Why "Judo for All"?

There are many notions of “judo for all”. Some regard it as an extension of or the judo aspect of “Sports For All”. Others use it loosely to promote judo or use it as memorable term in marketing the idea or simply as means to satisfy the equal opportunity requirements of the funding bodies, aiming mostly to increase participation in judo. Actually, almost everybody uses this term to portray their organisations’ attractive and inclusive attitude towards new participants.

European representatives of the World Judo Federation gathered in Jesi, Ancona, Italy on the weekend of 27/28th October to breathe new life into the old traditions of Kodokan Judo. In what is a major attempt to reclaim the original values of Judo, nineteen senior dan grades from Italy and the UK, led by 9th Dan Alfredo Vismara and 6th Dan Sampson Sampson, hammered out a set of contest rules that they hope will eliminate the ego and money driven aspects of the martial art that has seen Olympic Judo reduced to what they see as little more than wrestling in white suits.

It is 130 years this year that Dr. Jigoro Kano, the founder of Judo, established the Kodokan in Japan. October 28th, also coincides with his birthday. The 3-day event, scheduled for 27-29 October 2012, in Jesi (Ancona) in Italy, aims to bring together and unite the genuine followers of Dr Jigoro Kano’s judo, the Traditional Kodokan Judo.

The event is jointly organised by the Federation of Traditional Judo of Italy (FIJT) and Judo For All UK (JFAUK) under the auspices of World Judo Federation (WJF) that has enshrined the very concepts of Traditional Kodokan judo and “judo for all” in its founding documents.