A modern form of Japanese martial arts and full contact sports that came into being in the nineteenth century. While the word judo means ‘the gentle way’, it is a highly competitive Olympic sport in which one must either throw one’s opponent to the ground or immobilize and restrain him with a grapple, usually locking the elbow or deploying a choke maneuver. Using the hands and feet for striking, thrusting, and unarmed defense against weapons are part of judo, but only in the form of kata routines. These steps are not allowed in free practice or competition. While throwing the opponent on the ground is usually enough to win you matches, it is the only Olympic sport that allows one to employ a choking hold or an arm-lock (that might lead to fracturing of the arm) as part of the rules of the game.

Very often, in a real-life fighting situation, one is not equally matched against the opponent in terms of size and strength. But judo is a combat sport that compensates for this with a high degree of skill, concentration, and speed. The point is to move quickly and precisely enough to be able to catch your opponent off-balance and pin him to the ground with precise throwing technique. At the same time, it must be understood that the smaller fighter will need to train harder and concentrate more during a fight, given their disadvantage in terms of size and strength. One of the central ideas in judo is that you cannot become perfect at anything, which means that it is better if you are able to realize your limitations, and at the same time discover weaknesses and try to overcome them. The philosophy of judo, therefore, can be applied to almost any aspect of life in general.

While judo may be a combat sport by definition, that should not come to mean that it will be so even during practice. Judo schools are very conscious about safety during training and use all kinds of precautions like the use of resilient floor mats to keep the students from getting hurt. Instructors also make it a point to start and finish every judo session with a round stretching and warm-up/cool-down exercises.

There are many kinds of throws that can be practiced in judo. Some use the arms, others the legs, while still others use the whole body to put the opponent off balance. Some moves will kick he opponent’s feet out from under him while in others one will themselves fall to the ground and throw the opponent over their own body. The basic tenet in judo is to maintain immaculate balance at all times, and to get your footwork right. Once the opponent is on the ground, one can pin him facedown to the ground or in a side-down posture with the shoulder to the ground. One can also apply pressure on the elbow, either when it is straightened, or when it is at right angles and twisted in the wrong direction. To choke, one can apply pressure on the sides of the neck with the forearms. According to safety statutes, choking is not allowed in the under-13 age category, while you can use arm-locks only after the age of 17.

Judo is a sport that not only teaches self-defense but also provides one with a boost in self-confidence, while all the time keeping the body in top shape.