What is Judo?
About Judo
Judo is an art, an Olympic sport, and a form of physical fitness. The Kodokan is located in Tokyo, Japan, and was founded in 1882 by Jigoro Kano as the school of Judo. Kano Sensei studied jujutsu under many eminent masters and formulated a new system of bare-handed combat which he named Judo. It means “the Way of gentleness” and utilizes an opponent’s strength against himself. Judo focuses on exercising the entire body and mind while teaching principles of self-defense that can be used by both young and old practitioners. The techniques of Judo are divided into five categories: nage-waza (throwing), osaekomi-waza (pinning), shime-waza (strangulation), kansetsu-waza (joint locking), and atemi-waza (striking).
Kano Sensei’s aim was for the study of Judo to make the body strong, useful, and healthy while building character through mental and moral discipline. This is accomplished by focusing on the three principles of Judo: strength through yielding, maximum efficiency with minimum effort, and mutual welfare and benefit. Not only does understanding these principles begin the process of perfecting the individual it improves the execution of Judo techniques. Since the study of Judo would be incomplete if it only focused on techniques or training to compete in tournaments Kano Sensei promoted Judo as a form of physical fitness as well as a martial art and sport.
About Kodokan Judo of Orlando
Kodokan Judo of Orlando was founded in 1999 by “Dusty” Moore. It was his goal to share the classical martial art of Judo in the same fashion as he was instructed by Kyuzo Mifune during his 15 years of Judo study in Japan. Moore Sensei focused on the perfection of techniques so that they are performed in the most efficient way and using only the necessary strength to defeat your opponent. This approach to Judo allows it to be used effectively by people of all ages and sizes. Moore Sensei’s instruction was styled to mirror his experiences at the Kodokan in Japan. In keeping with this philosophy, the study of kata (prearranged forms) and Tenshin Shin’yo jujutsu are an integral part of the classical Judo curriculum taught at Kodokan Judo of Orlando. In our training we use randori, free practice or sparring, is used to develop the ability to rapidly cope with changing circumstances, build strength and flexibility, and to prepare the mind and body for testing or competition.
Raybourn Sensei began his serious study of Judo over 25 years ago when he became the only high school student to became a member of the Panama Canal College Judo team. He competed in tournaments in the United States and oversees for 15 years before studying under Moore Sensei. While learning the classical Judo curriculum taught by Moore Sensei he was promoted to Yondan (4th degree black belt). In order to preserve the memory of Moore Sensei he teaches the classical Judo curriculum at the Traditional Martial Arts Center.
For more information on Judo classes taught at TMAC please contact
Raybourn Sensei: herbert_raybourn@rcid.dst.fl.us
