Judo has emerged as one of the premiere martial arts on the planet. Its popularity has rapidly increased since becoming an Olympic sport in 1964. Judo is a very effective form of self-defense and martial arts training. But before you join your local judo training school, or decide if it is the right martial art for YOU we need to look into it a bit deeper to discover what judo really is…
Judo is a martial art and sport that was founded in Japan. It is one of the offshoots of jujitsu and was founded by Dr Jigoro Kano in 1882. As mentioned above, it was also made an Olympic sport in 1964 for men and then in 1988 for women.
According to the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles (FILA), judo is one of the four main forms of amateur competitive wrestling practiced internationally today, the other three being Greco-Roman wrestling, Freestyle wrestling and Sambo wrestling.
Judo is an interesting mix of ground fighting techniques and standup fighting techniques. Unlike karate, aikido or taekwondo which are mainly standup systems, judo is a blend of both standup and ground fighting.
The philosophy of judo is that the best self-defense and fighting system is one that focuses equally on both the ground fighting aspect and the standup fighting aspect as well. This is a very effective strategy as most street fights end up going to the ground and you need good ground fighting skills to defend yourself…
The problem lies in the fact that judo does not focus much on standup striking, standup grappling and kicking techniques. Judo has taken a lot of heat from this fact… The standup portion of judo mainly focuses on throws, tosses and take-down techniques. The goal of that is to get the attacker on the ground where he is virtually ineffective and where you can claim dominance and win the battle.
As in any martial art, the art form is only as good as the person executing it. So, judo could very well be the most deadliest form of self-defense BUT if the student can’t learn it properly, he is no better off then not knowing any form of self-defense at all…
If you are looking for a good blend between a ground fighting system such as jujitsu and a standup fighting system, the judo is for you. It incorporates both aspects of training and will be sure to get you into shape VERY fast!
