Judo is based on Jujitsu, "the gentle art", which evolved thousands of years ago in Asia. Some historians believe that Jujitsu came from a form of wrestling from 13th century China. The Japanese imported this art during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), adding speed to the movements. The early forms were only used by Samurai in combat. In the 19th century, the art grew extremely competitive-no longer as gentle as its name claimed.
Jigoro
Kano (left)
The Kodokan (right)
The founder of Judo was a Jujitsu practitioner named Jigoro Kano. Kano was concerned with the many injuries suffered by students learning Jujitsu and wished to emphasize its healthful benefits. As he wrote, "Jujitsu employed dangerous practices such as throwing by quite incorrect methods or by roughly applying torsion to the limbs". Kano filtered out the more hazardous techniques and combined some of the more benign Jujitsu techniques with those of other arts, like Karate and Sumo, and added some methods of his own to create his own system and code of conduct for students to follow, called Judo. Hence, he transformed the practice of Jujitsu (Ju = flexible, yielding) from a fighting art ("Jitsu") to a way or path ("Do"). In 1882, he founded the Judo world headquarters, the Kodokan, located in Tokyo, Japan.
Gradually, Judo gained appeal. Between the two World Wars, the military often trained in Judo because it instilled discipline in the men. Although some Westerners traveled to Japan during this time, four Japanese masters are the most responsible for the spreading Judo around the world.
After World War II, Judo was introduced to America. The International Judo Federation was formed in 1951 in Seoul, South Korea. It is currently Judo's governing body. By 1964, Judo had gained enough appeal to become an official sport and the first martial art to be included in the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Women's judo remained a demonstration sport until the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain, where it became an official sport. Judo is also recognized by several athletic Organizations, including the Amateur Athletic Union. Presently, it is practiced as both martial art and martial sport.
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Images
of "Jigoro Kano" and "The Kodokan" from
Judo Information Site (http://judoinfo.com/menu.shtml).
JudoSensei@aol.com. Aug 2001. Email message.
