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Back in 1860 Jigoro Kano - judo's
founder - was born in Japan. During that time peasants
used forms of ju-jitsu to defend themselves, and when
he was 23 years old, Kano began instructing his own form
of ju-jitsu. He called it Kano Judo.
The judo,
Kano showed his pupils was not just a sport but a way
of life. He based his teachings around the principles
of gentleness. In his own words, "Victory over
the opponent is achieved by giving way to the strength
of the opponent, adapting to it and taking advantage
of it, turning it, in the end to your own advantage."
Kano became the first Asian IOC member
in 1912 and began to travel Internationally promoting
judo as he toured throughout America and Europe. In
1938 Kano died of pneumonia but not before seeing Tokyo
selected as an Olympic site for the 12th Olympic Games.
However, because of the war, those Games
were cancelled - and in the end it wasn't until the
1964 Games in Tokyo that judo became an Olympic sport.
Some three decades later women's judo was included as
an official sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. |
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