Thanks very much from Journalist Patrick Lewis for writing this article.
10) Fictional super spy James Bond has a Judo black belt! Author Ian Fleming who created the British secret agent described him as a judo expert who also knew karate and made sure Bond knew ‘five ways to kill a man with a single blow’. Sean Connery and Roger Moore were both taught basic judo throws prior to filming the early Bond films. It’s not just evil henchmen trying to take over the planet that Bond’s judo was useful for. Check out Goldfinger when Sean Connery won over stunning actress Honor Blackman (Pussy Galore) with a nifty Seoi Nage
9) More people practice judo in France than Japan where judo was founded.
9) More people practice judo in France than Japan where judo was founded.
8) Superman once challenged Chuck Norris to a fight, the loser had to wear his underwear on the outside. When Chuck Norris was born he drove his mum home from the hospital. Of course over the top jokes about Chuck Norris’ ability must connect him to judo in some way! Norris’ introduction to martial arts took place in South Korea after enlisting in the U.S. Air Force in 1958. He left Korea with a brown belt in judo. In his movies he can often be seen executing O Goshi, Uki Goshi, Seoi Nage, Waki Gatame and Tomoe Nage. Another famous brown belt is Laetitia Casta- the official face of L’Oréal, Dior, and Chanel. She appeared on over 100 magazine covers and was Rolling Stone’s Hottest Model of the Year. Other famous judokas include Mel C (Sporty Spice), film director Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes, Snatch, The Real Rock’N Roller) and 80’s hair band Duran Duran lead singer Simon Le Bon and his model wife Yasmin are both judo black belts.
7) At 33 years old Dae-Nam Song from South Korea is the oldest person to ever win a gold medal at the Olympics (London 2012). The record for the youngest judo player to win Olympic gold goes to Kye Sun-Hui from North Korea who won Atlanta 1996 at 17. The most expensive tickets for a judo competition were sold at London 2012.
6) Since the first annual judo competition began in 1884 it is estimated that judo rules have been changed, altered and amended over five thousand times! Fingers, toes, wrists and ankle locks were banned in jujutsu/judo contests in 1899. While many of the modern rules were adopted for safety reasons other changes were adopted to maintain fairness in matches, to penalize passivity and to make Judo more spectator friendly. Judo matches originally had no time limit but in the 1950’s and 60’s the rules called for a maximum of 20 minutes and in the 1970’s the World Championship finals still lasted up to 15 minutes. When Judo became more and more popular match times had to be reduced to the current 5 minute limit. In 1974 the smaller scores of Yuko and Koka were added and a penalty (Shido) for passivity was introduced for the first time. Studies showed that very few contestants escaped from a pin (Osaekomi) in the final few seconds, so in 2000 the rules changed to award a win for a 25 second hold down rather than the previous 30 seconds and then changed again to just 20. Leg grabs were banned in time for the 2012 London Olympics and it is likely the rules will be changed yet again for Rio 2016.
5) Former Judo Olympian and current World UFC Champion Ronda Rousey was woken up in the mornings by her mother who tried to put a Juji Gatami on the sleeping teenager! In 1984 in Vienna, AnnMaria De Mars, Ronda’s mum became the first American (man or woman) to win gold at the World Judo Championships. Ronda was ranked number one in America when she was 16 years old but dropped out of High School and suffered depression when her father committed suicide because of a serious illness. In 2008, at the Beijing Olympics, Ronda lost a close decision in the semifinals then won the next two matches to win bronze—at that time the first American woman who medalled in judo at the Olympics. Moving into MMA she was paid $800 for her first fight which (like the 7 that came after) she won with Juji Gatame. About to star in the Expendables 3 with Sylvester Stallone and Arnold Schwarzenegger and working on other films she is now considered the most bankable MMA star in Hollywood.
4) You can’t register ‘JUDO’ as you own personalized number plate in NSW or in other States in Australia because it’s either taken or unavailable. But if you want to pimp your ride judo style it’s now currently available in Perth! $510 is payable annually to the Western Australian Department of Transport.
3) According to a New York Times article published in 2013 over the past 30 years in Japan, 118 school children have died in judo competitions and nearly 300 have ended up disabled or comatose. The article also goes on to state “the statistics have no parallel in other developed nations where the sport is popular. Officials at judo federations in both the United States and France said that while concussions had been common, there had been no known reports of deaths or traumatic brain injuries for young practitioners in recent decades.” The Japanese Ministry Sports and Youth Bureau has since urged schools to hire only qualified instructors but the issue of using physical force to discipline students remains widespread and controversial.
2) Russian President Vladimir Putin isn’t the only world leader to hold a black belt in judo. Theodore Roosevelt (US President 1901–1909) was the first world leader to learn judo and the first American to reach brown belt. Described as a very keen judoka he took lessons up to three times a week from judo’s first-ever 10th dan, Yamashita Yoshiaki. Roosevelt was instrumental in appointing Yamashita to teach judo at the US Naval Academy. The US Judo Association posthumously promoted him to honourary 8th Dan in 2007.
1) Judo founder Jigaro Kano was just 1.52 metres tall and weighed only 40 kilograms!
Patrick Lewis
