Judo

Judo is a relatively modern martial art form that has become the most widely practiced martial art worldwide. Martial arts are sports that originated as self-defense or fighting techniques. Like most martial arts, judo originated in Japan. Judo participants—called judoka—use a variety of techniques to force their opponents to the ground, where a number of different types of maneuvers are used to hold the opponent there until he or she surrenders. Judo makes frequent use of visibly thrilling throws by one judoka to get the other on the ground. Because of this, judokas are taught the art of falling to minimize or avoid injury. Nevertheless, judo can be a very dangerous sport; 108 Japanese children died and a number of others were permanently and seriously injured because of school-sponsored judo classes between 1983 and 2010.

Background

The word judo means "gentle way" in Japanese, although its demonstrations are often anything but gentle in appearance. It was invented in 1882 by Kano Jigoro Shihan, when he was twenty-two years old. As a youth, Kano studied the martial arts form of jujutsu, which teaches close combat techniques for fighting an opponent who is armed and wearing protective armor when one is unarmed or has only a short hand weapon. After years spent studying various forms of jujutsu as he worked to build up his own frail body, Kano decided to combine the best aspects of these forms into a new form he called judo.

During the latter part of the nineteenth century when Kano was developing and promoting his new martial arts form, Japanese culture was beginning to Westernize, becoming more like the United States and Europe. This meant interest in martial arts forms was waning in Japan. Kano thought judo represented a new way of looking at martial arts. His revamped physical techniques embodied the ideal that the use of the mind was just as important as the physical skills involved in subduing an opponent. This led to one of the two main principles Kano said judo promoted: maximum efficient use of physical and mental energy.

Kano felt that this principle was important not only to the practice of judo but also to life in general. It was his belief that martial arts training helped people to be better in all aspects of life. He taught that if everyone would learn to make best use of their mental and physical energy, it would lead to his second principle: mutual prosperity for self and others. This led him to the name for his new martial art: ju means "gentle" as applied in both jujutsu, the inspiration, and judo, the new technique. Jutsu means "technique," but Kano felt another word, do, which means "path" or "way," was more suitable because he saw the principles of judo as guidance for life.

Kano became a school principal and actively promoted physical activity in schools. He also worked to increase interest and participation in amateur sports as part of the Japanese Amateur Sports Association and the International Olympic Committee. Judo was to be a demonstration sport in the 1940 Olympics, which were canceled because of worldwide conflict as World War II (1939–1945) began. In 1962, judo became an official Olympic sport.

Overview

While martial arts can sometimes seem to the observer to be a blur of hands and feet moving in whatever way will allow one participant to overcome the opponent, most, including judo, have a number of specific moves and skills. Judokas practice and drill on these techniques repeatedly. They include nage-waza, throwing skills; katame-waza, grappling skills; and atemi-waza, striking skills. These are each taught as a series of prearranged steps called a kata, or practice of forms. Each judo practice also includes some time for free combat, in which two opponents spar against each other. This is called randori, or free practice. Some specific moves are excluded from this practice competition to increase safety.

Nage-waza throwing skills include techniques that use the hand, hip, or leg/foot to upend the opponent. In practice, the person doing the throwing is known as the tori and the one who is being thrown is the uke. Throws can be executed with the tori standing or on the ground.

Once the uke is on the mat, the tori will move to katame-waza techniques for forcing submission. These include various techniques for holding down or pinning the uke, holds around the neck such as choke holds or strangle holds, and holds on an arm or sometimes a leg that lock the joint in such a way that if the uke continues to struggle the limb may break.

Atemi-waza techniques involve hitting or kicking with the arm or leg. The techniques for using these strikes are taught as a series of predetermined steps in a kata because it can be useful for self-defense or serious combat. However, they are not used during randori practices because of the potential for serious or fatal injury.

Despite the gentleness implied in its name, judo has been a dangerous sport for many Japanese schoolchildren. Judo has long been offered as a physical education class in Japan's public schools. In less than two decades between 1983 and 2010, 108 Japanese schoolchildren between the ages of twelve and seventeen were fatally injured in school-sanctioned judo classes. In some cases, the child was hurt while training with the instructor. In others, the child was thrown in such a way that a head injury resulted. Other children sustained nonlethal head injuries that resulted in permanent impairment or coma. Despite this, Japan moved in 2012 to make judo part of a required martial arts physical education program for all junior high–aged students. The Japanese statistics did not include judo training centers outside of the public school system.

Supporters say judo can be practiced safely with qualified instructors. They point to many health benefits, including cardiovascular conditioning, strength training, and improved balance as well as mental agility, that are developed during practice. Judo also provides training that can be beneficial in self-defense situations.

Bibliography

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"The History of Judo." World Judo Day, International Judo Federation, www.worldjudoday.com/en/The-History-of-Judo-55.html. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.

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"Judo Techniques." University of Notre Dame, www3.nd.edu/~judo/techniques.htm. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.

Krieger, Daniel, and Noriko Norica-Panayota Kitano. "Japan Confronts Hazards of Judo." New York Times, 17 Apr. 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/04/18/sports/japan-confronts-hazards-of-judo.html. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.

"Sport 101: Judo." NBC Olympics, 8 Aug. 2016, www.nbcolympics.com/video/sport-101-what-judo. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.

"What Is Judo?" University of Minnesota Judo Club, umnjudo.wordpress.com/what-is-judo/. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.

"What Judo Is." US Judo Foundation, 10 Oct. 2016, www.usjf.com/what-judo. Accessed 31 Mar. 2017.