Atlanta, 20 July 1996, Games of the XXVI Olympiad. Judo heavyweight final bout: Ernesto PEREZ LOBO of Spain versus David DOUILLET of France. DOUILLET won the gold medal. Credit: Getty Images

Judo means "the gentle way" in Japanese. Of course, it is derived in part from jujitsu, the hand-to-hand combat technique of ancient samurai warriors, and everything is relative. While throwing opponents to the floor wins most matches, it is the only Olympic sport where submission holds allow choking an opponent or breaking an arm.

Developed by Dr Jigoro Kano in the 1880s, the sport broke into the Olympic Games in 1964 at Tokyo. The host country could add one sport, and Japan chose judo. Four weight classes were established, and Japanese entries promptly won three.

However, in the fourth, the open class, a 1.98-metre Dutchman named Anton Geesink defeated three-time Japanese national champion Kaminaga Akio before 15,000 people at Nippon Budokan Hall. And then he beat him again. It followed victories earlier in the year over other top Japanese opponents, deeply bruising the theory that a skilled judoka could defeat any opponent of any size.

Discipline's origin

Judo is a traditional Japanese wrestling sport. The word ju-do means the "gentle way." The term first appears in the 1st century chronicles of Chinese emperor Kuang Wu. The first part of the word, ju, means gentleness or pliancy, and reflects the fact that judo emphasises yielding to an opponent's strength to overcome them, rather than attempting to defeat them by force. Do is a Japanese term meaning "the way" and is similar to the Chinese tao.

Judo was developed in Japan from the older schools of jujitsu, a term meaning "gentle technique." In the 19th century, various judo schools began to develop techniques differing from jujitsu. Dr. Jigoro Kano (1860-1938) combined the features of the various schools of the sport and codified the rules. Kano stressed the philosophical tenets of judo and eliminated many of the dangerous parts of jujitsu. Kano developed what is termed Kodokan judo, opening his first school, or dojo, in 1882. Kano was a long-time member of the International Olympic Committee.

Judo developed slowly in other nations, with the first international match taking place in 1926 between the Japanese Budokwai School and a German national team.

Judo equipment

   Tape

   Two pieces of tape, one blue and one white, appear on the middle of the contest area.

   The mat

   The competition area in judo is comprised of vinyl-covered foam mats, or tatami.

   Uniforms

   The judoka wear loose-fitting judo uniforms called judogi, consisting of pants, a jacket and a belt tied at the waist

Rules

Scoring waza ari / Scoring yuko / Scoring koka

The referee annouces waza ari when in his opinion the applied technique corresponds to the following criteria :

(a) when a contestant, with control, throws the other contestant, but the technique is partially lacking in one of the three elements necessary for ippon (largely on the back, force, speed)

(b) when a contestant holds with osaekomi waza the other contestant who is unable to get away for 20 seconds or more, but less than 25 seconds.

The referee annouces yuko

(a) when a contestant, with control, throws the other contestant but the technique is partially lacking in two of the other three elements necessary for ippon

(b) when a contestant holds with osaekomi waza the other contestant who is unable to get away for 15 seconds or more but less than 20 seconds.

The referee annouces koka

(a) when in his opinion a contestant, with control, throws the other contestant onto one shoulder, or the thigh(s), or buttocks with speed and force.

(b) when a contestant holds with osaekomi waza the other contestant who is unable to get away for 10 seconds or more but less than 15 seconds.

Scoring ippon

When ippon is scored, the fight is over. The referee annouces ippon when in his opinion an applied technique corresponds to the following criteria :

(a) when a contestant, in a controlled movement, throws the other contestant largely on his back with considerable force and speed

(b) when a contestant holds with osaekomi waza (grappling technique) the other contestant who is unable to get away for 25 seconds after the announcement of os