Judo (柔道, jūdō, Japanese pronunciation: [dʑɯꜜːdoː], lit. "gentle way") is generally categorized as a
modern martial art, which has since evolved into a
combat and
Olympic sport. The sport was originally created in 1882 by
Jigoro Kano (嘉納治五郎) as a physical, mental, and moral
pedagogy in Japan. Judo's most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the objective is to either
throw or
take down an opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue an opponent with a
pin, or force an opponent to submit with a
joint lock or a
choke.
Strikes and thrusts by hands and feet as well as weapons defences are a part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms (
kata, 形) and are not allowed in judo competition or free practice (
randori, 乱取り). A judo practitioner is called a
judoka.
The philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for other modern Japanese martial arts that developed from
koryū (古流, traditional schools). Judo also spawned a number of derivative martial arts across the world, such as
Brazilian jiu-jitsu,
Krav Maga and
Sambo.
