Judo

Judo Judo is a modern martial art, combat and Olympic sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most eye catching feature is its competitive element, where the objective is to either throw or takedown an opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue an opponent with a pin, or force an opponent to submit with a joint lock or a choke. The philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for other modern Japanese martial arts that developed from koryu. The worldwide spread of judo has led to the development of a number of offshoots such as Sambo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu. Judo practitioners are called judoka. Several judo practitioners have made an impact in mixed martial arts. Notable judo trained MMA fighters include former Russian national judo championship Bronze medalist Fedor Emelianenko, UFC fighters Karo Parisyan, Antonio Silva, Rick Hawn, and Hector Lombard, and Olympic medalists Hidehiko Yoshida (Gold, 1992), and Ronda Rousey (Bronze, 2008). Judo has been one of the primary martial arts displayed in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) competitions since MMA’s inception. The Japanese found judo superior to jujitsu because it involves both stand up and grappling techniques. “After a match-up between older styles of jiu-jitsu and judo at the Tokyo police headquarters, judo was named the national martial art in Japan. It was the official art used by law enforcement in the late 1800's, and continues to be popular to this day. During World War II, many U.S. soldiers were exposed to the art of judo and brought it back to America with them. The first issue of Black Belt magazine in America (1961) featured a sketch of a judo throw and was a special judo issue” Kano's vision for judo was one of a martial way that could be practiced realistically. Randori (free practice) was a central part of judo pedagogy and shiai (competition) a crucial test of a judoka's understanding of judo. Safety necessitated some basic innovations that