The Greatest Judoka of All Time

A short history of Judo

Kanō Jigorō, who had been small and bullied as a schoolboy, studied jujutsu and then created his own method, judo, in 1882, opening the Kodokan, "the place where the way is studied". He removed the most dangerous jujutsu techniques, stressed safe falling and free practice, or randori, and summed up his philosophy in two maxims: best use of energy, and mutual welfare and benefit. In 1899 he chaired the committee that drew up the first formal rules for jujutsu contests.

Judo spread through Japanese emigrant communities in countries such as the United States, Brazil and Canada, and through Kanō's own travels. In 1909 he became the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee, coloured belts were developed in England in the mid-1920s, and the European Judo Union was created in 1932. Judo was chosen as a demonstration sport for the 1940 Tokyo Olympics, which were cancelled because of the Second World War.

The International Judo Federation was founded in London in 1951, and the first World Championships followed in Tokyo in 1956, with no weight categories. Judo joined the Olympics at Tokyo in 1964, where Dutchman Anton Geesink beat Japan's Akio Kaminaga for the open-category gold. Women held their first world championships in 1980, competed as a demonstration event at the 1988 Olympics and became Olympic medallists in 1992.

Recent rule changes have simplified scoring. The IJF removed decisions by the judges (hantei) in 2013, so tied bouts continue in golden score until someone scores or is penalized, and in 2017 it dropped the yuko score, leaving only ippon and waza-ari. A mixed team event joined the Olympic program at the Tokyo 2020 Games, and in 2024 Christa Deguchi became the first Canadian to win Olympic gold in judo.

• ✦An ippon wins at once: a controlled throw flat onto the back, a 20-second pin or a submission.
• ✦A lesser throw scores waza-ari, and two waza-ari add up to ippon.
• ✦Pins held for more than 10 but less than 20 seconds score waza-ari.
• ✦Submissions come from strangles and elbow locks; strikes are not allowed in competition.
• ✦Tied bouts go to golden score with no time limit: the first score, or a penalty, decides.
• ✦Three shido penalties lose the match (hansoku-make); a serious foul can mean immediate disqualification.