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What is judo?

Judo (柔道) means "the gentle way." It's an Olympic martial art and a way of training body and mind.

Black-and-white portrait of a younger Dr. Jigoro Kano in a suit and bow tie

Dr. Jigoro Kano

An educator who studied several schools of jujutsu and founded judo in Tokyo in 1882.

How judo works

Judo is about balance, leverage and timing. A match is won by a clean throw, a pin or a submission, never a punch or kick.

  • Students lying on a blue mat in a circle, practising a breakfall

    Ukemi

    Falling and rolling safely. The first thing every student learns.

  • An instructor in a black gi throwing a partner on a blue mat while black belts watch

    Nage-waza

    Throwing: hip throws, foot sweeps and shoulder throws.

  • Two adult judoka in a pin on a blue mat

    Katame-waza

    Grappling on the ground: pins and, at the ages tournament rules allow, chokes and arm-locks.

How we teach it
Black-and-white studio portrait of Jigoro Kano in later life, with gray hair and a moustache, wearing a dark crested haori tied with a white tasselled cord

Jigoro Kano

Founder of judo, 1860 to 1938

Kano was born in 1860 in Mikage, now part of Kobe. He was still a small child when the samurai era ended in 1868 and the old jujutsu schools began to fade. His family moved to Tokyo when he was a boy. He was small for his age and often bullied at school, so he went looking for a jujutsu teacher.

Around 1877, as a student at Tokyo Imperial University, he began Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu jujutsu under Hachinosuke Fukuda. When Fukuda died he went on with Masatomo Iso, and later with Tsunetoshi Iikubo of the Kito-ryu. One school was strong in holds and locks, the other in throws.

In 1882, at 21, he opened the Kodokan in a twelve-mat room at Eisho-ji, a Tokyo temple, with only a handful of students. He kept what worked and took the most dangerous techniques out of free practice, so people could train hard without getting hurt. Those techniques stayed in kata, the prearranged forms. Randori, free practice with a resisting partner, became the center of training.

Judo was never his only work. He began teaching at the Gakushuin, the Peers' School, that same year, and became one of Japan's great education reformers. Over three terms between 1893 and 1920 he led the Tokyo Higher Normal School, which trained teachers, for 23 years in all. He died at sea in 1938, on his way home from an IOC meeting in Cairo.

Why it's called judo

One changed syllable carries Kano's whole idea: martial technique became a safe, benevolent path for personal growth.

道

Do, the way

The two words start with the same character, 柔, which means gentleness or giving way. The difference is in the second one. Jutsu (術) is a technique, and jujutsu was a set of skills for fighting. Do (道) is a way, written with the same character as the Chinese dao.

Kano didn't invent the word judo. At least one older jujutsu school had used it, and at first people called his own teaching Kano jujutsu. What he gave the word was a new weight. Speaking at the University of Southern California in 1932, he said jujutsu was the art of giving way in order to win, and judo was the way, or principle, behind it.

That principle was the most efficient use of mind and body. Apply it to attack and defense, Kano explained, and you have jujutsu. Apply it to your health, your mind, your character and the way you live and work, and you have judo. A throw is still a throw. The reason for learning it is what changed.

The two principles

In 1922 Kano made these two phrases the mottoes of the Kodokan Cultural Society. Everything in judo, from a single throw to how you treat a partner, comes back to them.

精力善用

Seiryoku Zenyo

Maximum efficiency

Use the least strength necessary, and let timing do the work.

Black-and-white photo of one judoka throwing another, upside down mid-air, at the 1953 All-Japan final, with referee Kyuzo Mifune in a suit in the foreground

自他共栄

Jita Kyoei

Mutual welfare and benefit

You can't learn alone, so you look after your partner.

The 1953 All-Japan final, refereed by Kyuzo Mifune. Photo: Asahi Graph.

Bronze statue of Jigoro Kano outside the Kodokan in Tokyo, beneath the Kodokan's name sign

Judo is education.

What Kano built it for

In 1889 Kano set out three aims for judo: physical education, contest, and training the mind and character. Winning was only one part. He wanted what you learn in the dojo to carry into school, work and family.

We teach it the same way in Petaluma. We bow to our partners, throw so they land safely, and let go the moment they tap.

"Bowing is an expression of gratitude and respect."Dr. Jigoro Kano
About our club

Kano the educator.

Judo was one part of a career spent training teachers and opening Japan to the world.

Japan

He trained Japan's teachers

The school he led for 23 years is a forerunner of the University of Tsukuba.

China

He opened a school for students from China

Thousands studied at his Kobun Gakuin, including the writer Lu Xun.

Olympics

He brought Asia into the Olympic movement

As the first Asian IOC member, he led Japan to its first Games in 1912.

Judo changed martial arts.

Its throws and groundwork are still part of wrestling, sambo, BJJ and MMA training.

Karate

Kano welcomed karate to the Kodokan

He invited Gichin Funakoshi to demonstrate there in 1922.

Uniforms

Karate's uniform came from judo

Gichin Funakoshi modeled it on Kano's gi.

Black belts

Dan ranks started in judo

Kano created them in the 1880s. Karate adopted them in 1924.

Aikido

Kano sent students to aikido's founder

After watching Morihei Ueshiba in 1930, he sent Kodokan students to train with him.

BJJ

Brazilian jiu-jitsu grew out of judo

Kodokan judoka Mitsuyo Maeda settled in Brazil in 1914 and taught Carlos Gracie.

Sambo

Sambo has judo roots

Vasili Oshchepkov earned his black belt at the Kodokan, then helped create sambo in the Soviet Union.

MMA

Judo players have made their name in MMA

Olympic medalist Ronda Rousey became the UFC's first women's bantamweight champion.

Olympics

A fiercely competitive Olympic sport

About 200 national federations belong to the International Judo Federation.

From Tokyo to the world.

Kodokan judoka began teaching abroad in the 1900s. Kano spent decades carrying judo overseas.

  • 1909

    Kano becomes the first Asian member of the IOC.

  • 1951

    The International Judo Federation is founded.

  • 1964

    Judo debuts at the Tokyo Olympics.

  • 1992

    Women's judo becomes a medal sport in Barcelona.

Historic photos are in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Questions about judo.

The ones we hear most from people new to the art.

Is judo the same as jiu-jitsu?

They're close relatives. Judo and Brazilian jiu-jitsu share roots, and many of the same pins, chokes and arm-locks. Judo puts more emphasis on throws, BJJ on the ground.

How is judo different from karate?

Karate is a striking art. Judo is a grappling art: you throw, pin and control a partner, with no punches or kicks.

Is judo useful for self-defense?

Yes. You learn to fall safely, stay on your feet, and control someone without striking them, and you practise against people who are really resisting.

Am I too old or out of shape to start?

No. Our students start at 6 and keep going for life. Everyone trains to their ability, and nobody is pushed into anything unfamiliar.

Is your judo traditional or sport?

Both. We teach traditional judo to USJF and Kodokan standards, including etiquette and Japanese terms. Competition is encouraged and never required.

How long does a black belt take?

There's no fixed timetable. Rank is earned on the mat, and promotion follows USJF and CENCO standards.

See all FAQs

Come bow in.

Register via Parks & Rec See the schedule

We bow to our partners before and after practice, out of respect and gratitude.