In addition to the well-known martial arts such as karate, Jiu-Jitsu, Tae-kwon-do, Aiki-do, Kung Fu etc., judo belongs to the Asian BUDO sports. The origins of all these sports lie in the Chinese and Japanese tradition. But JUDO has a special position here. While the other BUDO sports (BUDO is the collective term for the "knightly" martial arts of Japanese samurai) still contain moments of aggression, JUDO is just sport. In judo training, throws, levering, choking and holding techniques are mainly taught, in addition to the important “ukemi” (fall school). The "Randori", the practice fight in standing and in the ground, occupies a large area here.

Here the judoka can apply and perfect his techniques. In JUDO-KAMPF, which is conducted according to strict rules, every fighter bears a high degree of responsibility for the health of his partner. In a sporting comparison, the JUDOKA reduces aggression; for him the opponent is only a sporting partner. That is certainly one of the reasons why JUDO became an Olympic sport and is taught in schools in several countries in Germany as part of differentiated physical education. JUDO is a sport that makes all kinds of demands on the human body. In addition to versatile gymnastic movement elements, it demands a high level of physical and mental agility and reaction.

Der DEUTSCHE JUDO BUND zählt ca. 200.000 Mitglieder. So hat diese schöne Sportart eine gute Basis für ihre weitere Zukunft. Dass sie sich in ihrer Qualität nicht nur auf rein sportliche Erfolge beschränkt, sondern stets auch den „PHILOSOPHISCHEN”, den „ERZIEHERISCHEN” Aspekt in den Vordergrund stellt, ist ein Anliegen aller echter JUDOKA. Stellvertretend für diese Seite des JUDO-Sports mag ein japanisches Sprichwort stehen:

"The goal is not important, but the way to get there!"

The origin of judo lies in the Japanese fighting / war and self-defense arts. Jiu-Jitsu plays an essential role here. The craft of war was practiced as a secret science, in various schools old teachers passed their knowledge on to their privileged students. With the Meiji Restoration, the bourgeois revolution in 1868, Japan opened up to western influences. There was a rapid development of industry and science. Associated with this was a spiritualization of the youth and thus their physical neglect. Fears soon arose that the youth, because of their poor physical development, would not be able to cope with the tasks of bourgeois society. The German professor E. Baelz, who teaches at the University of Tokyo, first tried to introduce German gymnastics. When this was not accepted, he encouraged the study of the ancient martial arts, among other things by having the seventy-year-old Japanese Totsuka give a demonstration in Jiu-Jitsu.

Jigoro Kano, born in 1860, student of the political and philosophical faculty, then began to occupy himself with Jiu-Jitsu. Kano studied the art of self-defense with several teachers and soon became a master of his age group. But he was bothered by the harshness of Jiu-Jitsu, which at that time was still preparing for the armed conflict. Since he still regarded elements of Jiu-Jitsu as valuable for the physical and moral education of young people, he founded the Kodokan at the age of 23.

This “school for studying the way” was located in a Buddhist temple at the University of Tokyo and Kano also increasingly used the contents of Zen Buddhism. He removed dangerous and painful techniques such as punches and kicks with arms and legs and limited levering techniques. Kano developed falling exercises, the theory of imbalance (Kuzushi) and improved the attack and defense elements. In the period that followed, the Kodokan's broadcast increased steadily. In 1890, an imperial decree introduced judo, among other things, in Japanese schools. In 1896, Kodokan students competed against members of the "Totsuka Jiu-Jitsu" (school). 13 Kodokan students won 15 fights. Kano starts promoting his sport on trips to Europe. Jiu-Jitsu initially received more attention in Germany, mainly because Japanese fighters traveled to large cities and fought wrestlers and boxers in circuses and variety shows.

 In 1906 Erich Rahn founded the first Jiu-Jitsu school in Berlin. However, it was hardly possible to develop the sport on a broad basis; there were only organized teaching activities in the police and in units of the army. World War I stopped the spread of Jiu-Jitsu. The first club was founded in Frankfurt a.M. in 1922. In 1924, the Reichsverband für Jiu-Jitsu was founded, which hosted German championships from 1926. But there was still no uniform form of competition. Judo was only really learned in Germany in 1929, when a London judo team was fighting in German cities. A whole series of associations took over this martial art and joined together in 1932 on the occasion of the 1st International Judo Summer School for German judoring. After the first Japanese Judo Championships had taken place in 1930, the first European Championships were held in Dresden in 1934. den In 1906 Erich Rahn founded the first Jiu-Jitsu school in Berlin. However, it was hardly possible to develop the sport on a broad basis; there were only organized teaching activities in the police and in units of the army. World War I stopped the spread of Jiu-Jitsu. The first club was founded in Frankfurt a.M. in 1922. In 1924, the Reichsverband für Jiu-Jitsu was founded, which hosted German championships from 1926. But there was still no uniform form of competition. Judo was only really learned in Germany in 1929, when a London judo team was fighting in German cities. A whole series of associations took over this martial art and joined together in 1932 on the occasion of the 1st International Judo Summer School for German judoring. After the first Japanese Judo Championships had taken place in 1930, the first European Championships were held in Dresden in 1934.