Judo

Judo was founded by Jigoro Kano in Japan in 1882. He established the martial art as a physical and moral pedagogy, creating the Kodokan school. Kano later became the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee.

Yes, Judo was introduced as an official Olympic sport for men during the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Women's Judo was added as a demonstration sport in 1988 and became an official medal event at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. It is governed internationally by the International Judo Federation.

Both arts share Japanese origins, but Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu evolved heavily to focus on ground grappling, positional control, and submissions. Judo, conversely, maintains a primary emphasis on standing throws and trips to off-balance the opponent. The ground fighting aspect in Judo, known as newaza, is heavily time-restricted in modern sport competition.

Judo uses the Kyu-Dan ranking system to denote a student's proficiency and experience. Beginners start at Kyu ranks and work their way up to the Dan ranks, which correspond to the black belt. Jigoro Kano was the first martial artist to implement the visible belt system to distinguish between student levels.