Kano Jigoro founded judo in 1882 from older jujitsu schools
A 22-year-old educator distilled the samurai grappling arts into a method built on yielding rather than force - and called it the "gentle way."
Judo began in 1882, when Kano Jigoro (1860-1938) founded his Kodokan school in Tokyo. Kano had studied the old jujitsu systems of the Japanese samurai and reworked their throws and grappling into a single, safer, systematic method of physical and moral education.
The name judo combines ju (“gentleness” or “yielding”) with do (“way”) - the “gentle way.” Its guiding idea is to use an opponent’s force and balance against them rather than meet strength with strength, a principle Kano summarised as maximum efficiency with minimum effort.
“Kano Jigoro (1860-1938) collected the knowledge of the old jujitsu schools of the Japanese samurai and in 1882 founded his Kodokan School of judo.”
From roughly a dozen students at the start, the Kodokan grew into a global movement. Judo later became the first Asian martial art contested at the Olympic Games, debuting in 1964.
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