Judo

Judo (Japanese: 柔道) is a martial art, a sport and a philosophy which originated in Japan. Judo was developed from Jujutsu, and was founded by Kano Jigoro (嘉納治五郎) in 1882. The sport became the model of the modern Japanese martial arts, gendai budo, developed from old koryu schools.

History and philosophy

The early history of Judo and that of its founder, Japanese polymath and educator Kano Jigoro (1860-1938), are inseparable. Kano was born into a well-to-do Japanese family. His grandfather was a self-made man, a sake brewer from Shiga prefecture in central Japan; however, Kano's father was not the eldest son and did not inherit the business, but instead became a Shinto priest and government official, with enough influence for his son to enter the second incoming class of Tokyo Imperial University.

Kano was a small, frail boy, who, even in his twenties, did not weigh more than a hundred pounds, and was often picked on by bullies. He first started pursuing jujitsu (柔術), at that time a flourishing art, at the age of 17, but met with little success---in part due to difficulties finding a teacher who would take him on as a serious student. When he went off to the University to study literature at the age of 18, he continued his martial efforts, eventually gaining a referral to Hachinosuke Fukuda, a master of the Tenjin Shinyo Ryu (天神真楊流) and ancestor of noted Japanese/American judoist Keiko Fukuda, who is one of Kano's oldest surviving students. Fukuda is said to have emphasized technique over formal exercise, sowing the seeds of Kano's emphasis of randori (乱取り), or free practice, in Judo.

Little more than a year after Kano joined Fukuda's school, Fukuda took ill and died. Kano then became a student in another Tenjin Shinyo school, that of Masatomo Iso, who put more emphasis on formal kata than did Fukuda. Through dedication, Kano quickly earned the title "shihan", or master, and became assistant instructor to Iso at the age of 21. Iso, too, took ill, and Kano, feeling that he still had much to learn, took up another style, becoming a student of Tsunetoshi Iikubo of Kito Ryu. Like Fukuda, Iikubo placed much emphasis on free practice; on the other hand, Kito Ryu emphasized ground techniques (matwork) to a much greater degree than Tenjin Shinyo Ryu.

By this time, Kano was devising new techniques, such as the kata guruma (fireman's carry) and uki goshi (floating hip toss). His thoughts were already on doing more than expanding the canons of Kito and Tenjin Shinyo Ryu; full of new ideas, in part as a result of his education, Kano had in mind a major reformation of jujitsu, with techniques based on sound scientific principles, and with focus on development of the body, mind, and character of young men in addition to development of martial prowess. At the age of 22, just about to finish his degree at the University, Kano took 9 students from Iikubo's school to study jujitsu under him at the Eishoji Temple. Although two years would pass before it would be called by that name, and Kano had not yet been accorded the title of "master" in the Kito ryu (起倒流) -- Iikubo would come to the temple to help teach three days per week, this was the founding of the English-speaking countries as "leg-" and "armbars", stranglehold (shime-waza, 絞技), and holding techniques (osaekomi-waza, 押込技).

A kind of sparring is practiced in judo, known as randori (乱取り), meaning "free practice". In randori, players (known as judoka) may attack each other with any judo throw or grappling technique. Striking techniques (called atemi-waza) such as kicking and punching, along with knife and sword techniques are retained in the katas taught to higher ranking judoka (for instance, in the black belt; sixth- through eighth- dans may alternately wear a red-and-white belt, while those ranked ninth- dan and above may wear a solid red belt. Protocol provides for a double-width white belt to be worn by someone who achieves the twelfth-"dan" but so far no one has been promoted beyond the tenth-"dan." A women's belt has a white stripe at its center. Jigoro Kano was the inventor of the kyu - dan grading system, that soon got adapted by other martial arts such as karate.

In competition one judoka wears a blue suit while the other wears white. In some competitions the older system whereby one competitor wears a white sash and the other a blue sash remains in place. In both cases this does not indicate their rank, but is to enable the judges and spectators to tell the opponents apart during a fight. Points are also awarded to white or blue. Assistant judges on the corners of the mat also have a white and blue flag to indicate to which competitor a point should go when it is unclear who it should be awarded to.

