Judo vs Kenpo
Judo and Kenpo side by side, from the facts recorded for each art.
| Judo | Kenpo | |
|---|---|---|
| Country of origin | Japan | Japan |
| Created | 1882 | — |
| Founder | Kanō Jigorō | — |
| Type | combat sport, martial arts and Olympic sport | martial arts |
| Competition at the Olympics | Yes – 64 Olympic events recorded | — |
| Notable practitioners here | 3052 | 1 |
| Top countries of practitioners | Japan, Russia and United States | Romania |
| Equipment and weapons | judogi and tatami | — |
| Belt ranks | Yes | — |
| Weight classes | Yes | — |
| Energy use (MET) | 11.3 MET (Judo) | — |
Judo
Judo (Japanese: 柔道, Hepburn: Jūdō; lit. 'gentle way') is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), Paralympic sport (since 1988) and Commonwealth Games sport (since 1990). Judo is the most prominent form of Samurai throws and self-defense competed internationally. Judo was created in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō (嘉納 治五郎) as an eclectic martial art, distinguishing itself from its predecessors (primarily Tenjin Shinyo-ryu jujutsu and Kitō-ryū jujutsu) due to an emphasis on "randori" (乱取り, lit. 'free sparring') instead of kata (形, kata; pre-arranged forms) alongside its removal of striking and weapon training elements. Judo rose to prominence for its dominance over established jujutsu schools in tournaments hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department (警視庁武術大会, Keishicho Bujutsu Taikai), resulting in its adoption as the department's primary martial art. A judo practitioner is called a "judoka" (柔道家, jūdōka), and the judo uniform is called "judogi" (柔道着, jūdōgi; "judo attire").
From the Wikipedia article Judo (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Kenpo
Kenpō (Japanese: 拳法) is the name of several martial arts. This term is often informally transliterated as "kempo", as a result of applying Hepburn romanization, but omitting a macron to indicate the long vowel. The word Kenpō translates to "Fist Method", "ken" meaning "fist" and "po" meaning "method/technique". The generic nature of the term combined with its widespread, cross-cultural adoption in the martial arts community has led to many divergent definitions. For example, in Suiō-ryū Iai Kenpō it refers to "Battlefield sword against sword forms". In modern Japanese, the term is generally used to describe any primarily striking based system, especially of Chinese origin.
From the Wikipedia article Kenpō (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Facts from Wikidata (CC0): Q11420, Q501672. Practitioner counts are the people with a profile on this site. Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.