Judo is many things to different people. It is a fun sport, an art, a discipline, a recreational or social activity, a fitness program, and a means of self-defense or combat. Introduced into the Olympic games in 1964, today Judo is practiced by people throughout the world. Most of all, people take Judo just for the fun of it.

Judo is best known for its spectacular throwing techniques but it also involves considerable grappling on the ground utilizing specialized pins, control holds, arm locks, and Judo choking techniques.

Judo emphasizes safety, and full physical activity for top conditioning. It is learned on special mats for comfort and safety and it's an inexpensive, year-round activity, that appeals to people from all walks of life.

Jigoro Kano (1860 - 1938) opened his first Dojo in 1882 at the Eishoji temple in Asakusa, Tokyo. Judo developed from Jujitsu, the ancient form of self-defense practiced in Japan by the Samurai Warriors.

The literal translation of Judo is Ju, meaning "gentle or yielding", and Do, meaning "way". The term gently way is at times deceiving to westerners. Kano's concept of the "gentle way" can best be described by envisioning a powerful storm sweeping through a forest and coming upon two trees. The first tree is a large, old, sturdy oak with deep roots. The second tree is a small, young tree whose root system hasn't yet fully developed. When the storm reaches the large oak, it is destroyed because the storm is stronger. The tree with its solid immovable limbs and its entrenched root system cannot yield to the storm. When the storm encounters the second tree, the small tree bends and touches the ground, and flexibly returns to it's original position.

The philosophy of Judo has two underlying principles: Maximum Efficiency with Minimum Effort and Mutual Welfare and Benefit. "Maximum efficiency with minimum effort", became the means of attaining "mutual welfare and benefit". Although the physical side of Judo seems to have two faces, essentially they are merged into one all-pervading unity applicable to all human activities and affairs. The philosophy of Judo comes from the Zen Buddhist teaching of a world of harmony, peace, and love, or in other words, an absolute state of existence. Self and the universe are in one body. At that time, self and others fuse into one.

Source: Kodokan Judo
Jigoro Kano