Judo is a form of self defence.
It is also a sport at the Olympics.
There are men's and women's events.
A match is between two people at a time.
One person tries to throw and hold the other onto a judo mat.
©Getty
A Judo Match
A judo match is between two competitors. To win a match, each competitor tries to throw the other onto the mat and hold them there for 30 seconds. A competitor can also win by holding the other onto the mat in an armlock or a stranglehold.
Judges and a referee make sure that competitors obey the rules. They give points to the competitors for good holds and throws. A judo match lasts for 10 minutes.
Millions of people of all ages learn and practice judo around the world. ©Getty
History of Judo
Judo was founded in 1882 by Dr. Jigoro Kano (1860-1938).
He based judo on an ancient martial art, jujitsu. Jujitsu was a combat technique used by Japanese warriors known as Samurai.
Dr. Kano removed dangerous punching and kicking moves and gave the sport its new name, judo. He intended judo to be a self defence technique.
Judo was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1964.
