Judo
Modern martial art, combat and Olympic/Paralympic sport
柔道 · 유도
- Country of origin
- Japan
- Created
- 1882
- Founder
- Kanō Jigorō
- Type
- combat sport, martial arts, Olympic sport, budō, type of sport
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").
Styles and branches of Judo
Judo techniques
- Age-hiji-ate
- Age-uke
- Arm triangle choke
- Armlock
- Ashi garami
- Ashi guruma
- Ashi-Dori-Garami
- Ashi-Hishigi
- Atama-tsuki
- Chokehold
- Cross
- Daki age
- Daki wakare
- Deashi harai
- Do-jime
- Elbow
- Eri-seoi-nage
- Front kick
- Ganseki otoshi
- Grappling hold
- Guillotine choke
- Gyaku Jūji-jime
- Hane goshi
- Hane goshi gaeshi
- Hane makikomi
- Harai goshi
- Harai goshi gaeshi
- Harai makikomi
- Harai tsurikomi ashi
- Hasami jime
- Hiki-uke
- Hikikomi gaeshi
- Hiza guruma
- Hiza-otoshi
- Ippon seoi nage
- Jab
- Jigoku-jime
- Judo atemi waza
- Juji-uke
- Kata gatame
- Kata guruma
- Kata ha jime
- Kata juji jime
- Kata te jime
- Kata-seoi-nage
- Kawazu gake
- Kesa-gatame
- Kibisu gaeshi
- Knee
- Knee-on-stomach
- Ko uchi makikomi
- Ko-uchi-gake
- Koshi guruma
- Koshi guruma
- Koshi-jime
- Kosoto gake
- Kosoto gari
- Kouchi gaeshi
- Kouchi gari
- Kubi-Nage
See all 174 on the Judo techniques page.
Notable Judo athletes and practitioners
- Chuck Norris United States
- Dolph Lundgren Sweden
- Khabib Nurmagomedov Soviet Union
- Kanō Jigorō Japan
- Majlinda Kelmendi Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
- Ronda Rousey United States
- Yves Klein France
- Fedor Emelianenko Russia
- Khaltmaagiin Battulga Mongolian People's Republic
- William Hague United Kingdom
- Lasha Bekauri Georgia
- Hifumi Abe Japan
- Edvin Kanka Ćudić Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
- Teddy Riner France
- Daria Bilodid Ukraine
- Clarisse Agbegnenou Togo
- Nora Gjakova Kosovo
- Tina Trstenjak Slovenia
- Lasha Shavdatuashvili Georgia
- Yeldos Smetov Kazakhstan
- Paula Pareto Argentina
- Yasuhiro Yamashita Japan
- Sonny Chiba Japan
- Roddy Piper Canada
- Lukáš Krpálek Czech Republic
- Shohei Ono Japan
- Rafaela Silva Brazil
- Masahiko Kimura Japan
- Abe Uta Japan
- Takanori Nagase Japan
- Distria Krasniqi Kosovo
- Diyora Keldiyorova Uzbekistan
- Anderson Silva Brazil
- Kayla Harrison United States
- Fabio Basile Italy
- Ilias Iliadis Greece
3052 people in this reference practise Judo.
Equipment and weapons
- judogi
- tatami
Judo competitions
- judo at the 2024 Summer Olympics – mixed team
- judo at the 2024 Summer Olympics
- 2023 World Judo Championships – women's 70 kg
- 2022 Judo Grand Prix Almada
- 2022 Judo Grand Slam Paris
- 2022 Judo Grand Slam Antalya
- 2022 European Judo Championships – Men's 66 kg
- 2022 Judo Grand Slam Tbilisi
- 2022 Judo Grand Slam Tel Aviv
- 2022 Judo Grand Slam Budapest
- 2022 European Judo Championships – Men's 60 kg
- judo at the 2022 Mediterranean Games – women's 52 kg
- 2022 African Judo Championships
- judo at the 2022 Mediterranean Games – women's 48 kg
- 2021 Judo Grand Slam Tashkent
- judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – mixed team event
- judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – women's 78 kg
- 2021 Judo Grand Slam Paris
- 2021 Judo Grand Slam Baku
- judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – women's 52 kg
- judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – men's +100 kg
- judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – women's 57 kg
- judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – women's 63 kg
- judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics – women's +78 kg
112 competitions in total.
Rules, ranks and training
External links
Facts from Wikidata Q11420 (CC0); quoted introduction from English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Data retrieved 2026-10-22.
Data: Wikidata (CC0 1.0); Wikipedia (English) (CC BY-SA 4.0). Retrieved 2026-10-22.