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Home Info Judo
What is Judo?
Judo is a tremendous and dynamic combat sport that demands both physical prowess and great mental discipline. From a standing position, it involves techniques that allow you to lift and throw your opponents onto their backs. On the ground, it includes techniques that allow you to pin your opponents down to the ground, control them, and apply various choke holds or joint locks until submission. [more]
What makes Judo unique compared to other martial arts?
We realize that there are a staggering number of martial art styles and schools to choose from in the San Francisco Bay/Silicon Valley Area. In order to help potential students gain a further understanding of the differences between Judo and other of martial arts, we recommend the Martial Arts FAQ [Frequently Asked Questions] compiled by Matthew Weigel. It provides a pretty fair description and assessment of most of the Martial Art Systems out there. [view the FAQ]
What does the word Judo mean?
"The word judo consists of two Japanese characters, ju, which means "gentle", and do, which means "the way". Judo, therefore, literally means the way of gentleness. Although the gentleness may not be immediately apparent to newcomers who see bodies flying through the air and people pinned to the ground. In the next chapter we will see how the techniques of judo are based on giving in rather than fighting back. It is this principle of gentleness, or yawara (which is the same character as the ju in judo), on which all judo techniques are based."
History of Judo
"The history of judo is the history of the shift from a martial art to a modern sport. It tells first how a man, Jigoro Kano, devoted himself to the education of the youth of his country, blending traditions and modernity, using individual prowess for collective benefits. [more]
How does Judo compare to other sports in terms of exercise value?
Judo is an excellent way to improve strength, flexibility and cardio vascular endurance. Weightlifting can improve one's strength but does little to improve overall flexibility & cardio vascular endurance. Exercise programs that are mainly cardio vascular in nature such as running or biking improve cardio vascular endurance, but do little to improve both upper and lower body strength.
Judo can be one of the most effective activities to 'burn off'calories. Based on a list from Foodanddiet.com, Judo ranks up there with Boxing, Cross-Country Skiing, Jumping Rope [at least 125 skips per minute], Running [10 minute miles] or play squashing in terms of calories used during that activity. Based on which calorie burn calculator you believe, a 180lb person working out at judo will burn up to 921 calories in an hour according to discovery health.com. Based on the healthstatus.com's calorie counter, a judo player will burn 820 calories per hour. Please visit some of these sites to see how Judo stacks up against other exercise activities:
Food & Diet
Discovery Health Channel
Health Status
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