Those Samurai wore armor, so they could not punch each other, or kick. Instead they tried to throw their opponents to the ground, and immobilize them. That style of fighting was originally called Jiu-Jitsu. By 1882 Japan had modernized, and no one was wearing armor any more. A brilliant young school teacher named Jigoro Kano studied Jiu-Jitsu, threw away the parts that were no longer relevant, and
modified the rest into a system of fighting that he called Judo (the Gentle Way). Judo soon had two different "baptisms by fire". The Tokyo police department organized a competition between Kano's new Judo school which was called the Kodokan, and several of the old and famous Jiu-Jitsu schools. Judo won convincingly. Later, President Theodore Roosevelt in the United States organized a match between an American wrestler and one of Kano's Judo students. Having proved itself as a marvelous system of fighting and self-defense, Judo began to spread around the world. Like soccer, it never quite caught on in the United States. But also like soccer, it became hugely popular everywhere else. In 1964 Judo became an Olympic sport, and today you can find websites that claim Judo is the second most popular sport in the world. True Judo however, is much more than just a sport. A judo match is very much like life itself. Your adrenaline is pumping, and you are trying as hard as you can to accomplish something. But like as not, you wind up getting boomed down to the ground. (Don't worry, Judo teaches you how to fall.) Why? Because sooner or later life booms everybody down to the ground. What are you going to do? Quit? Or pick yourself up and try again. Judo kids do not quit. They are taught every class to try again. Judo teaches respect, discipline, self-confidence, and sincerity. It also teaches you not to use your abilities for wrongful purposes.
