Judo
The title of this article is ambiguous. For other meanings, see Judo (disambiguation).
Judo (jap. 柔道 jūdō, literally "gentle/flexible way") is a Japanese martial art whose principle is "victory by yielding" or "maximum effect with a minimum of effort". This martial art was developed by Kanō Jigorō (1860-1938), when he created a symbiosis of old jiu-jitsu styles (koryu), which he had trained with great diligence since his youth. Today, judo is practiced in over 150 countries, making it the most widespread martial art in the world.
In Germany, judo is offered in some clubs for children as young as three years old. The playful transition to judo-specific forms is fluent. Because of its many facets, judo can be actively practiced up to a ripe old age; even judoka over the age of eighty are not uncommon.
The traditional pillars of Judo are the form run (jap. Kata) and the practice fight (jap. Randori) or the competition (jap. Shiai). Classically, Kogi (講義, instructional lecture) and Mondō (問答, instructional talk) also belong to the components of Judo. Judo today is dominated by the competitive techniques of recent years and is accordingly characterized by technique training.
Judo is not only a way of physical training, but also a philosophy of personal development. A judo master practices judo in this sense even when he is not in the training hall (jap. Dōjō). Two philosophical principles essentially underlie judo: helping and understanding each other for mutual progress and well-being (jita kyōei, 自他共栄) and making the best possible use of body and mind (seiryoku zenyō, 精力善用). The aim is to carry these principles within oneself as an attitude and to express them consciously in every movement on the judo mat (jap. tatami).
Japanese Kanji characters for Judo
As a rule, children can participate in judo training from the age of five.
Successful throwing in competition
The throw Harai-goshi in the Nage-no-kata
Designation
Judo literally means "gentle/flexible way" (composition of jū "gentle", "yielding", "flexible" and dō "way"). In Japanese, the beginning of the word is pronounced as in English (dʒɯːdoː). In German, the pronunciation is mostly [ˈjuːdo], but in Austrian German it is mostly [ˈdʒuːdo]. A judo fighter is called a judoka (Jap. 柔道家). For word formation, see also Budōka.
Initially, the martial art founded by Kano was still called Jiu Jitsu, but it was not until the beginning of the 20th century that the term Judo became established. This is the reason why the term Jiu Jitsu was used in the first publications in the West. Since the Western Jiu Jitsu schools initially had only loose contact with the Kodokan organization in Japan, special techniques developed there. Most of the original Jiu Jitsu schools later became official Judo schools; in many schools the original training continued in parallel under the name Jiu Jitsu.
Clothes
Traditionally, judoka wear ankle-length white cotton trousers (zubon) with a half-length white cotton jacket (uwagi) over them, held together by a (white, black or coloured) belt (obi) (judo gi).
In order to better distinguish between the two opponents in competitions, in international championships, but also in fights in the Judo Bundesliga, the judoka named second when called up wears a blue suit. If this is not possible, the fighters are distinguished by a red or white belt (in addition to their belt according to their Kyu or Dan degree).
In the league and in friendly matches colored Judo suits can be used. It is to be noted that the team appears uniformly and a clear color difference to the guest team is given. The home team has the right of way.
The traditional Judo suit (Judo-Gi)
