Judo

Judo or the gentle way as it is called is a grappling form of martial arts. It originates from Japan where it is the national sport. Judo is today a popular Olympic discipline with both male and female practitioners. Judo is about throwing your opponent to the ground in such a way that the opponent preferably lands on the back and the thrower wins the match by scoring an ippon. Judo derives fom the martial art of jiu jitsu.

Jiu-Jitsu is a martial art that mainly focuses on self defense. It was originally a way of training the troops for combat and included everything needed to defeat an opponent unarmed. It included striking as well as grappling and other forms of joint manipulations. It was a very brutal martial art and matches between practitioners in Japan usually ended with injury or even death. Then around the beginning of the 20’th century Kano developed the Kano-Jiu-Jitsu system also known as Judo.



Judo was developed with the focus that a smaller opponent could defeat a larger opponent by using balance and skill instead of force. Using the momentum of the opponent was also a big part of the judo system. Judo was then trained and more and more became a sport since feudal wars ended. Judo is still the system being taught to police and military units in Japan. When applied correctly a Judo throw can be lethal.

Judo training is a combination of drills on technique and randori or free fight. Compared to many other martial arts in particular striking arts the free fight is very important. There is usually a warm up where a number of moves meant to strengthen the balance and coordination of the practitioners are done. Beginners usually spend significant amounts of time learning to fall correctly. This is important because the impact of the throws is great.



Then footwork is being taught with a partner where the practitioner steps in and out while maintaining the grip. Then lifting comes next where the judoka lifts the partner using the moves taught. Then lastly the judoka throws the partner using a certain move, usually the one being taught in that class. This is then followed by some free playing training for example grip fighting were the judokas battle to get the best grip or partner play were offence and defence is practiced.
Randori is a major part of judo training where the judokas test their strength and skill against each other. Usually judokas play against people of similar rank and belt but this need not be. A white belt can play against a black belt even if the difference in skill level usually is very big. Judo is a very fun martial art and is actually interesting to watch as a spectator since the games are played with speed and throws