JUDO

Judo was developed and introduced by Jigoro Kano as a form of self defense. Originally, Judo was not a competitive sport, this was further developed later on. Currently Judo is the only Japanese martial art that is an official Olympic sport.

During training, the Judoka’s are wearing a Judogi or Judo suit. These suits consist of a sturdy and reinforced pair of pants (called the zubon), a thick wrap jacket (the uwagi) and a belt (the obi) to keep the jacket closed. Most women prefer to also wear a t-shirt under the jacket.

During an official competition there will be one Judoka in a fully white suit and the other will wear a full blue suit, so that the judges and public are better able to see the difference and what’s happening on the mat.

Judo can be divided into several different techniques: the Tachi-waza (the standing techniques), the Ne-waza (the ground techniques), the Ukemi-waza (the breakfall techniques), the Nage-waza (the throwing techniques), the Katame-waza (the grappling techniques) and the Atemi-waza (the body-striking techniques).

Currently, the Atemi-waza are rarely used within Judo.