The Judo Story

Judo means ‘the gentle way’ and was founded in 1882 by Jigoro Kano (1860-1938). Kano was a small frail boy, who even in his twenties did not weigh more than 45kg and was often picked on by bullies. He created Kodokan judo from his studies in various ju jitsu schools. He was himself a highly educated man and the principal of one of the leading Japanese universities; education of the individual was the central concept of his life, not a martial arts practice. Kano regarded his judo not just as a physical or self-defence training but as an education in a much broader sense. It was designed to be a medium for the development of character and a clear attitude to life as much as a method of developing physical skills.

Today judo is played all over the world by people of all ages and is so popular that it is an Olympic sport since 1964 (men) and 1988 (women).