Judo’s Rise in Popularity
In May 1882 and at just 21 years of age, Kano formally opened his own dojo. He took the best elements of each Jujutsu style that he studied and consolidated and trimmed them down to form the basic tenets of Judo.
He started out with just nine students at first. Eventually the number of students grew as judo rose in prominence among the Japanese public. It was particularly known for its dominance over other popular Jujutsu schools in friendly matches hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. It was so effective, in fact, that the Department soon adopted it as its official martial art. This helped in further pushing the popularity of Judo upwards.
Kano dreamed of spreading Judo to as many people as possible. This dream was realized in 1964 went Judo finally “international” due to its inclusion in the Tokyo Olympics of that year. The first men’s judo matches were held during this Olympics, with events and bouts separated by weight class. As expected, Japanese competitors basically won all of the divisions (except for the open division which a non-Japanese participant won). Women’s judo debuted in the Olympic games in 1992, during the Barcelona Olympics.
As of 2021, there are currently 204 member countries in the International Judo Federation. The sport is very popular worldwide, and Japan is still exerting effort to promote the martial art in other countries.
Principles of Judo Judo, translated literally, means the “gentle way.” The martial art isn’t focused on inflicting damage to an opponent, but rather being “gentle”, compliant, and flexible, harnessing an attacker’s force against themselves.
Seiryoku-Zenyo:
Judo’s whole philosophy is summed up in “Seiryoku-Zenyo.” This phrase means maximum efficiency with minimal effort- basically, the literal backbone of every Judo move and technique.
This allows people to face off against physically larger and stronger attackers not through direct resistance, but rather through moving out of the line of attack, using the attacker’s own momentum to throw them off balance, and then applying a Judo move or technique at that moment.
This method greatly diminishes the resistance of an opponent, thus allowing the judoka to defeat them without expending much energy.
Jita-Kyoei:
Aside from Seiryoku-Zenyo’s tenet of maximum efficiency, another key principle of Judo is called “Jita-Kyoei” or mutual welfare benefit. This principle means that a judoka must function with harmony and in cooperation with others.
An activity should not be started for the purpose of self-interest alone, but rather for the prosperity for all.
How this principle is applied in Judo can be seen during training. For example, practicing a Judo technique or tori requires a trusy “uke” or partner to perform the moves with. The practitioners then take turns so that both can practice their throws and moves, benefiting each other mutually.