Since 1882

Brief history of judo

Origin

 

Judo was founded by Dr. Jigoro Kano in 1882 as a refinement of older Japanese Jiu Jitsu combat styles. Kano looked to preserve the tradition of Japanese martial culture that was dying with the fading samurai. By eliminating the most dangerous techniques from free practice, he created a new training method called Randori. This not only allowed students to become more effective as fighters, but made Kano’s new Jiu Jitsu style, Judo, more dominant than others.

 

In 1886, the Tokyo Metro Police hosted a tournament to decide which Jiu Jitsu style was superior. The winner would be adopted as the training style for the police academy. Kano’s Judo won 13 out of 15 matches and fought the other two to a draw. Judo was established and became the first martial art of the modern era.

The internationalization of competition dramatically influenced the course of Judo development, eventually leading the art to become an Olympic Sport in 1964. Today, Judo is the most practiced martial art in the world, and it has the 2nd most participants of any sport worldwide.

Seoi Nage

Judo Basics

Judo is a grappling art (there are no strikes or kicks in its study) and is practiced as both a traditional martial art and as an Olympic Sport. It is comprised of three basic parts: Throwing, Hold-Downs, and Submissions:

  • Throwing – This is the core of the Judo syllabus. In competition, rules are in place to emphasize that throwing is the primary aspect of the sport.
  • Hold-Downs (pins) – This is a vital aspect of any grappling art. A Judo match can be won by controlling an opponent in a pin for 20 seconds.
  • Submissions – There are two types of submissions in Judo – strangles and arm-bars. However, there are thousands of ways to apply them.
Passing the guard

Follow the links below to learn more about judo.

train

technique – training – tradition

Front Range Judo

FRJ Hours

We open from Monday through Saturday at different times of the day check out our full schedule by following the link below.

Classes