Judo at 2008 Summer Games: Judo is an extreme combat sport. In Japanese, the meaning of "judo" is "the gentle way". The sport judo needs both physical power and mental strength to excel in the field. Judo was founded in Japan in 1882 by Dr. Jigoro Kano. The sport is a successor of jujutsu. Judo is one of the main forms of wrestling contested at international level. The competitors in a judo competition are called "judoka". The judokas acquire various techniques of lifting and throwing the opponent on the ground. The opponent has to be thrown on his back. The organization, which governs the sport at international level, is the International Judo Federation or the IJF.
Judo in the Summer Games: Judo was included in the Olympic schedule in the 1964 Tokyo Summer Games. The sport was dropped from the schedule in the 1968 Games. The sport event reappeared in the program during the 1972 Games. Only men were allowed to participate in the Olympic judo competition till 1988 Summer Games. Women's judo was introduced as a demonstration sport in the 1988 Seoul Summer Games. Women's event got the status of a full medal sport in the 1992 Barcelona Summer Games. Judokas are divided into two groups during a competition. The judo competition is held in a single elimination round. The durations of men's and women's combats are five minutes and four minutes respectively. The events held during the Olympic judo competition are-
Rules of Judo: The International Judo Federation or the IJF is authorized to set rules for judo held at international level. Some of the rules are-
Medal winners in Judo: Keiko Fukuda, Masahiko Kimura, Gunji Koizumi, Kyuzo Mifune, Tadashiro Nomura, Ryoko Tani, Yasuhiro Yamashita, Hidehiko Yoshida, James Bregman, Ron Tripp, Mike Swain, Philip S. Porter, Jimmy Pedro, Jason Morris, George Harris, Allen Coage, Charlie Palmer, Brian Jacks, Neil Adams, Doug Rogers, Wim Ruska, Anton Geesink, Pawel Nastula, Jacques Legrand, David Douillet, Peter Seisenbacher, Daima Beltran and Estela Rodriguez are some of the famous judokas of the world.
