About Judo
What is Judo?
Judo is an Olympic sport, a traditional martial art and a system of physical education. It is consists of throws, hold downs and (for senior competitors) arm-locks and strangles. It was created by Jigoro Kano in 1882 in Japan. It has been designed so that it can be practiced at full intensity without injuring your opponent. Striking techniques like punching or kicking are not part of the sport. Judo means the gentle way in Japanese. "Ju", meaning gentleness/yielding, is used when someone attacks us and we accept and redirect their force to unbalance and defeat them. Think of a time when you tried to open a door that someone else was opening from the other side - that sense of loss of balance and control is the heart of a Judo technique. This means a smaller person can defeat a larger, stronger opponent using technique. "Do" means a way of life or a path. Jigoro Kano designed Judo around 2 basic principles: i) "Mutual Respect" and ii) "Maximum Efficiency" believing that it would become a way for a person to develop and improve their character over their entire life. |
Why do Judo?
Practicing Judo brings many benefits, some of which are:
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Who is it for?
Judo is a fun and challenging activity suitable for almost all ages and abilities. It teaches newcomers everything they need to be able to practice and develop from scratch. Since it's an individual activity, each person takes it at their own pace. As people progress they may, if they wish, test their skill at competition against people of similar weights or grades.
For more information you can read the judoinfo.com introduction to Judo and the Wikipedia judo article.
And finally, a video that gives a feel for what it's all about. This is a demonstration video from a high level university team in Japan:
Judo is a fun and challenging activity suitable for almost all ages and abilities. It teaches newcomers everything they need to be able to practice and develop from scratch. Since it's an individual activity, each person takes it at their own pace. As people progress they may, if they wish, test their skill at competition against people of similar weights or grades.
For more information you can read the judoinfo.com introduction to Judo and the Wikipedia judo article.
And finally, a video that gives a feel for what it's all about. This is a demonstration video from a high level university team in Japan: