JUDO is the big Martial Art. It became an Olympic sport already in 1964. Judo was the first of the Asian arts to attract high numbers of western practicioners.         Judo is an intense and demanding sport on elite level, with quick throws and strong locks. It's also a charming and joyful activity for children, and good fitness training for adults, whether they want to compete or not. Judo is the soft way, where the opponent is thrown with a minimum of force. Still, there is power in the judo techniques, which need to overcome the opponent's eager resistance.         The locks are also extremely powerful, although applied with supple technique rather than brute force. In the continued struggle between the one who applies the lock and the one trying to break free of it, the techniques of both are evolved. The same development goes on with the judo throws.   Judo practicioners dress in a sturdy judogi made completely out of cotton. It needs to be strong enough to resist a lot of heavy duty wear and tear. Both in the throws and the locks, the dress is grabbed and pulled with quite some force. A good judogi must be made by a fabric that endures such treatment. The demand is the same on the seams of the dress.   These photos were taken by Urszula Striner. Blue: Mikael Marffy, Swedish and Scandiavian Champion 2005. White: Mattias Marffy. Notice that you can click on each picture to see an enlarged version. © SBI Sport AB. All rights reserved. Web design: Stefan Stenudd. Subscribe to our newsletter. KARATE JUDO TAEKWONDO JUJUTSU AIKIDO TAIDO SWORD BUDO-NORD is a brand of quality equipment for the Martial Arts since the 1960's. We are based in Sweden and sell to several European countries. Visit our internet store, by clicking our logotype to the right.