Judo (柔道 jūdō), meaning "gentle way", is a modern Japanese martial art (gendai budō) and combat sport, that originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling manoeuvre, or force an opponent to submit by joint locking the elbow or by executing a choke. Strikes and thrusts (by hands and feet) — as well as weapons defences — are a part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms (kata) and are not allowed in judo competition or free practice (randori).
Ultimately, the philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for almost all modern Japanese martial arts that developed from "traditional" schools (koryū). Practitioners of judo are called jūdōka.
Meaning of "judo"
The word "judo" shares the same root ideogram as "jujutsu": "jū" (柔 ), which may mean "gentleness", "softness", "suppleness", and even "easy", depending on its context. Such attempts to translate jū are deceptive, however. The use of jū in each of these words is an explicit reference to the martial arts principle of the "soft method" (柔法 jūhō). The soft method is characterized by the indirect application of force to defeat an opponent. More specifically, it is the principle of using one's opponent's strength against him and adapting well to changing circumstances. For example, if the attacker was to push against his opponent he would find his opponent stepping to the side and allowing his momentum (often with the aid of a foot to trip him up) to throw him forwards (the inverse being true for pulling.) Kano saw jujutsu as a disconnected bag of tricks, and sought to unify it according to a principle, which he found in the notion of "maximum efficiency". Jujutsu techniques that relied solely on superior strength were discarded or adapted in favour of those that involved redirecting the opponent's force, off-balancing the opponent, or making use of superior leverage.
The second characters of judo and jujutsu differ. Where jujutsu (柔術 jūjutsu) means the "art" or "science" of softness, judo (柔道 jūdō) means the "way" of softness. The use of "dō" (道 ), meaning way, road or path (and is the same character as the Chinese word "tao"), has philosophical overtones. This is the same distinction as is made between Budō and Bujutsu. Use of this word is a deliberate departure from ancient martial arts, whose sole purpose was for killing. Kano saw judo as a means for governing and improving oneself physically, mentally, emotionally and morally. He even extended the physical principle of maximum efficiency into daily life, evolving it into "mutual prosperity". In this respect, judo is seen as a holistic approach to life extending well beyond the confines of the dojo.
Judogi (uniform)
Judo practitioners traditionally wear white uniforms called jūdōgi, which simply means "judo uniform", for practicing judo. Sometimes the word is seen shortened simply to gi (uniform). The jūdōgi was created by Kano in 1907, and similar uniforms were later adopted by many other martial arts.[citation needed] The modern jūdōgi consists of white or blue cotton drawstring pants and a matching white or blue quilted cotton jacket, fastened by a belt (obi). The belt is usually coloured to indicate rank. The jacket is intended to withstand the stresses of grappling, and as a result, is much thicker than that of a karate uniform (karategi).
The modern use of the blue judogi was first suggested by Anton Geesink at the 1986 Maastricht IJF DC Meeting. For competition, a blue jūdōgi is worn by one of the two competitors for ease of distinction by judges, referees, and spectators. In Japan, both judoka still use a white judogi and the traditional red sash (based on the colours of the Japanese flag) is affixed to the belt of one competitor. Outside Japan, a coloured sash may also be used for convenience in minor competitions, the blue jūdōgi only being mandatory at the regional or higher levels. Japanese practitioners and purists tend to look down on the use of blue jūdōgi.
Rank and grading
An active competitor may not pursue high ranks, preferring to focus on preparation for competition; for example, a silver medal was won by an ikkyu (brown belt) female competitor, Lorena Pierce, in the -70 kg category at the 2004 Paralympics. Apart from knowledge and ability, rank requirements typically include a minimum age.Therefore, it is not uncommon to find teenage competitors at national-level competition who have been practicing judo for 10 years who can beat adult practitioners, but who are only purple or brown belts due to being too young to qualify for a dan rank. Once an individual attains the level of a dan rank, further promotions can be granted for a variety of reasons including skill level, competition performance and/or contributions to judo such as teaching and volunteering time. Therefore, a higher dan rank does not necessarily mean that the holder is a better fighter (although often it does.)
Jūdōka are ranked according to skill and knowledge of judo, and their rank is reflected by their belt colour. There are two divisions of rank: below-black-belt-level "grades" (kyū), and black-belt-level "degrees" (dan). This ranking system was introduced into the martial arts by Kano and has since been widely adopted by modern martial arts.[citation needed] As initially designed, there were six student grades ranked in descending numerical order, with 1st kyū being the last before promotion to first degree black belt (shodan). There are ordinarily 10 dan ranks, which are ranked in ascending numerical order, though in principle there is no limit to the number of dan ranks.
