EveryDojo

Chapter 6 of 7 · 3 min

Who built judo in Britain?

After the war a London club called the meetings that started British and European judo, and London hosted the birth of the world federation.

Read the version for teenagers and adults

In 1947 Gunji Koizumi and Mikinosuke Kawaishi organised a judo match between Britain and France. It is the first recorded judo match between two countries, and it was later called the Kawaishi Cup. 8,17

Two judo teams kneeling on opposite sides of a mat while two judoka grip in the centre in 1947.

Remember Kawaishi, the teacher who moved from Liverpool to Paris? He had helped to start the French judo federation the year before. 17

Two meetings in one week

In July 1948 the Budokwai called judo people together in London. 7,13,100 On 24 July, at the Imperial College Union, they founded the British Judo Association. 7,13 On 26 and 28 July they met again and started the European Judo Union. Britain, Austria, the Netherlands and Italy voted, and France came along without a vote. 7,34,100

Men and women in 1940s clothes around a long table in a wood panelled London meeting room.

A world federation

On 11 July 1951, in London again, the European members welcomed Argentina, and the International Judo Federation, the IJF, began. Its first president was Aldo Torti, from Italy. 33,64 Today the IJF has more than 200 national federations, and it writes the rules for judo at the Olympic Games. 60,64

Delegates in 1950s suits shaking hands across conference tables in London.

The first World Championships were held in Tokyo in 1956. There were no weight groups, so anyone could fight anyone. 35,64

A British man, Charles Palmer, was president of the IJF from 1965 to 1979. He also led the British Judo Association from 1961 to 1985. 20

More than one family

Not every club joined the British Judo Association. Masutaro Otani came to Britain in 1919 and trained at the Budokwai under Yukio Tani. 14,15 In 1954 his students set up their own society. 14,15

A Japanese teacher showing a throw to British students in a 1950s London dojo.

In 1955 Kenshiro Abbe, a Japanese teacher of judo, aikido and kendo, came to London. 14,16 The British Judo Council says Abbe founded it in 1958, with Otani as its judo master. 121 When Abbe went back to Japan in 1969, Otani became its president. 14,121 Abbe had his own way of thinking about training, called Kyushindo, and the council still teaches it to its young members. 16,123 Otani's son Robin led the council from 1977 to December 2025, and then Robin's son Stuart took over. 121

A Japanese teacher in a hakama leading British students through a calm exercise in a London hall.

The Amateur Judo Association says it has been going since 1955. It was founded by Harry Ewen and Pat Butler. 130

Judo in Britain today

Today British Judo is the body that Sport England recognises for judo. 160 Today it has nearly 900 clubs. 160 Many , people who do judo, train in its clubs.

The Budokwai is still a London club. It moved to Gilston Road in South Kensington in 1954. 7,136

A Victorian brick building with arched doors and a pointed window on a quiet London street.

Quick quiz

Three questions, just for you. Nobody is keeping score.

1. Which London club called the meetings that started the British Judo Association in 1948?

2. Where was the International Judo Federation founded in 1951?

3. Who founded the British Judo Council, according to the council itself?

Next: How did judo get to the Olympic Games?
Previous: How did jujutsu reach the London stage?

Written from checked sources, listed on the sources page. Pictures are drawn, with computer help, under our direction; none shows a real child. Recorded chapters and words are read by a computer voice; a word not yet recorded uses your device's own voice.