History

At the age of 16 he wanted to learn jiu-jitse. He had heared that with the help of jiu-jitsu techniques a smaller man could beat a bigger man in combat. He soon noticed that it wasn't so easy, the jiu-jitsu trainings where asking a lot of him. Nevertheless he continued and he became een stronger but was often covered with bandages, so he got the nickname 'Bansoko'. (the bandage) Hitting people with your fists, kicking people with your feet and punching with fingers were all allowed jiu-jitsu techniques. During the time that Jigoro Kano went to jiu-jitsu class a lot of japanese where quiting jiu-jitsu. American and European sports, such as baseball, were gaining popularity in Japan. When Jigoro Kano's jiu-jitsu teacher died Kano got his notes. Maybe that's the reason why Kano never stopped wanting to learn from different arts of jiu-jitsu, boxing and wrestling. In his opinion jiu-jitsu was a good sport but he wasn't quite satisfied, so he seeked, he tought and he tried until he found what he was looking for. The by then 22-year old, intelligent university student called his creation 'Kodokan Judo'. According to Jigoro Kano jiu-jitsu was to agressive, Kodokan Judo was safer to practice and therefor more trainable and nicer to watch.