For those who are new to the world of Judo, you might be wondering about the safety of Judo. Participating in Judo does come with risks. While injuries can occur in any sport, precaution and expert coaching help alleviate the risks. The same applies to the sport of Judo.
When Judo is taught properly, the chances of serious injuries are reduced. A good Sensei ensures safe practice and ensures that his students are not injured during a Judo session. After all, the purpose of Judo is not to hurt others, and doing so will not help students develop mental discipline and self-confidence.
A dojo that reflects professionalism, directed by Kodokan principles will be clean and will have mats in excellent condition.
Instructors teach students to break the fall. New Judo practitioners are taught Ukemi, a fundamental technique to fall safely without being injured. Instructors keep a close eye on new students and teach them to throw and break the fall effectively.
It is also important that the instructors who are teaching Judo should be higher-ranking Judo practitioners. This helps new students to learn Judo more safely and effectively. For example, Sensei teaches new students to practice throws slowly to help them develop muscle memory and technique. This is imperative for the practitioner and his/her partner are learning Judo.
A common practice in Judo is to teach students to warm up properly before a session. Sensei employs simple aerobic exercises and stretches to help the students get their muscles ready.
Another topic that requires attention is randori. First, it is important to understand that the purpose of randori is to improve your stand-up technique. The real value of randori can be utilized once the student has developed throwing skills and breaking the fall when thrown on the mat. Judo is not about hurting others. It is about having fun with others. Like any other sport, Judo has safety measures for new students.
Over the years Judo has removed certain techniques which are banned from competition. As Judo is an Olympic sport as has removed some techniques which can cause injuries and for the safety of competitors such as wrist locks, shoulder locks, knee locks, ankle locks and neck cranks.
