Judo: All about the Japanese martial art

The Japanese martial art Judo (jap. 柔道) was founded at the beginning of the 20th century and is designed to achieve the greatest possible effect with the least amount of force

We present you everything about the history, suitability for self-defense, belts, ranks as well as training in our Judo Wiki.

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Judo has a reputation of not being as effective as other martial arts are. But this is not the case, as the following Judo videos clearly prove.

The more you identify with Judo, the greater your thirst for knowledge about the sport. We highlight backgrounds about Judo in different articles, just read in and learn details about the Japanese martial art.

To learn Judo you don’t need anything for the time being except an appropriate training clothing, for this there are special Judo accessories. For a trial training in the local club usually a pair of sweatpants is sufficient. The trainer or one of the other students will help you to buy your Judo-Gi, the traditional training suit, because there are big differences in price and quality. It consists of judo pants, jacket and belt. Finally, a judo bag and something to drink and you are ready to go. Training takes place on judo mats, which significantly reduces falls.

Judo originated in Japan with Kanō Jigorō at the end of the 19th century. He had extensively studied the various styles of Jiu Jitsu and created a new martial art from them. His goal in doing so was to create a new form of training that would result in a better use of physical and mental strength.

Since its introduction, Judo has undergone a great, gradual change and the traditional Jiu Jitsu schools have largely become Judo schools. Originally founded as a martial art for better defense, the techniques of Judo have been steadily modified over time and redesigned for competition. For example, the techniques for punches and kicks are only used in kata, the fight without an opponent, and are no longer used in sporting competition. Unlike many other martial arts, however, no distinct Judo styles have emerged.

Today, Judo is considered the most widespread martial art in the world and is practiced in over 150 countries across the globe. Although the focus is usually strongly on athletic competition, learning Judo is equally a very effective way of self-defense. Due to the basic idea of training both body and mind, Judo is a good approach to maintain a basic physical fitness as well as to achieve a better mental maturity. The latter shows a particularly great effect if the judoka begins training at an early age.

Judo emergence finds its origin in Japan with Kanō Jigorō towards the end of the 19th century. He had extensively studied the various styles of Jiu Jitsu and created a new martial art from them. His goal in doing so was to create a new training that would result in a better use of physical and mental strength.

• www.judobund.de German Judo Federation (DJB)
• www.olympic.org/judo Official Judo Site of the Olympic Games
• www.intjudo.eu Official site of the International Judo Federation