WWU Give Day 2022

The sport of Judo first began  in 1882 when Jigoro Kano founded his school, the Kodokan, after studying Jujutsu for 11 years. It was here, at the Kodokan, where Kano would begin to turn Jujutsu from a martial art, to a way of life. Kano believed that through the teachings of Jujutsu, students could find physical and spiritual benefit. It was through this goal of “mutual welfare and benefit for all” that Kano began to refine the teachings of Jujutsu, streamlining the education of techniques, and promoting safe competition that the sport of Jujutsu grew to be more than a martial art, and became Judo a way of life

    Since then Judo has spread across the globe, first arriving in the United States with the establishment of the Seattle Dojo in 1902, and officially entering the Summer Olympic Games in 1964. Over the years  Judo has continued to evolve as an international sport, incorporating techniques introduced by practitioners of other grappling cultures, and regular updates to rules and safety in order to maintain safe competition, and keep up with the modern sentiments of a global audience.

    At our Club here at Western, we hope to make Judo available to everyone in the WWU community, and our current members consist of students, alumni, and even instructors from WWU. We strive to maintain a welcoming inclusive environment to all, and encourage those of all skill levels and backgrounds to try Judo with us! 

Though we took a small hiatus from practicing last year due to covid, we have since partnered with the Whatcom Wrestling Academy, and have resumed our practices off campus. As covid restrictions have been gradually liften, and many events are beginning to reopen, Judo tournaments have also returned to the pacific north-west, and these last few months members of our club competed at the “Battle by the Lake” in Coeur d’Alene on April 9th, and the “Seattle Dojo Annual Judo Tournament” on May 7th with multiple members taking medals in their divisions. Our club also plans to attend the “Inland Empire Judo Classic” on may 28th as well as more events in the fall. In 2020 we received a grant from the Associated Students of  WWU to sponsor a club trip to Japan to study Judo at the kodokan, and establish good rapport with international student populations to encourage foreign exchange students to visit WWU. Unfortunately this trip has also been postponed due to Covid, but we hope to finally make the trip in the summer of 2023. Currently our primary club goals are to re-establish on campus practices, and in the meantime arrange a carpool system to allow better accessibility to the club for students, as well as organizing our trip to Japan.

We greatly appreciate any donations to our club fund. These contributions will go towards supporting student participation in tournaments, our coming trip to japan and other extracurricular events, as well as club materials for when we return to campus. We are very grateful for your generosity and we hope that you might encourage your family and friends to give as well. 

From all of us here at the WWU Judo Club, thank you.