We would like to introduce you to Tohoku University's Judo Club today.
Judo means "The Gentle Way." It is a Japanese martial art derived from jujutsu. (Source:http://nd.edu/~judo/whatisjudo.htm) If you do an image search for Judo, you will find quite a lot of examples. Judo is one of the various sports clubs and cultural clubs that Tohoku University provides.
The pictures below show judo practice. The Judo Club holds practice 6 times a week for approximately 3 hours. Due to their devoted practice, they have gotten remarkable results at national university judo competitions. Here are some pictures from Randori (free practice), which is the "primary way of practicing and perfecting judo techniques. In randori, two players spar with each other as they might in an actual match." (Source: http://www.nd.edu/~judo/randori.htm )
In the right picture above, you can see two pairs practicing newaza. Newaza are grappling techniques that employ holding, chokes, sleeper holds and joint submission techniques. During newaza, neither combatant stands. (Source:http://www.gws.ne.jp/home/demo2/indexe.html )
There are both male and female members in the Judo Club. Women's Judo is quite popular in Japan.
Below is a picture of an international student who is a member of the Judo Club (the girl in the middle). She comes from Liaoning Province, China. Many students, both from Japan and abroad, join club activities to train themselves in non-academic fields and network with other students at Tohoku University.
Last but not least, here is a message from the members of the Judo Club:
When the earthquake happened, we stayed in Kyoto to participate in judo games.
We couldn't return to Sendai for a few weeks.
Now, thanks for your great help, we can live in Sendai and practice judo again.
We really appreciate your help.
Thank you."
Click here for the Tohoku University Judo Club top page.