Judo

            Jujitsu is the source of modern Judo.  Medieval Japanese warriors practiced many forms of unarmed combat, grouped under the general name “Jujitsu” or “the gentle practice”.  Their aim was to avoid an enemy’s superior strength and instead make use of that strength to their advantage.  Since Jujitsu was a combat technique, contests were rare and were decided only by the death or crippling of one of the contestants.

           When Japanese society began to change structurally in the 1860’s, the martial arts, including Jujitsu, began to die out.  In the early 1880’s, Professor Jigoro Kano, a teacher from Tokyo and an expert in Jujitsu, modified or eliminated the most dangerous of the Jujitsu techniques and created a new discipline which he called “Judo” or “the gentle way”.  Judo’s rich medieval heritage combined with Professor Kano’s modern, scientific approach has made it into the exciting sport it is today.