Judo

Judo ({{ll|Japanese}}: 柔道 Jūdō; literally "gentle way") is a martial art, a sport and a philosophy which originated in Japan. Judo was developed from Jujutsu, and was founded by Dr. Jigoro Kano (嘉納治五郎) in 1882. The sport became the model of the modern Japanese martial arts, gendai budo, developed from old koryu schools.

Grading

Judoka are ranked according to skill and knowledge of judo, that grade being reflected in the colour of his belt: There are two divisions of grades, the student grades (kyu, 級), and the master grades (dan, 段). In some countries, the nine colours run from gray through white, light blue, blue, yellow, orange, green, purple, and brown. In The UK and most of Europe the belt grading colours run like this: White, Yellow, Orange, Green, Blue, Brown and then Black. Some European countries additionally use a red belt to signify a complete beginner. In Japan, all adult kyu grades wear either white or brown belts. All dan grades may wear the black belt; sixth- through eighth- dans may alternately wear a red-and-white belt, while those ranked ninth- dan and above may wear a solid red belt. Historically, a woman's belt had a white stripe at its centre in some countries, while in most of them this habit has been discontinued. Jigoro Kano was the inventor of the kyu - dan grading system, that soon got adapted by other martial arts such as karate.

Related Topics:
Black belt - Karate

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In competition one judoka wears a blue suit while the other wears white. In some competitions the older system whereby one competitor wears a white sash and the other a blue sash remains in place. In both cases this does not indicate their rank, but is to enable the judges and spectators to tell the opponents apart during a fight. Points are also awarded to white or blue. Corner judges on the corners of the mat also have a white and blue flag to indicate to which competitor a point should go when it is unclear whom it should be awarded to.

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In most Western countries, grades up to the brown belt are awarded by the dojo where the student trains, while the dan (black belt) ranks are awarded after doing an exam supervised by independent judges of the national judo association.

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