Judo news by topic
Obituaries, interviews, kata, Kodokan and Kano history, research and features from beyond the scoreboard.
Judo News / History & Culture
Researchers, coaches and judo experts met at the University of Tsukuba from 1 to 3 October to examine how Jigoro Kano’s ideas can inform education today, in a conference supported by the International Judo Federation and the Kodokan.
Judo News / History & Culture
Tesla's new Roadster left the ramp and turned in mid-air on 15 October 2026, turning the future we imagined as children into something closer to reality. In a future like that, will there still be judo?
Judo News / History & Culture
Hitomi Ikeda was Naori Hamada's training partner at the Self-Defense Forces school and watched her win Tokyo 2020 gold from an empty Budokan. She is now head coach of the women's judo team at Okinawa Shogaku High School.
Judo News / History & Culture
The Azerbaijan National Carpet Museum opened Woven into History during the Baku 2026 World Judo Championships, displaying eight opening-ceremony costumes designed by Laman Suleymanova beside the historic carpets that inspired them.
Judo News / History & Culture
British Judo is highlighting the Northern Ireland Judo Federation's Breakfalls for Life programme, which uses judo's first lesson — learning to fall safely — to open conversations about mental wellbeing, resilience and self-care, ahead of World Mental Health Day on 10 October.
Judo News / History & Culture
Iteya Genta and Iwanaga Kento, the 2025 world champions in men's nage-no-kata, give a seminar at the Kodokan in Tokyo on 14 November 2026, organised by the Tokyo Judo Federation, for 1,500 yen.
Judo News / History & Culture
Judo's overseas competition season is back. The FBI, Hong Kong's HKCERT, Singapore's cyber security agency and police, and China's State Security Ministry have all warned about public USB charging ports. A 2025 USENIX Security study showed the newest attacks can bypass some existing phone protections.
Judo News / History & Culture
World champion Joshiro Maruyama has moved to Switzerland with his family. Why Switzerland, how the move unfolded from April 2026, his current work, his judo teaching at École Mont-Olivet and what comes next.
Judo News / History & Culture
At HYROX Beijing on September 12, Australian athlete Joanna Wietrzyk suffered bowel incontinence during the ra…
Judo News / History & Culture
Waymo, GO and Nihon Kotsu have set out the next stage of their partnership, targeting Japan's first Level 4 fully driverless commercial taxi service in Tokyo in 2027, starting with a small fleet and scaling to around 100 vehicles.
Judo News / History & Culture
In an EJU interview, Italy's Odette Giuffrida reflects on ageing, the periods she considered stopping judo, and her aim of returning to the top of the -52 kg category on the road to Los Angeles 2028.
Judo News / History & Culture
In the latest IJF JudoPod episode, former US national-team judoka Justin Flores talks about a career rebuilt around efficiency and timing after 12 knee surgeries and seven ACL tears.
Judo News / History & Culture
On September 11, 2001, judo black belt Jeremy Glick boarded United Flight 93. Twenty-five years on, we look back at his name and the choice made that morning.
Judo News / History & Culture
An Ba-ul, Olympic silver medallist in the men's -66 kg at Rio 2016 and bronze medallist at Tokyo 2020, says he will end his competitive career at the end of 2026 and move into coaching.
Judo News / History & Culture
Olympic champions Hifumi and Uta Abe completed the second year of their three-year California training camp, a 12-day stay in July aimed at preparing for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
Judo News / History & Culture
Yoshimi Masaki, the 1985 men's open-weight world champion who later coached Tenri University and the Japanese national team, died on 30 August aged 64.
Judo News / History & Culture
Catastrophic floods in Nepal's Rasuwa, Betrawati and Nuwakot areas on 26 August hit the local judo community hard: at least eight young judoka confirmed dead, relief organised by the judo family.
Judo News / History & Culture
Former Japan judo representative Kosuke Mashiyama has acquired Mongolian nationality and will compete for Mongolia from next year, seeking the World Championships and the Olympics.
Judo News / History & Culture
Hong Kong and international research suggests pandemic restrictions may have altered some children's opportunities for face-to-face interaction, play and movement. A new school year can help them rebuild those experiences.
Judo News / History & Culture
Double world champion Joshiro Maruyama retired from competition in February 2025 and now teaches judo at Ecole Mont-Olivet in Switzerland, where his inclusive kata with Petra Orešković lit up the Lausanne Grand Slam.
