MAIN Sports 2012 Summer Olympics Judo

Originating from the ancient techniques of jujitso practiced by sumurai warriors, judo is today a very competitive event, and it's at the Olympic Games where the top martial artists from around the world gather to showcase their skills.

Similar to Western-style wrestling, contestants square off against each other on a mat. The object is to throw their opponent to the floor, and to pin them down using several different moves including choke, strangle hold, and armlock.

Points are scored for several different styles of throws and moves, with the highest scorer declared the winner. If there is no definitive winner after a five minute match, a sudden-death overtime ("golden score period") is called wherein the first fighter to score a point is declared the victor.

Judo made its Olympic debut at the Tokyo Games in its home country of Japan in 1964.

Since then, the programme has been extended to include seven weight classes for men and seven for women ranging from heavyweight to extra lightweight.

The women's event was introduced as a demonstration sport in Seoul in 1988 and was later instated as a full Olympic sport at the Barcelona Games in 1992.

More information about Olympic judo around the Web:

International Judo Federation - Good information on the sport of judo and updates on the Olympics from all the lands participating. The president of the Federation is a member of the IOC, so there is a very strong Olympics focus to this site.

International Olympic Committee - Judo - Good historical overview plus pdates on competitions, profiles of Olympic judo champions, related photo gallery and Flash presentations plus more on heavyweight, middle-weight and light-weight events.

USA Judo - Official home of Team USA with news & updates on national and international competitions, athlete profiles, related photos & Webcasts, event calendar.

NBC Olympics - Judo - Athlete profiles and who to watch, complete U.S. TV schedule, photos & video clips, the latest updates and fan forum postings.

BBC Olympics - Judo - UK star athlete profiles, the latest updates, video reports and photos.

Judo Inside - This UK-based site covers international judo with a heavy emphasis on the games. Added interest features include polls on who you think will take the gold home and more...

EdGate Summer Games Spotlight Judo - Check out the collection of links and judo information at this site. Brief coverage of the sport with links to help you learn more and follow the games in Athens with lesson plans and paralympics coverage.

Judo Info - While the Olympic Games don't feature prominently on this site, it is one of the best comprehensive judo sites online. The background, history, rules, articles and other info here is supplemented with lots of related resources.

British Judo Association - Very definite national viewpoint, but good overall judo updates, especially if you're following the UK squad.

also see in Sports -> Karate | Taekwondo