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Judo
From The Martial Arts Encyclopedia
Judo , meaning "gentle way", is a modern Japanese martial art (gendai budō) and combat sport, that originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an opponent to submit by joint locking the elbow or applying a choke. Kicks, punches, and thrusts are seldom practiced, and then only in pre-arranged forms. They are not allowed in judo competition or freestyle practice.
Ultimately, the philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for almost all modern Japanese martial arts that developed from "traditional" schools (koryū). Practitioners of judo are called jūdōka.
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Brief History
Judo's hstory is strongly tied with that of it's founder Jigoro Kano who studied several forms of Ju Jitsu prior to developing his own art, Judo.
System Overview
Judo matches can see competitors awarded points for any one of the following techniques:
- Ippon: Full point, when won will instantly stop the match and the scoring Judoka will be declared the winner
- Waza-ari: Half point, scoring two waza-ari will win the match
- Yuko: A competitor can score any number of yuko, however a match will not be stopped, a single waza-ari defeats any number of yuko
- Koka: A competitor can score any number of koka, however a match will not be stopped, a single yuko defeats any number of koka
Judo is typically practiced for it's competitive aspects and as such, the techniques employed in Judo are often categorized by the manner in which they can win a match through the scoring of ippon.
Throws (Nagewaza)
Judo includes a vast range of throwing techniques, though officially there are only considered to be 67 throws, it is not, however, necessary for a throw to be within this group of 67 throws to be used to score in a Judo match.
Ground fighting (Newaza)
If either competitor in a Judo match should fall to the ground without a winning point being awarded, the fight will continue till one of the two manages to stand or the referee decides that the action is not progressing. On the ground Judoka can employ a wide variety of techniques to win the match.
Chokes (Shimewaza)
Strangling techniques in Judo are typically applied upon the ground though the rules do allow for them to be applied standing as well. When a competitor is caught in a choke it is expected that he will submit either verbally or by tapping his hand, in this way competitors avoid falling unconscious when caught in a strangle however their opponent is awarded ippon, hence they will loose the match.
Joint locks (Kansetsuwaza)
Joint locking techniques in Judo are typically applied upon the ground though the rules do allow for them to be applied standing as well, however the rules prohibit executing a throw whilst simultaneously locking an opponent's joint. When a competitor is caught in a joint lock it is expected that he will submit either verbally or by tapping his hand, in this way competitors avoid broken bones or dislocated limbs when caught in a joint lock however their opponent is awarded ippon, hence they will loose the match.
Pins (Osaewaza)
Judoka can win a match by pinning their opponent on the mat for 25 seconds, thus scoring Ippon. For an opponent to be considered pinned their back must be on the mat and their opponent must have both of his legs free of theirs, i.e. he must not be in their guard or half-guard.
When pinned, a Judoka will employ a variety of techniques including bridging and shrimping to escape. Should a pinned Judoka escape within the 25 seconds, their opponent can still be awarded
Training in depth
Randori
Judo emphasizes a free-style sparring, called 'randori'', as one of its main forms of training. A part of the combat time is spent sparring standing up, called tachi-waza, and the other part on the ground, called ne-waza. Sparring, even within safety rules, is considered to be much more effective than only practicing techniques. Using full-strength develops the muscles and cardio-vascular system on the physical side of things, and it develops strategy and reaction time on the mental side of things, and helps the practitioner learn to use techniques against a resisting opponent. A common saying among judoka is, "The best training for judo is judo."
There are several types of sparring exercises , such as ju renshu (both judoka attacks in a very gentle way where no resistance is ever applied) and kakari geiko (only one judoka attacks while the other one relies solely on defensive and evasive techniques, without the use of sheer strength).
Kata
Judo includes several two-man kata, intended to teach various aspects of the art to it's practitioners.
- Free practice forms (Randori no Kata), comprising two kata:
- Throwing forms (Nage no Kata)
- Grappling forms (Katame no Kata)
- Old style self-defence forms (Kime no Kata)
- Modern self-defence forms (Kodokan Goshin Jutsu)
- Forms of "gentleness" (Ju no Kata)
- The five forms (Itsutsu no Kata)
- Ancient forms (Koshiki no Kata)
- Maximum-efficiency national physical education kata (Seiryoku Zen'yō Kokumin Taiiku no Kata)
Progression through the ranks
Rank in Judo is determined in different manners dependent on the grade of the individual and the organization which they belong to. Jūdōka are ranked according to skill and knowledge of judo, and their rank is reflected by their belt color. There are two divisions of rank, below Black belt "grades" (kyū), and black belt "degrees" "dan". This ranking system of was introduced into the martial arts by Jigoro Kano and has since been widely adopted by modern martial arts. As initially designed, there were six student grades which were numerically ranked in descending order, with 1st kyū being the last before promotion to first degree black belt (shodan). There are ordinarily 10 dan ranks are in ascending numerical order. For dan ranks the first five are coloured black, 6th, 7th, and 8th dan have alternating red and white panels, and for 9th and 10th dan the belts were to be solid red.
The tenth degree black belt (jūdan) and those above it have no formal requirements. The president of the Kodokan, currently Kano Jigoro's grandson Yukimitsu Kano (Kano Yukimitsu), decides on individuals for promotion. Only 15 individuals have been promoted to this rank by the Kodokan. On January 6, 2006, three individuals were promoted to 10th dan simultaneously: Toshiro Daigo, Ichiro Abe, and Yoshimi Osawa. This is the most ever at the same time, and the first in 22 years. No one has ever been promoted to a rank higher than 10th dan, but,
Footnotes
External Links
Kyuzo Mifune, judo 10th dan: http://youtube.com/watch?v=TcnT3Mx-ZTU