In most Western countries, grades up to the brown belt are awarded by the dojo where the student trains, while the first dan (black belt) is awarded after doing an exam supervised by independent judges of the national judo association. Second to fifth dan can be achieved by taking similar exams, but also a minimum of points scored during official matches is necessary. Because of this, many people get stuck at the first dan level. Anything above fifth (sometimes even third) dan is usually awarded for general achievements for the sports, such as promotion of the sport or winning an Olympic medal.

Styles

Jigoro Kano's Kodokan Judo (講道館) is the most widespread style of judo. A sub-style of Kodokan Judo that developed in Japanese inter-scholastic competition is known as Kosen judo (高專柔道), with the same range of techniques but greater latitude permitted for Ne-waza (ground techniques).

Sport

Although a fully-featured martial art, judo has also developed as a sport. Judo became an Olympic sport for men in 1964 and, with the persistence of a woman by the name of Rusty Kanokogi, a sport for women as well in 1992. In the west, the sport aspect of judo probably is the most commonly taught. Men and women compete separately (although they often train together), and there are several weight divisions including an open-weight category which anyone may enter.

The object in a judo-match is to throw your opponent to the ground so that he lands flat on this back. This will score an ippon (一本), a full point that wins the match. Anything else, such as landing your opponent on the hip or shoulder, will be waza-ari (技有), yuko (有效) or koka (效果) (waza-ari being the highest of the 3, koka the lowest) or even no score. Technically speaking, a waza-ari is a half-point, two of which will earn the match. Yukos and kokas are not fractional points in that they do not accumulate to equal a waza-ari or ippon-- in fact a waza-ari beats any number of yukos and a yuko beats any number of kokas. Rather, they are used as tie-breakers if the match ends before an ippon is scored. At match end, if one player has scored a waza-ari and the other has not, the player with the waza-ari wins, but if they are equal in that regard (both with zero or one) yukos are used to break the tie. If they are also equal in yukos, kokas break the tie. Finally, if both players have identical scores, the match is resolved by the decision (majority vote) of the referee and two corner judges.

After the throw occurs and is scored, combat may continue on the ground. Pinning an opponent, with both shoulders on the mat, for 25 seconds (20 if you previously scored a waza-ari, since two half-points will complete your whole) results in an ippon. An automatic ippon is also granted when one's opponent submits (which frequently occurs when choke holds are used). If there is no ippon or submission, the one with the most points wins. Groundfights are of relatively short duration in most high-level competition. The referee normally stops it when no clear progress is being made. Penalties may be given by the judges for being inactive during the match or using illegal techniques and fighting must be stopped if both of the participants are outside the designated area on the mat (tatami).

Sport and beyond

Despite the literal meaning of the name judo, competition judo is one the roughest and most demanding of sports. A World Championship or Olympic match lasts only 5 minutes, but will leave participants exhausted.

Without the kicking and punching so common to other martial arts, judo is often portrayed as friendlier than, for instance, karate. Proponents believe this contributes to judo being underrated as a method of self-defense. They point out that, for example, there is nothing "gentle" about being thrown full force to the mat (or, in a real fight, the concrete floor head first). Even with a relatively soft mat and a considerate teacher, beginning judoka are often winded and suffer whiplash from even relatively friendly throws. Because of this, sportsmanship is extremely important in a sport like judo. Without it, the same techniques used in a friendly match could easily be used to quickly and painfully disable an untrained enemy or criminal. Judo has long been one of the martial arts required by the Japanese police.

In training and competition, people should always do their best to avoid harming each other, although for most serious judoka, judo related injuries -- ranging from simple body pains to broken bones -- are essentially inevitable. Still, without a soft mat and a merciful opponent, judo is as dangerous as any other style of unarmed combat. For many skillful judoka, the ground could be seen as a weapon, which by their skill may be used to strike an opponent with impunity and devestating effect.