was born into a prosperous Japanese family.

Small and weak as a boy, he was sometimes picked on by bullies. He initially began studying the art of Ju-Jitsu at the age of seventeen, but only met with minimal success. This was in part due to difficulties in finding a teacher who would take him on as a student. When he went to school to analyze literature at the age of 18, he continued his self-defense skills studies, ultimately gaining a referral to Fukuda Hachinosuke, a master of the Tenjin Shin'y?-ry?.

Fukuda Hachinosuke is alleged to have stressed strategy over formal exercise, sowing the seeds of Kano's stress of free practice in Judo training. Whilst Judo includes a number of rolls, falls, throws, hold downs, chokes, joint-locks, and strikes, the first focus is on throwing and groundwork.

Throws are divided in 2 types, standing strategies and sacrifice methodologies. Standing tactics are further divided into hand strategies, hip methods, and foot and leg systems. Sacrifice techniques are split into those in which the thrower falls immediately backwards, and those in which he falls onto his side.

The ground fighting systems are split into attacks against the joints or joint locks, strangleholds or chokeholds and holding or pinning methodologies. A sort of sparring is practiced in judo, known as randori meaning "free practice". In randori, 2 adversaries may attack one another with any judo throw or grappling system. Striking methods like kicking and smacking, with knife and sword systems are kept in the kata training.

This form of instruction is generally reserved for higher ranking practitioners, but are banned in contest, and often prohibited in randori for reasons of safety. Also for reasons of safety, chokeholds, joint locking, and the sacrifice systems are subject to age or rank limitations.

In the US many facilities require that one must be thirteen or older to use choke holds, and sixteen or older to use arm locks. Judo remains a popular martial art with heavy influence on various other forms.