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Originally founded back in 1882, It was invented by Jigoro Kano who developed it out of the martial art of Jujutsu. Jujutsu is one of the oldest martial arts, dating back hundreds of years.

Judo was made an Olympic sport in 1964, appropriately at the Olympic Games held in Tokyo, Japan. It has retained that status ever since and it is practised by millions of people all over the world.

Judo also helps you to learn basic Japanese, since it is a requirement to use the Japanese names for all techniques and competition terms, for instance the Japanese word for beginning is Hajime and this is spoken by the referee at the start of a contest.

Judo has strict rules that ensure the safety of those taking part in competitions. Students of Judo who are looking to test their skills will enjoy all of the competition levels, which range from club competitions to national tournaments, all the way up to the highest level of competition, the Olympic Games.

Judo is known best for it’s amazing throwing techniques, often you will see these in films, the two most often seen are the stomach throw (Tomoe Nage) and the shoulder throw (Seoi Nage). Judo however is more than just the throws, It also involves grappling on the ground which is called groundwork, including holds, arm locks and strangling techniques. 

Another great thing about Judo is the fact that anyone can study it, male or female, young or old and even those that are disabled (judo for the blind for instance). Judo is also cheap to participate in and it is taught throughout the year.

Judo also helps students learn and develop respect and self discipline. It offers the chance to gain self confidence, power, suppleness, flexibility, and physical prowess. Judo has evolved quite a bit over the years, going from a fighting art to competition status.

To practice Judo you require suitable clothing which is called a Judogi, it is a two piece garment in white, the jacket is held together by a belt, the colour of which denotes the skill level of the wearer. When starting Judo for the first time it is normally acceptable to wear old baggy clothing for the first lesson, then if you like the sport and wish to progress you will purchase a Judogi.

The two Judoka in the picture are wearing a white Judogi and a blue Judogi, that is a fairly recent development, before the two fighters usually wore red and white belts to distinguish them from each other, however this could cause problems. Before you ask, no you do not need to purchase two Judogi, though if you take Judo seriously you usually do. You don't need to since you can purchase reversible suits, white on one side blue on the other.

The belt system in Judo is divided into two classes, students (Kyu grades) and masters (Dan grades). The student grades are as follows in the UK.

Student grades

Ungraded White Belt

6th Kyu Red Belt

5th Kyu Yellow Belt

4th Kyu Orange Belt

3rd Kyu Green Belt

2nd Kyu Blue Belt

1st Kyu Brown Belt

Master grades are as follows

1st Dan Black Belt

2nd Dan Black Belt

3rd Dan Black Belt

4th Dan Black Belt

5th Dan Black Belt

6th Dan White/Red Belt

7th Dan White/Red Belt

8th Dan White/Red Belt

9th Dan Red Belt

10th Dan Red Belt

A person who practices judo is called a Judoka, some famous names who have studied the art include :-

Guy Ritchie

Vladimir Putin

Simon Le Bon

William Hague

Peter Sellers

James Cagney

The martial art Judo, which means “gentle way” (though there isn't much gentle about it) combines the best of grappling with awesome throws that require little strength - you use your opponents strength against them.

This article was constructed with Internet research as well as the authors own experience of the sport, though that was a few years ago now.