The roots of judo go back to the Nara period (710-784), with the rise of the warrior class at the end of the 12th century, the martial arts experienced a strong upswing. In 1882, Jigoro Kano founded his own school. He rid the old Jia-Jitsu styles of dangerous elements and named his art Judo ("The Gentle Way").
Judo is now a duel and self-defense sport practiced by both men and women, fighting in weight classes. Judo is practiced on a mat covered arena in a hall. The size of the fighting area is 8 x 8 m, surrounded by a 3 m wide safety area. The fighter (judoka) carries white or blue combat clothing consisting of jacket and pants. The jacket is held together by a belt in the judoka's respective rank color. In judo, the evaluation is carried out by three people, the main referee and two judges. If the competition rules are violated, the fighter in question will receive a warning or be disqualified.
Recognizable by the different belt colors, the judokas are divided into student grades and master grades. The aim of judo is to upset the opponent's balance by pulling or pushing, in order to throw him unexpectedly onto the mat. Fighting takes place in 2 groups after the knockout. System, the competition language is Japanese.
At the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, judo made its debut as an Olympic sport. Today, judo is practiced in over 150 countries, making it the most widespread martial art in the world. The national association in Germany is the German Judo Federation (DJB), as another organization there is the German Dan College (DDK)