Jigoro Kano is credited with introducing judo to Japan in 1882. He was the founder of the Kodokan Judo (the first Judo Academy) that was a synthesis of several schools of jujitsu to which he added ideas taken from interviews, readings and forgotten techniques. Jigoro Kano devoted his life to promoting sport and training new contestants, creating a legacy for today's generations.
In 1909, Japan joined the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and selected Jigoro Kano as its IOC representative. The International Judo Federation (IJF) was established in 1951 and represents 187 member countries in all continents.
The sport is split into several events based on weight categories. Today, there are eight categories for men and eight categories for women. Men's judo was the first Asian sport to be added to the Olympic schedule in the 1964 Tokyo Games. Women's judo developed rapidly after the first World Championships in New York in 1980. It was added to the Olympic schedule in the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.
Judo was first introduced as a demonstration sport at the 3rd Asian Games in 1958 in Tokyo, Japan. In 1986 judo was included as one of the 25 sports at the 10th Asian Games Seoul 1986, and has since been selected as an official sport at all Asian Games.
