Judo
Japanese judoka Hirotaka Kato in action
Judo 柔道 - literally means "The Way of Gentliness". The kanji 柔 "ju" is originally took from Chinese military saying that "softness wins hardness".
Judo is interesting martial art. It's very technical and also physical one, there are various moves, rolls, throws, pins, chokes, joint-locks. The primary focus is however on throwing and groundwork.
Judo is based on the thinking that there are two main phases of the combat, standing (tachi-waza) and the ground (ne-waza). There are different techniques for each phase. Some judokas specialize in one phase while being weak in the other, but most of judokas are more or less proficient in both phases. In judos sparring, known as randori, is essential. Muscle practise is important also in judo, as well as the actual reaction time.
Judokas wear white cotton training wear called judogi. Sometimes it's simply called "gi", uniform. The uniform has simply pants and white strong cotton jacket which is fastened by belt indicating the rank of judoka by it's color.
As other Japanese martial arts, judo also emphasizes self-cultivation and inner spirit. Russian President Vladimir Putin is a known judoka.
