| For the average person on the street, the | | | | if they beat him, he retired undefeated. |
| thought of judo can conjure up images of eastern | | | | In 1920, Tani went on to become an instructor at |
| mysticism and strange-sounding foreign words. | | | | Great Britain's first martial arts club, the Budokwai |
| Certainly judo, which means "the gentle way", has | | | | in London. By this time, the final touches to Kano's |
| its roots in the Far East, owing its origins to the | | | | judo teachings had long since been added and |
| ancient Japanese art of hand-to-hand combat | | | | Japanese experts had emigrated all across the |
| called ju-jutsu. But the popular sport as we know | | | | world to promote the sport. |
| it today is comparatively modern, invented just | | | | Unsurprisingly, judo continued to grow in popularity |
| over 120 years ago by keen academic Dr Jigoro | | | | until the Second World War, when the global |
| Kano. | | | | situation prompted a sudden decline in interest. |
| Judo's spread overseas, however, owed as much | | | | When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, martial |
| to its entertainment value than educational | | | | arts were banned in schools and public institutions |
| benefits in the first few years. In 1899, a team of | | | | in Japan. These restrictions were relaxed in 1951, |
| martial arts experts came to England in an | | | | at the same time that the European Judo |
| attempt to establish a school in London. | | | | Federation was established, three years after the |
| The initial project failed, but some members of | | | | creation of the British Judo Federation. |
| the team remained behind and found success on | | | | Judo made its first appearance in the Olympics at |
| stage, wowing audiences across the country with | | | | the Tokyo Games in 1964. But it had to wait |
| dazzling displays of skill. | | | | another 26 years before it made its |
| The most famous of these was Yukio Tani, who | | | | Commonwealth Games debut in Auckland, New |
| offered challengers or every minute they could | | | | Zealand - its only appearance at the Games until |
| stay on their feet after the five-minute mark and | | | | now. |