Why Choose Judo?

1. Joining a judo club, is like joining a community of likeminded people.
2. Judo means “gentle way” and is good for self-defence.
   
3. Judo works both body fitness and mind fitness.
   
4. Judo builds self-confidence, trust, self-discipline and respect for oneself and others. Judo is a boundless activity for all ages.
   
5. Judo has a code of ethics, it’s not just a sport it’s a way of life.
   
6. Judo does not involve kicking, punching, or striking of any kind.
   
7. Judo involves no equipment or weapons.
   

What to bring on your first visit?

1. Please allow a little extra time (Approx 10mins), as this will allow our helpers to get you kitted up with a Judo jacket. 
2. Either jogging bottoms or leggings which do not have Zips or metal objects.
3. T-shirt.
4. A sensible drink for sport.

What to expect?

A warm and friendly welcome and friendly environment, with a fun introduction to Judo.

How does it works?

• Your first session is free!
• You then have 4 sessions which you can use to make your mind up if Judo is for you.
• During the 4 session period you can borrow from our stock of Judo Jackets.
• Once your 4 session period is up, you will then need to purchase an annual Membership Packages - British Judo and of course your own full Judo Kit. (Please ask in club as we have access to trade pricing.)

What is Judo and its history?

In 1882 Professor Jigoro Kano created a new martial art, and he named it Judo, meaning “The gentle way”.  Judo later became an Olympic sport which is loved and practiced across the world, from tiny Dojo’s (the hall you practice in) to colossal Dojo’s in Japan, where Judokas (people who practice Judo) live, eat and sleep judo. In fact for many people who take up the sport, it becomes a way of life and your club becomes a second family. Judo not only is a sport, but it directs a Judoka on a journey of self-improvement and discovery. Judo encourages you into becoming the best person you can be. Judo grows ones confidence and self-esteem, it teaches us balance, posture, movement, reactions and awareness. But also it provides with a moral code, that each and every one of us can live by.

Judo naturally creates an environment of strict discipline, etiquette and gives a focus to the importance of hygiene and respect, modesty, politeness and general social skills. Judo allows you to set realistic goals and with effort and determination enables you to achieve them. This for example could be attaining your next grade, learning a new technique or simply just keeping fit and helping your fellow Judoka.

Judo is beautiful unique sport.  This is mainly because it has many different attributes that many other sports do not have.  To start with as mentioned before, Judo is an Olympic sport. It is a sport fit for all ages, males and females and because of its uniqueness, it can also be played by many different disabled classifications.

A person who practices Judo is known as a Judoka.  A Person who teaches judo is known as a Sensei. A Judogi or GI is the uniform/suit that a Judoka wears to participate in. It is made up of three parts, of which are a heavy weave material to withstand the strength of throwing and grappling. The three parts are the jacket, the trousers and the belt.  Judoka traditional wear a white Judogi. It is only in competition a blue Judogi is used, simply to distinguish the difference between two Judoka, as one will wear white and the other Blue.

Judo is a ranked sport where the superiority and knowledge of a judoka is shown depending on their colour grade. A KYU and DAN (black) grade is a Senior grade and a MON Grade being a Junior Grade. This system was developed by Jigoro Kano and was based on the ranking system in the board game called “Go”  The colour belts of the grade rankings are as follows:

Judo sessions are split up into Juniors and Seniors. Juniors being from the age of 5-15 Years and the Seniors are from 16 Years upwards even to the 105 Year olds!  This split enables each and every individual the chance to progress and learn in an environment that is suitable and safe for them. 

At your first lesson you are taught to fall correctly and safely, what is known as “learning to breakfall” Once mastered you can practice Judo safely and it will also give you the confidence to participate fully. The definitive goal for any Judoka in competition is to win a fight by the Ultimate score IPPON.  In Japan and the way of the warrior, IPPON symbolizes the death of their opponent and Judoka will risk everything for that Ultimate IPPON victory.  Judo involves many different elements and techniques, but mainly these are throwing and pinning techniques and the combining of the two with transitions.

However for the Seniors there are also joint locking and strangle/choke techniques.  Once a junior progresses to the higher grades and becomes a senior, it is then when they learn submissions to win a fight by joint lock or a choke.  Judo can produce spectacular, explosive, very elegant and powerful throws, which when executed for IPPON can feel effortless and like you’re floating, giving ultimate fulfilment to the Judoka. The traditional element to Judo is called as Kata.  Kata is a pre-arranged form of set techniques and are demonstrated in a different way to a normal Judo competition.  Katas involves Strikes and thrusts by hands and feet, as well as weapons for defences. Juniors and Seniors are required to learn a certain amount of kata for their grading’s.  This is a BJA requirement, but it also gives the Judoka an understanding of the mechanics of the techniques and how traditional techniques are used within a competition and practical environment.