History of Zen Judo

    Zen Judo International has it's origins in England. The roots of Zen Judo though trace their way back to Japan and another judo organization that was formed in the 1980s by the Japanese Government, called the Butokukai. The Butokukai was a teachers college for the martial arts. One of the schools most outstanding students, Kenshiro Abbe, moved to England in the 1950s to help spread Judo in England. He formed the British Judo Association (BJA) and the Kyu Shin Do Society. He retired from Judo in the early 60s due to a bad automobile accident and returned to Japan in the late 1960s.

    In the 1970s a political movement within the British Judo Association absorbed the Kyu Shin Do Society. In response to the heavy emphasis on competition in the BJA, one of the members of the Kyu Shin Do Society, Mr. Dominique Mc Carthy, formed Zen Judo.

    Zen Judo, like the Kyu Shin Do Society, does not emphasize competion. The syllabus is also quite different from the Kodokan syllabus of study. The objective of Zen Judo is to develop a strong movement base that is very fluid. Also the moral principles established by Dr. Kano are followed quite closely.

   The Zen Judo Family Tree