Judo was developed in 1882 by Professor Jigoro Kano from the techniques of Jujitsu. Kano felt that Jujitsu was too violent and eliminated or altered its techniques where necessary to fulfil his ideal of “mutual benefit” of the practitioner and society as a whole, one of the two concepts central to Judo.The other founding concept of Judo is that of “maximum efficiency from minimum effort” which allows the practitioner to defeat a stronger opponent by turning his strength against him, and thus can be seen in Judo’s main physical elements. Judo emphasizes grappling techniques, especially those that upset the enemy’s balance, in particular- gaining leverage, throws, clothes grabbing, joint locks, and strangle holds. Advanced students also learn to strike vital areas. In most schools, after students have learned the basic techniques, they spend most of their time free sparring, a one-on-one exercise under the same rules as a competition. One aspect of Judo is rare in the world of martial arts, in that there are no different “schools” of Judo-wherever it is studied around the world the student will learn the same techniques, unlike most styles of martial art which can have dozens of schools, each with its own particular brand of the style. Ironically, although Kano discouraged competition Judo has become a very popular sport, gaining Olympic status in 1964.
Similar Styles:
- Dumog – A sport from the Philippines where competitors attempt to throw one another to their backs using grappling techniques.
- Goshin-Jutsu – Like Professor Kano, Tanaka Tatsu felt that Jujitsu was too violent and dangerous, so he created this style from it to be safer.
- Sambo – Russian wrestling style which developed in the 1930’s from over 20 styles of wrestling practiced in the republics of the Soviet Union.
- Yudo – Korean style of Judo