Judo Judo is a martial art, sport, and philosophy originated in Japan. Judo was the successor of Jujutsu and was founded by Dr. Jigoro Kano in 1882. Judo was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1964 and is practiced by millions of people (Judoka) throughout the world today. People practice Judo to excel in competition, to stay in shape, for self-defense, to develop self-confidence, and for many other reasons. Combat Phases Judo assumes that there are two main phases of combat: the standing (tachi-waza) and the ground (ne-waza) phase. Each phase requires its own mostly separate techniques, strategies, and so on, although some special training is devoted to 'transitional' techniques to bridge the gap. Some judoka can become quite skilled in one phase and be rather weak in the other, depending on where their interests most lie, although most are rather balanced between the two. Standing Phase In the standing phase, which is considered the initial phase, the opponents try to throw each other to the ground. The main purpose of the throwing techniques (nage waza) is to take an opponent who is standing on his feet, mobile and dangerous, down onto his back where he cannot move any more. Thus, the main reason for throwing the opponent is to control him and put yourself in a dominant position above him where you have more potential to inflict damage on him than he does on you. Be that as it may, another reason to throw the opponent is to shock his body through smashing him forcefully onto the ground. If a judoka executes a powerful yet fully controlled throw, he can win a match outright due to the theory that he has displayed enough superiority. In actual fact, this kind of victory is very difficult to achieve if the opponents are equally matched. Therefore points are given for lesser throws in the standing phase of combat. In real fight situations, a throw in itself can create shock to the opponent, and the impact can potentially knock the opponent unconscious (depending on how hard the ground is). Ground Phase In the ground phase, which is considered the secondary phase of combat, the opponents try to hold, or get the opponent to submit either by using armlocks or by chokes and strangulations. In competition, pinning the opponent in a dominant hold is a common method of victory. Techniques While Judo includes a variety of rolls, falls, throws, pins, chokes, joint-locks, the primary focus is on throwing (nage-waza), and groundwork (ne-waza). Nage-waza is divided in two groups of techniques, standing techniques (tachi-waza) and sacrifice techniques (sutemi-waza). Standing techniques are divided in hand techniques (te-waza), hip techniques (koshi-waza) and foot/leg techniques (ashi-waza). Sacrifice techniques are divided into those in which the thrower falls directly backwards (ma-sutemi-waza) and those in which he falls onto his side (yoko-sutemi-waza). The groundwork techniques are divided into: attacks against the joints or joint locks (kansetsu-waza), strangleholds or chokeholds (shime-waza), and holding or pinning techniques (osaekomi-waza). A kind of sparring is practiced in judo, known as randori, meaning "free practice". In randori, Judoka may attack each other with any judo throw or grappling technique. In randori and shiai (tournament) practice, when an opponent successfully executes a chokehold or joint lock, one "taps out" by tapping the mat or one's opponent at least twice in a manner that clearly indicates the submission. When this occurs, the match is over, and the tapping player has lost, but the chokehold or joint lock ceases. Because this allows a merciful exit to the match, injuries related to these holds are quite rare. Ukemi, or breakfalls, is another major part of Judo. Ukemi is the practice of safely falling to avoid injury when being thrown. To someone untrained, getting thrown on their back could cause injury, so learning ukemi in training is essential. Ideally, one should be able to execute ukemi from any position and in any direction. The development of proper ukemi skills is just as important as the development of throwing skills and is no less deserving of attention and effort. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judo Judo Against Other Martial Arts The rise of Mixed Martial Arts competitions (sometimes called Ultimate Fighting) has proven what works and what doesn't work in terms of martial arts combat. The five dominant styles used in these competitions are Western Boxing, Muay Thai kickboxing, Greco Roman and Freestyle wrestling, Brazilian Jiu-jitsu, and Judo. The last three have the most important element in common -- they encompass ground fighting. It has been proven that groundfighting or grappling is the most effective style of fighting, as it allows one to dictate where the fight takes place. This gives Judo an inherent advantage over martials arts like taekwondo, karate, kung fu, aikido and so on.