WHAT IS JUDO ?

Judo is a martial art and has been an olympic sport since 1964.  It was developed in Japan by Jigoro Kano as a less dangerous form of Ju-Jitsu that allows players to safely practice together.

The aim of Judo, as a martial art, is for Self-defence as it is based on close quarter attacks and defences where there is little or no room for punches and kicks, typical of a mugging situation, which enables the judoka to repel the attacker and make a get-a-way.

The aim of Judo, as a sport, is to throw and land an opponent on their back for a 10 point score (Ippon) or hold them down for 25 seconds for the Ippon.

The name Judo means ‘Gentle Way’ in Japanese.  It’s a good martial art to start because progress is through a regulated development path so players have time to learn the basics and don’t just race to their black belt without a proper grounding in etiquette, rules, regulations, safety and techniques.

A more detailed explanation of Judo can be found here.

A video showing some Judo techniques can be found here.