Judo News / History & Culture
A serious neck injury at a no-gi jiu-jitsu competition in Brazil raises a question Jigoro Kano confronted more than a century ago: do rules restrict martial arts, or protect them?
Judo News / History & Culture
Humanoid robots have outrun the human 100m record in Beijing. In a future where machines surpass us, real experience is what only sport and judo can give children.
Judo News / History & Culture
Former Ecuador national-team judoka Roberto Danin, owner of Baterias Dacar, describes how judo development can run on education, scholarships and long-term private support.
Judo News / History & Culture
Han Ho San, the Korean-born coach who spent 35 years with the German national team and was named honorary national coach, has died aged 87.
Judo News / History & Culture
An international judo training camp concluded in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 5 to 15 August, bringing together more than 700 judoka from 30 countries at the Olympic Training Base.
Judo News / History & Culture
JUDO4LLC, a European project co-funded by the Erasmus+ Sport programme, helps judo clubs become centres of lifelong learning and community development.
Judo News / History & Culture
Typhoon Dolphin is affecting East and Southeast Asia. Judo practitioners planning trips to Japan or Hong Kong should monitor flight schedules and prepare for disruptions.
Judo News / History & Culture
Teddy Riner returns to Egypt's North Coast for the second Judo on the Beach programme, training 350 young judoka as part of the Yalla Sahel summer initiative.
Judo News / History & Culture
The Kodokan publishes its August 2026 judo magazine, covering spring red-and-white contest, dan-grade system, kata seminars, judo history and competition reports.
Judo News / History & Culture
A new study suggests that among teenagers with attention disorders, those who follow a Mediterranean-style diet and consume specific vitamins perform significantly better on cognitive tests.
Judo News / History & Culture
Telma Monteiro reflects on six Olympic cycles, visualisation, psychological support, rule changes, social media pressure and accepting the end of her competitive career.
Judo News / History & Culture
Members of the Indian judo team arrived in Glasgow for the 2026 Commonwealth Games to find their checked luggage, including competition judogis and training gear, had been lost by the airline.
Judo News / History & Culture
Misato Nakamura and Maria Centracchio led a three-day technical seminar alongside the Baku Judo Hopes Tournament, which brought together 289 young judoka.
Judo News / History & Culture
The Bangkok BTS incident offers a reminder that Judo education includes respect, emotional control, discipline and responsibility.
Judo News / History & Culture
In JJ Voice No. 184, former JR East women’s judo athlete Azusa Eiro reflects on an ACL injury, her competitive career, work and family life.
Judo News / History & Culture
The familiar values of politeness, courage, sincerity, honour, modesty, respect, self-control and friendship were formally organised in France in 1985.
Judo News / History & Culture
The Sarajevo European Open offers a look at the technical work behind live judo, from replays and scoring to contest data, call-room operations and referee review.
Judo News / History & Culture
Late-night World Cup viewing can leave judoka slower to react, less powerful and less controlled on the mat. Research links sleep loss with changes in attention, strength, high-intensity performance and perceived effort.
Judo News / History & Culture
The All Japan Judo Federation is training coaches to design judo lessons around children’s physical development stages.
Judo News / History & Culture
Japan’s 13th Judo Medical Science Research Conference will focus on first aid, medical support and safety in judo events.
Judo News / History & Culture
The first part of the Kodokan Judo Summer Course began on 11 July, with an eight-day programme covering seven kata disciplines and a final demonstration.
Judo News / History & Culture
Football has moved into the era of VAR, semi-automated offside and multi-camera analysis, while judo is developing from IJF Video Replay toward video annotation, posture analysis and match summarisation.
Judo News / History & Culture
Kodokan’s 2026 summer courses include youth, women’s and instructor courses, showing judo as a structured system of education beyond competition results.
Judo News / History & Culture
The Kodokan has published the contents of its July 2026 Judo magazine, covering the high-dan tournament, kata seminars, youth judo and judo history.
Judo News / History & Culture
The AJJF public-relations magazine Mind has published issue 48 in a free web edition, alongside a back-catalogue of issues 27 through 47 readable on any de...
Judo News / History & Culture
Kodokan 9-dan and council member Chiba Midori, born in Iwate, contributes a reflective piece looking back on 85 years of life and a lifetime devoted to jud...
