| Sport | Judo |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | BJC |
| Founded | 1958 |
| Affiliation | British Judo Association |
| President | Mr Robin Otani |
| Official website | |
| britishjudocouncil | |
 | |
The British Judo Council (BJC) is a membership organisation and a governing body for Judo in the United Kingdom.
In 1955 Kenshiro Abbe, then a 7th dan Japanese judoka and the highest ranked judoka outside Japan, was invited to Britain on a two year contract to teach Judo at the London Judo Society, a Judo School in South London. [1] Abbe parted ways with the LJS in the following year and started his own school for Judo. He then in 1958 formed the British Judo Council, assisted by William (Bill) Wood his senior student, then a 3rd dan. The British Judo Council subsequently amalgamated with the MOSJ an organisation founded by Masutaro Otani, another high ranking Japanese judoka.
Membership of the BJC grew rapidly through to the early 1960s. Abbe served as president until 1964 when he returned to Japan. Masutaro Otani, in turn, served as BJC president until his death in 1977. The presidency was then filled by Masutaro's son, Robin Otani, who serves as president to the present day.
The BJC was affiliated to the British Judo Association (BJA) in 1994. [2]
The BJC have a more traditional outlook towards Judo than is generally the case in Britain. The traditional white judogi is preferred over the blue judogi that was introduced for international competition. Etiquette is more rigidly adhered to than is often the case in more sport-oriented clubs and organisations. The BJC stress the importance of kata, a view that is not shared by some other large organisational bodies in the UK. [3]
Judo is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport, and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally. Judo was created in 1882 by Kanō Jigorō as an eclectic martial art, distinguishing itself from its predecessors due to an emphasis on "randori" instead of "kata" alongside its removal of striking and weapon training elements. Judo rose to prominence for its dominance over established jujutsu schools in tournaments hosted by the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, resulting in its adoption as the department's primary martial art. A judo practitioner is called a "judoka", and the judo uniform is called "judogi".
Antonius Johannes Geesink was a Dutch 10th dan judoka. He was the first non-Japanese judoka to win gold at the World Judo Championships, a feat he accomplished in 1961 and 1965. He was also an Olympic Champion, having won gold at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Japan, and won a record 21 European Judo Championships during his career.
Arthur Christopher John Soames, Baron Soames, was a British Conservative politician who served as a European Commissioner and the last Governor of Southern Rhodesia. He was previously Member of Parliament (MP) for Bedford from 1950 to 1966. He held several government posts and attained Cabinet rank.
The Budokwai (The Way of Knighthood Society) (武道会, Budōkai, Society of the Martial Way) in London is the oldest Japanese martial arts club in Europe. It was founded in 1918 by Gunji Koizumi and initially offered tuition in jujutsu, kendo, and other Japanese martial arts. It was the first judo club in Europe.
Kazuo Chiba was a Japanese aikido teacher and founder of Birankai International. He served for seven years as uchideshi at the Aikikai Hombu Dojo before being dispatched abroad to help develop Aikido internationally. He held an 8th dan in Aikido, issued by Aikikai world headquarters in Tokyo, Japan and was active in Aikido for over 50 years.
Gunji Koizumi, known affectionately by colleagues as G.K., was a Japanese master of judo who introduced this martial art to the United Kingdom, and came to be known as the 'Father of British Judo.' He was the founder of the Budokwai, a pioneering Japanese martial arts society in England. Koizumi helped establish the British Judo Association, and founded the European Judo Union. He held the rank of 8th dan in judo. Koizumi's apparent suicide in 1965 shocked the worldwide judo community.
Charles Stuart William Palmer was a British martial artist. Palmer was a judo instructor, President of the Budokwai, President of the British Judo Association (1961–1985), President of the International Judo Federation (1965–1979) and Chairman of the British Olympic Association (1983–1988). Palmer was a judoka who attained the sport's highest rank of 10th dan black belt.
The British Judo Association (BJA) is the governing body for the Olympic sport of judo in the United Kingdom. In 2019 there were 35,000 members.
Kyūshindō is a philosophy developed by budō master Kenshiro Abbe in the mid-20th century and which became his central statement for his personal approach to Judo.
Kenshiro Abbe was a prominent Japanese master of judo, aikido, and kendo. He introduced aikido to the United Kingdom in 1955, and founded the Kyushindo system. Abbe was a graduate of the Budo Senmon Gakko, having studied judo and kendo there. Following an illustrious early career in the martial arts, he served in the Imperial Japanese Army before and during World War II. He then trained in aikido under its founder, Morihei Ueshiba, for a decade. Abbe held dan ranks in several martial arts, most notably 8th dan in judo, 6th dan in aikido, and 6th dan in kendo. After introducing aikido to the UK, he established several Japanese martial arts councils there during the late 1950s. He returned to Japan in 1964 and remained there for most of the remainder of his life. There are contradictory accounts of Abbe's final years, but it appears that he was in poor spirits and poor health towards the end.
Bruno Carmeni is an Italian judoka, who started training judo in 1955. He competed at the 1964 Summer Olympics.
Practice of Kaeshi no Kata is almost entirely limited to Great-Britain, where until today it has been understood as a judo kata which, like the Gonosen-no-kata, focuses on counter-attacks to throwing techniques. The kata was commonly explained as being an older form than Gonosen-no-kata, that was passed onto Ōtani Masutarō from Tani Yukio.
In judo, improvement and understanding of the art is denoted by a system of rankings split into kyū and dan grades. These are indicated with various systems of coloured belts, with the black belt indicating a practitioner who has attained a certain level of competence.
Disability judo classification is the medical classification system for disability judo. Judokas with a disability are classified into different categories based on their disability type. The classification is handled by the Blind Sports Association.
The Japanese martial art and combat sport judo has been practised in Canada for over a century. The first long-term judo dojo in Canada, Tai Iku Dojo, was established by a Japanese immigrant named Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki in Vancouver in 1924. Sasaki and his students opened several branch schools in British Columbia and even trained RCMP officers until 1942, when Japanese Canadians were expelled from the Pacific coast and either interned or forced to move elsewhere in Canada due to fears that they were a threat to the country after Japan entered the Second World War. When the war was over, the government gave interned Japanese Canadians two options: resettle in Canada outside of the 'Japanese exclusion zone' or emigrate to Japan.
Judo in the United Kingdom has a long history; the martial art being first introduced in 1899, and the first dojo, the Budokwai, being the oldest in Europe. The British Judo Association is the United Kingdom's official governing body for judo – in which British citizens have won eighteen Olympic medals.
Shigetaka "Steve" Sasaki was a Japanese and Canadian judoka who founded the first judo club in Canada and is considered the 'Father of Canadian Judo'. After establishing the Tai Iku Dojo in Vancouver in 1924, Sasaki and his students opened several branch schools in British Columbia and also trained RCMP officers until 1942, when Japanese Canadians were expelled from the Pacific coast and either interned or forced to move elsewhere in Canada due to fears that they were a threat to the country after Japan entered the Second World War. When the war was over, the government required interned Japanese Canadians to either resettle in Canada outside of British Columbia's 'Japanese exclusion zone' or emigrate to Japan.
JudoScotland is the national governing body for judo in Scotland. It was founded in 1988 to represent Scottish judoka, coaches, referees and officials, clubs and the Scottish National Judo Team. JudoScotland is the sportscotland recognised governing body for the Olympic sport of Judo within Scotland. It is currently situated in Edinburgh International Climbing Arena (EICA) in Ratho.
