Judo
Like many inventions Judo’s founder Kano Jigoro Judo’s founder was dissatisfied with the ways things were and decided he wanted to make a change. An educator by trade he set about to build better people not just better fighters. Today is common to see students and instructors wearing belts as part of their Judo uniforms, but that was only because Kano instituted it along with a new type of workout uniform. Previously ever Jujutsu and other Japanese martial arts used a complicated system that was difficult to understand and varied by school.
Russian Sambo and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu are both subtypes of Judo, and have many techniques similar to ones found in Judo. Because of their Judo origins both combat sports have uniforms similar to those warn in Judo though Sambo practitioners wear shorts with their gi top which originated back to Sambo’s Russian military roots. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu almost exactly like Judo, but it emphasizes ground fighting more then traditional Judo.
The uniforms worn in Judo are called Judogi which is like many traditional Japanese martial arts uniforms and is made up of a heavy cloth jacket usually made from cotton or a cotton blend and are called uwagi, and a pair of reinforced canvas pants called zubon. For the most part like other martial arts the gi worn is white though higher ranking students and instructors will wear a black or blue gi. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu will often allow a rainbow of colors in tournaments, but now that mixed martial arts is popular many practitioners will only wear grappling shorts.
Another innovation in Judo is that it classes were actually taught. In Kano’s day students would go to class and spar or randori for close to two hours. If the teacher saw a student do something wrong or thought they had potential they might show them a technique, but otherwise a Jujutsu or Karate class was about survival of the fittest.
Before Kano was done he would establish an important ranking system, change martial arts education, and create a new Japanese national sport which remains one of the most popular contact sports in the world. In the Japanese school system the combat sport is used to build team work and to instill discipline and ethics among children. It isn’t odd for a company to have a Judo team rather then a soft ball team and Kano’s Kodokan is still going strong and educating students.
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