A grappling sport built on throwing: get your opponent's back to the mat cleanly and the contest ends immediately. Eight tools take you from confused to the sharpest eye in the room.
Try it freeEverything you need before the next match — one sitting.
FreeThe rules everyone argues about, explained principle-first.
What every player is actually for — and how to watch them.
Shapes, tactics and momentum: see what the experts see.
Why that was hard — the difficulty the camera hides.
Signals, reviews and respect: the officials decoded.
A live focus plan for your next viewing.
Your score across five dimensions — watch it grow.
How the free tier works: one Try It Out preview gives you the Watch-Ready crash course (tool 1) of every sport — not just this one — so you can sample the whole platform. The Season Pass then opens all eight tools of every module, the cross-sport toolkit, and your full SpectatorIQ.
A grappling sport built on throwing: get your opponent's back to the mat cleanly and the contest ends immediately. Failing that, pins, armlocks and strangles on the ground. Founded in Japan in 1882 and Olympic since 1964.
Japan is the spiritual and competitive home. France has the largest membership of any country, and Georgia, Russia, Brazil, South Korea, Mongolia, the Netherlands and Uzbekistan are all major forces.
Children commonly start at five or six; judo's belt system gives a clear ladder. Veterans' competition runs by decade well past sixty, and it is widely taught for the falling skills alone.
Japan and France, then Georgia, Brazil and South Korea.
Judo South Africa runs a national grading and competition structure, and South African judoka compete regularly on the African circuit and at Olympic level.
Dojos grade beginners from white belt at any age.
A throw · The grip fight · A groundwork hold or submission · A counter / reversal · Nerve & composure
Facts here are the best we could verify, and estimates say so. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and it gets fixed.
Your Sports Passport collects a SpectatorIQ stamp for every code you learn — and the Couch-to-Club bridge turns watching into playing whenever you're ready.
Explore the other sports