What is judo about?

Answer 1

Shotokan1978 has outlined the basis of the discipline

Dr Jigoro Kano began formally learning the techniques of Jujutsu but found little success because no one would take him on as a serious student because he was so frail as a boy and teenager and never weighed more than 100lbs in his youth; When he went off to the University to study literature at age 18, he continued his efforts, eventually gaining a referral to Hachinosuke Fukuda, a master of the Tenjin Shinyo-ryu and ancestor of noted Japanese/American judoka Keiko Fukuda, who is one of Kano's oldest surviving students. Fukuda is said to have emphasized technique over formal exercise, which cemented the foundation of Kano's emphasis of randori, or free practice, in Judo.

The word Judo itelf is composed of two kanji: Ju meaning gentleness, and do meaning way or road (the same character as the Chinese "tao"). Thus literally means "the gentle way", or "the way of giving way", and can also be defined as "the way of suppleness", "the way of flexibility", or "the way of adaptability".

Translated literally in English, Judo and Jujutsu would mean "the easy way", as in the easiest way to accomplish something. Judo takes from jujutsu ("gentle art") the principles of using one's opponent's strength against him and adaption to changing circumstances. For example, if the attacker was to push against his opponent he would find his opponent stepping aside, allowing (usually aided by a foot to trip him) his momentum to throw him forwards (the inverse being true for pulling). Kano found jujutsu to be a disconnected bag of tricks, and sought unifying it according to a principle of "maximum efficiency". Jujutsu techniques which relied only on superior strength and he discarded or adapted them in favor of redirecting the opponent's force, off balancing the opponent, or using superior leverage.

Judo's balance between both the standing and ground combat gives judoka (students) the ability to take down opponents who are standing up and then pin and submit them on the ground. This theory in combat has made Judo a popular choice for many.

submission techniques are often started in the standing position and finished on the ground. Strikes (i.e. punches, kicks etc) are not allowed due to their certainty of injury, but judoka are supposed to 'take them into consideration' while training, for example, not fighting in a bent-over position for long, since this position is vulnerable to knee-strikes, punches and otherwise retaliation by an opponent. The main purpose of the throwing aspects (nage waza) is to take an opponent who is standing on his feet, mobile and dangerous, down onto his back where he can't move as effectively. Thus, the reasoning is to control him and put yourself in a dominant position above him where you have more potential to inflict damage to him than he does to you.

another reason to throw the opponent is to shock his body through smashing him forcefully onto the ground. If a judoka executes a powerful and fully controlled throw, he can win a match (or fight) outright due to the theory that he has displayed enough superiority over his opponent.

In actuality, this kind of victory is very difficult to achieve if the opponents are equally matched. Therefore points (in competition) are given for lesser throws in the standing aspect of combat. In real fight situations, a throw itself can create shock to the opponent, potentially knocking the opponent unconscious (depending on how hard the ground is).

Osaekomi ( or the aspect of pinning) are considered important since in a real fight the person who has control of his opponent can hit him with punches, knees, the head and so on.

Answer 2

Judo, which means "gentle way", is a martial art, combat sport, and philosophy which originated in Japan. Judo was founded by Dr Jigoro Kano in 1882. The sport became the model for the modern Japanese martial arts, gendai budo, developed from old koryu schools. And is one of the 4 major competitive styles of wrestling practiced internationally today.

And as for "What is judo about?" This is a personal thing. For some people it is enlightenment, for others it's a way to kit fit, to build up strength, etc.

Read here for more info about Judo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judo

Anyway, hope this helps

Answer 3

Judo matches can be won with takedowns, pins or submissions.

look up judoinfo.com it is a very good site

Answer 4

Judo came from jujitsu. It is actually the sport version of Jujitsu.

Answer 5

to find out more about judo from the horses mouth just check out these sites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judo
http://www.judoinfo.com
http://www.judoinfo.com/menu.shtml
http://www.ijf.org

hope these sites can better answer your questions!

~*good luck*~

Answer 6

kinda like ji jitsu but 10 times better and best thing about it is IT ISNT GAY lol i even think they teach it in the army or sumthin

Answer 7

its a martial art, and , its some how like wrestling, but you have to wear a gi. its fun actually, to learn take downs and stuff. it came from jujitsu though. thanks to you.