Meet the subject

Judo: throws, groundwork and learning with a partner

柔道

Founded by Kanō Jigorō in 1882, judo developed from jūjutsu into a system of practice and education as well as an international sport. Throws and groundwork are useful starting points for watching a contest. Everyday training also includes learning to fall, rehearsing agreed forms and practising freer exchanges.

The Kōdōkan is the institute Kanō founded to teach judo.

Kata uses predetermined methods; randori allows freer attack and defence within rules.

Competition rules represent one part of judo and have dated, age-specific applications.

What practitioners are working on

Throws and controlling techniques

Throwing techniques bring an opponent off balance and onto the mat. Katame-waza includes holding, strangling and joint techniques. The All Japan Judo Federation lists 68 throws and 32 controlling techniques in the Kōdōkan classification. Inclusion in that classification does not make a technique permissible in every age group or contest. Holds control an opponent on the mat; strangling and joint techniques concern the neck and joints respectively, with permissions governed by the rules.

Throwing example: hiza-guruma; blue is tori, who performs the throw, and white is uke, who receives it

Grappling example: yoko-shihō-gatame controls the upper body from the side

These examples distinguish a throw from groundwork. The teaching guide provides the full actions and coaching points.

Uniform, grade and competition groups

Judogi consists of jacket, trousers and belt. Belt grade is separate from individual competition’s weight grouping. The Japanese federation describes black belts for first–fifth dan, red-and-white for sixth–eighth and red for ninth–tenth; kyu colours are not uniform nationally.

Judogi on the figure at left: A jacket, B belt, C trousers

Learning the receiving role

Ukemi concerns managing the body when falling or being thrown. The federation’s school teaching guide links it with basic movement and introductory techniques. Paired practice consequently gives both people a task: one is not simply a prop for the other’s throw.

First position in seated rear-breakfall practice: a person in judogi seated on the mat with legs forward — 1. Starting from a seated position

Second position in seated rear-breakfall practice: rolling back — 2. Rolling back

Third position in seated rear-breakfall practice: on the back with legs raised and arms on the mat — 3. Finishing with the arms on the mat

Three positions in seated rear-breakfall practice, which is learned progressively with a qualified instructor.

Kata and randori

Kata fixes a sequence and method so partners can study principles through coordinated action. Randori allows freer choices of attack and defence under rules. The contrast concerns how practice is organized; neither empty display nor unrestricted fighting is an adequate description.

Educational aims

Kanō’s principles of seiryoku zen’yō and jita kyōei concern effective use of physical and mental energy and mutual welfare. They articulate goals for practice and life. They do not certify that any activity called judo automatically achieves those goals; teaching and conduct still matter.

Following a contest

An ippon ends the contest

The IJF’s August 2026 rules evaluate an ippon throw through speed, force, landing on the back and skilful control through the landing. Groundwork can also produce ippon. Merely bringing someone down is insufficient. Two waza-ari scores combine into ippon.

Scores and golden score

The IJF August 2026 rules award ippon for a single 20-second hold, waza-ari for 10–19 seconds and yuko for 5–9 seconds; throws also have distinct action and landing criteria. Two waza-ari combine into ippon, while yuko do not accumulate into waza-ari. Senior individual contests have four minutes of normal time, with equal technical scores leading to golden score. Shido is a warning: a third brings hansoku-make, disqualification from the contest. Warnings themselves give no points to the opponent. Youth and domestic events require their applicable regulations.

Score from one hold: IJF August 2026 rules
Duration	Score
5–9 seconds	Yuko
10–19 seconds	Waza-ari
20 seconds	Ippon

An evolving institution and sport

From jūjutsu to the Kōdōkan

Kanō studied Tenjin Shin’yō-ryū and Kitō-ryū before establishing the Kōdōkan at Eishōji in Tokyo in 1882. Later organization included kata in 1887 and the Gokyō in 1895. Judo’s methods were developed and ordered over time, rather than all appearing fully formed at the founding.

Portrait of Kanō Jigorō, published by the Kōdōkan; photograph not dated here

A place in the school curriculum

Schools gave judo an institutional route beyond the dojo. The All Japan Judo Federation’s teaching history dates its introduction as an elective in secondary schools to 1911 and its compulsory status in the old middle-school system to 1931. These were particular stages in Japan’s changing school system, with lessons and clubs bringing more pupils into practice.

Women’s practice and international competition

The Kōdōkan chronology distinguishes a women’s department supervisor in 1923, classes in 1926 and a formal department in 1934. Internationally, women competed in an Olympic demonstration in 1988 and joined the full programme in 1992. These institutional and competitive milestones describe different kinds of access.

Ozaki Katsuko demonstrating Jū-no-kata in Gifu, 1942

Teaching travelled through people and communities

International growth involved travelling teachers and communities that sustained their work. Yamashita Yoshitsugu went to the United States in 1903, according to the AJF guide. The International Judo Federation also describes Kano and his disciples’ role in developing Kodokan judo among Japanese emigrant communities in the United States, Brazil and Canada, and in countries including Germany and Britain. Teaching networks preceded the later international competition calendar.

Wartime control and a return to schools

The AJF teaching history describes judo’s wartime use for military purposes under state control. In November 1945, martial-arts teaching and clubs were halted in schools; the restriction extended to school facilities in December. Practice outside schools continued. The AJF was established in 1949, and school judo was permitted to resume in 1950 with a new emphasis on peaceful, democratic sport.

Postwar contests and changing rules

The first postwar All-Japan championship was held in 1948 and the first World Championships in 1956. Judo appeared at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics but was absent in 1968, so its Olympic history was not uninterrupted from its debut. The 2025 changes and 2026 clarifications likewise show competition rules continuing to develop.

Check your understanding

Is judo only about throwing someone down?

No. It includes groundwork and a broader practice system with ukemi, kata and randori.

How do kata and randori differ?

Kata predetermines sequence and method; randori permits freer exchanges within rules.

Can several yuko become waza-ari?

Not under the IJF August 2026 rules. Two waza-ari can combine into ippon.

When did women join the full Olympic programme?

In 1992, after a demonstration event in 1988.

Sources and images

Portrait of Kanō Jigorō, published by the Kōdōkan; photograph not dated here