Judo is a Japanese martial art created by Jigoro Kano in the late 1800s. Derived from jujutsu, a traditional Japanese form of close, hand-to-hand combat, judo has since served as the foundation for other martial arts, such as sambo and Brazilian jiujitsu. Although now an Olympic sport practiced by people from all over the world, the meaning and culture of judo remain firmly grounded in Japanese and Confucian philosophy.
Origins
In the late 1800s, the diminutive Jigoro Kano was seeking to learn a form of martial arts to protect himself against larger opponents. He was eventually introduced to jujutsu and quickly became one of its most prominent practitioners in Tokyo. Despite becoming involved in instruction by the late 1870s, Kano continued to study different jujutsu styles and other forms of combat to broaden his skill set. Incorporating elements of jujutsu, wrestling and sumo, Kano opened a school for his own form of jujutsu in 1882.
Judo
Having founded his own school, Kano eventually decided to change the name of his martial art to suit his aims and reflect its uniqueness from jujutsu. Feeling that jujutsu, which means "gentle art," was too limited in scope to suit his new style, Kano sought a name that better suited the philosophy underlying his school. Derived from jujutsu, Kano named his art judo, which means "gentle path" or "gentle way."
Gentle Way
With a broader focus than jujutsu, judo was named "gentle way" to emphasize the fact that Kano was not just teaching a martial art, but an entire way of life. Central to this gentle way are the Confucian concept of mutual prosperity and Kano's focus on maximum efficiency with minimal effort. By evading attacks, remaining calm, showing no resistance and adjusting to an opponent's momentum, Kano said judo could improve society by teaching its practitioners the broad power of being gentle.
Randori
While practitioners of jujutsu practiced moves on their own, Kano emphasized the use of free sparring to learn both the physical and mental techniques underlying judo. Known as randori, this sparring style can be divided into a variety of different exercises, all of which highlight the art's gentle way. Some exercises, for example, involve partners attacking and responding to each other's attacks without resistance, others involve minimal levels of strength and resistance, while still others focus on taking turns, with one partner attacking and one evading and defending without resisting.
Member Comments