Judo is both a martial art and an Olympic sport. The complete art
employs throwing, grappling, joint locking and strangling skills.
Self-defense applications of the techniques, along with some strikes
and blocks, are included at advanced levels. The spiritual
discipline aspect of the original judo is generally lacking in the
sport version, although few martial arts can compare with either way of
practicing judo for teaching balance skills and for sheer physical
exercise.
Judo was created around the turn of the century by Professor Jigoro
Kano, who combined the best techniques from several styles of jujutsu
(drawing primarily from Tenshin Shinyo Ryu, Kito Ryu, and Yoshin Ryu,
among others) and from sumo
wrestling. He developed a martial art that was founded upon the
idea of efficient use of physical energy, cooperation for mutual
benefit, and character development through training the body and
mind. The art became popular in Japan, then spread around the
world, and is widely practiced today. It is a living, dynamic
art, constantly evolving as new competitors try to gain an edge over
their opponents, but the foundations of the art remain vital to a
proper understanding of judo.
We concentrate on the martial art, rather than the sport,
which means that our students must learn the correct classical ways of
performing techniques, and must understand the principles on which the
techniques are based. We emphasize cooperation in practice in
order to facilitate learning, but encourage our students to take part
in matches as a means of measuring progress. An
important characteristic that we try to develop in our students is a
deep respect for hard training and the rewards it brings.
Students who develop this characteristic find that they can apply it in
their everyday lives, as well as in the dojo. Judo ranks can be
certified by the
Shudokan Martial
Arts Association (SMAA) and the
Kokusai
Budoin, IMAF.
For more
information, please contact
Nickalus
Suino Sensei at
info@japanesemartialartscenter.com.
For
Private Lessons in Muso Jikiden Eishin-Ryu Iaido in the
Ann
Arbor, Michigan or Lansing, Michigan area, please contact Dan Holland
Sensei at
dholland@itama.org.
