The History of Judo

The Kodokan was founded in 1882 by the late

Prof. Kano who himself had established Judo.

Judo was derived from Jujitsu

which had many names and schools.

Jujitsu is an art for either attacking others

or defending oneself with nothing

but one's own body.

Prof. Kano adopted the superlative parts of

all the Jujitsu schools, got rid of precarious parts,

and established the new Kodokan Judo

based on his own insight and arrangement.

It started with only nine disciples and

a twelve-mat dojo.

The Kodokan Judo was recognized

in a few years to be excellent

since its students overwhelmed the

Jujitsu athletes at the Police Bujitsu Contest.

This really was the first step for its

future rapid progress.

Prof. Kano promoted judo as a physical exercise from a wide national point of view. Proceeding with the organization of the Kodokan and enacting the regulations of Judo, he became the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee in 1909 and worked for the spread of Judo world-wide. Judo became an official event in the Olympic Games of 1964, backed by Judo fans and sport promoters all over the world. It is now a very popular sport almost anywhere in the world.

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"Judo", which is now exercised in many countries of the world,

is the very Kodokan Judo, created in 1882 by Prof. Jigoro Kano.

It is clearly stated in the Article 1 of International

Judo Federation (IJF) statutes,

"IJF recognizes 'Judo' which was created by Jigoro Kano."