Judo refers to an unarmed art of fighting which emerged from an old Japanese Samurai tradition.

Judo can be translated as „gentle way“ or „principle of giving in“. The current form of Judo has its roots in JiuJitsu and originates from Jigoro Kano (1860 – 1938) in the 20th century.

The old Judo (Kodokan Judo) includes techniques of stroke, joint lock, as well as kicking and is a technique of unarmed Self-Defense. The main attention of modern Judo lies rather in the sporting competition than in Self-Defense. Therefore the original techniques – as well as all joint locks (except elbow joint locks) – of Judo are no more exerted.

In sporting competitions between two Judokas techniques of throwing, falling and ground combat are used. The goal of a Judo fight is to throw one’s opponent to the ground by using controlled force and speed. The whole fight does not only happen in vertical position, but also on the ground. The adversarial Judo fighter should get forced to surrender by holding and choking techniques.

In Judo the competitors traditionally wear white cotton trousers and jackets. The color of the belt shows the Judoka’s graduation level. The colors of a Judo student’s belt range from white to brown, a Judo master wears colors from black to red.

Judo is also an element of the Olympic games since 1964 and is exerted in more than 150 countries.

More about Judo in Wels.
More about Judo in Wien.
More about Judo in Salzburg.
More about Judo in Linz.