The tenth degree black belt (jūdan) and those above it have no formal requirements. The president of the Kodokan, currently Kano Jigoro's grandson Yukimitsu Kano (Kano Yukimitsu), decides on individuals for promotion. Only fifteen individuals have been promoted to this rank by the Kodokan. On January 6, 2006, three individuals were promoted to 10th dan simultaneously: Toshiro Daigo, Ichiro Abe, and Yoshimi Osawa. This is the most ever at the same time, and the first in 22 years. No one has ever been promoted to a rank higher than 10th dan, but:
Theoretically the Judo rank system is not limited to 10 degrees of black belt. The original English language copy (1955) of Illustrated Kodokan Judo, by Jigoro Kano, says: "There is no limit...on the grade one can receive. Therefore if one does reach a stage above 10th dan... there is no reason why he should not be promoted to 11th dan." However, since there has never been any promotion to a rank above 10th dan, the Kodokan Judo promotion system effectively has only 10 dans. There have only been 15 10th dans awarded by the Kodokan in the history of Judo.
Although dan ranks tend to be consistent between national organisations there is more variation in the kyū grades, with some countries having more kyū grades. Although initially kyū grade belt colours were uniformly white, today a variety of colours are used.
Belt colours
| White |  |
| Blue |  |
| Yellow |  |
| Orange |  |
| Green |  |
| Purple |  |
| Brown |  |
| Black |  |
| White | |
| Yellow | |
| Orange | |
| Green | |
| Blue | |
| Brown | |
| Black | |
In Japan, the use of belt colours is related to the age of the student. Some clubs will only have black and white, others will include a brown belt for advanced kyū grades and at the elementary school level it is common to see a green belt for intermediate levels.
For dan ranks, the first five are coloured black, 6th, 7th, and 8th dan have alternating red and white panels, and for 9th and 10th dan the belts are solid red. However, holders of grades above godan (5th dan) will often wear a plain black belt in regular training.
Some countries also use colored tips on belts, to indicate junior age groups. Historically, women's belts had a white stripe along the centre.[citation needed]
Examination requirements vary depending on country, age group and of course the grade being attempted. The examination itself may include competition and kata. The kyū ranks are normally awarded by local instructors (sensei), but dan ranks are usually awarded only after an exam supervised by independent judges from a national judo association. For a rank to be recognized, it must be registered with the national judo organization or the Kodokan.
Australia and Europe
For Australia and most of Europe, the belt colours in ascending order are white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown and finally black. Some European countries additionally use a red belt to signify a complete beginner.
Brazil
Brazilian belt rankings are normally white, blue, yellow, orange, green, purple, brown and black.Additionally, a grey belt may be given to very young judoka (under 11 or 13 years old) just before the blue. Competitors are organised into two categories depending on grading; the first is from white to green, and the second is purple through black.
Canada
In Canada belt rankings for Seniors are, in ascending order: white, yellow, orange, green, blue, brown and finally black. Belt rankings for Juniors use white, white-yellow, yellow, yellow-orange, orange, orange-green, green, green-blue, blue, blue-brown, and brown.
United States
In the US only senior players (adults, usually those age 16 and over) are allowed to earn dan levels, signified by wearing a black belt. The USJF and USJA recognise dan grades awarded by the other organization. Advanced kyū levels can be earned by both seniors and juniors (children under the age of about 16) and are signified by wearing belts of various colours other than black. The order of belt colours can vary from dojo to dojo, depending on the dojo's organizational affiliation.
| Japanese kyū names | USJF Senior | USJF Junior | USJA Senior | USJA Junior | USJA Junior level names |
| Jūnikyū |  White | Junior 12th Class | |||
| Jūichikyū | White |  Yellow | Junior 11th Class | ||
| Jūkyū |  White- yellow |  Orange | Junior 10th Class | ||
| Kūkyū | Yellow | Orange | Junior 9th Class | ||
| Hachikyū |  Yellow- orange |  Green | Junior 8th Class | ||
| Nanakyū | Orange | Green | Junior 7th Class | ||
| Rokkyū | White |  Orange- green | White |  Blue | Junior 6th Class |
| Gokyū | Green | Green | Orange | Blue | Junior 5th Class |
| Yonkyū | Blue |  Green- blue | Green |  Purple | Junior 4th Class |
| Sankyū |  Brown | Blue | Brown | Purple | Junior 3rd Class |
| Nikyū | Brown |  Blue- purple | Brown | Brown | Junior 2nd Class |
| Ikkyū | Brown | Purple | Brown | Brown | Junior 1st Class |
Seniors
For senior players, both the United States Judo Federation (USJF) and The United States Judo Association (USJA) specify four belt colours for the six kyū, as listed in the table. The USJA also specifies wearing a patch specifying the practitioner's level. This is true for both kyū and dan levels.
Juniors
The USJF Juniors ranking system specifies ranks to 11th kyū (jūichikyū). The USJA Juniors ranking system specifies twelve levels of kyū rank, beginning with "Junior 1st Degree" (equivalent to jūnikyū, or 12th kyū) and ending with "Junior 12th Degree" (equivalent to ikkyū). As with the senior practitioners, the USJA specifies that juniors wear a patch specifying their rank.
No comments:
Post a Comment