Judo, which means ‘the gentle way’, is a martial art that originated in Japan in 1882. Whilst it originated as a physical, mental and moral way of life it has evolved into a modern martial art, with practitioners competing at the olympics and utilising the techniques inside the MMA octagon. Throws and takedowns feature heavily in Judo, and are followed up by pinning your opponent or submitting them with a joint lock or choke. This makes it a very popular choice for MMA fighters, the most famous recent Judoka in MMA being Ronda Rousey.
A Brief History of Judo
