Judo (柔道, jūdō, meaning "gentle way") was created as a physical, mental and moral pedagogy in Japan, in 1882, by Jigoro Kano (嘉納治五郎).

Judo does not involve kicking, punching, or striking and does not use weapons or equipment. Rather, two individuals use balance, power, movement, and gripping of the opponent’s judo uniform or judogi to try to subdue one another. Mastery of judo techniques takes considerable time, effort, and energy and involves rigorous physical and mental training. In its simplest form, character building in judo comes from the ability to be thrown on the mat, and then to get back up and keep fighting. This determination and toughness should never be under valued.  The first step towards success, in any endeavor, is to learn the lesson taught by Kyuzo Mifune-”seven times down, eight times up.”  Or as John Wayne would have put it, “you need to dust yourself off, Pilgrim, and get back on that horse.”