What is Kodokan Judo?

Judo is derived from Jujutsu. It was created by Professor Jigoro Kano who was born in Japan on October 28, 1860 and who died May 4, 1938 after a lifetime of promoting Judo. Mastering several styles of jujutsu including Kito-Ryu and Tenjin-shinyo Ryu in his youth, he began to develop his own system based on modern sports principles. In 1882 he founded the Kodokan Judo Institute (international authority for Judo) in Tokyo where he began teaching.

The words jujutsu and judo are each written with two Chinese characters. The ju in both is the same and means "gentleness" or "giving way." The meaning of jutsu is "art, practice," and do means "principle" or "way," the Way being the concept of life itself. Jujutsu may be translated as "the gentle art", & judo as "the Way of gentleness," with the implication of first giving way to ultimately gain victory. The Kodokan is, literally, "the school for studying the Way." Judo is more than an art of attack and defence. It is a way of life.

Kano emphasized the larger educational value of training in attack and defence so that it could be a path or way of life that all people could participate in and benefit from. He eliminated some of the traditional jujutsu techniques and changed training methods so that most of the moves could be done with full force to create a decisive victory without injury.

In 1882, Kano founded the ‘Kodokan’ to teach judo to others. Within a few years, the number of students rapidly increased. They came from all over Japan, many having left jujutsu masters to train with him. Eventually judo displaced jujutsu in Japan, and no one any longer speaks of jujutsu as a contemporary art in Japan, although the word has survived overseas.

The popularity of Judo increased dramatically after a famous contest hosted by the Tokyo police in 1886 where the Judo team defeated the most well-known jujutsu school of the time. It then became a part of the Japanese physical education system and adopted by the Police as their preferred self defence martial art. Judo then began its spread around the world.

Other aspects of Kodokan Judo were introduced over time such as the Kangeiko (winter training) in 1894, the Shochugeiko (summer training) in 1896, and the spring and autumn Red & White Contests which began in 1884. Today the Red and White tournament is the longest running competitive sporting event in the world. The Kodokan Judo Kata, the basic syllabus of techniques (Gokyo-no-waza), the Kodokan Cultural Society, and research components were also added. In 1928, after attending the Olympic Games of Amsterdam, Jigoro Kano conceived the idea to get Judo into the Olympic Games. In 1936 in Berlin, during the 35th session of the International Olympic Committee, the XII Olympic Games were scheduled for 1940 in Tokyo, where Judo of course would be added, but the war against China in 1937 forced Japan to withdraw from the organization of these Games and Judo was included only as a demonstration.

In 1964 men's Judo competition finally became a part of the Olympics, the first Asian martial art as an official medal sport. In 1992, Judo competition for women was added to the Olympics. Judo consists primarily of nage-waza (throws), along with katame-waza (grappling), which includes osaekomi-waza (pins), shime-waza (chokes), and kansetsu-waza (joint locks). Additional techniques, including atemi-waza (striking), various joint locks, self defence and weapons are found in the Judo katas. Judo is generally compared to wrestling, but it retains its unique combat forms.

Because the founder was involved in education (President of Tokyo University) Judo training emphasizes mental, moral and character development as much as physical training. Most instructors stress the principles of Judo such as the principle of yielding to overcome greater strength or size, as well as the scientific principles of leverage, balance, efficiency, momentum and control. Seiryoku Zen’yo (maximum efficiency) and Jita kyoei (mutual welfare and benefit) are the best known of the principles of Judo.

Judo is a good choice for most children to learn because it is safe and fun, and because it emphasizes education and proper development of the body, mind, and character. Judo classes are an integral part of the Japanese schooling system with students learning it from Junior School age through to Senior School ranks and with universities offering it as a subject major for degrees in Physical Education.

Judo training has many forms for different interests. Some students train for competition by sparring and entering the many tournaments that are available. Other students study the traditional art and forms (kata) of Judo. Other students train for self-defence, and yet other students practice Judo for fun and recreation. Black belts are expected to learn all aspects of Judo.

Because Judo developed in modern times it is organised like other major sports with one international governing body for the sport, the International Judo Federation (IJF). The Kodokan (International Judo Centre) continues to be the technical authority for the martial art of Judo. Unlike many other martial arts, Judo competition rules, training methods, and rank systems are relatively uniform throughout the world.