Judo in the United States
Overview of Judo in United States / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
There are three main organizations that govern judo in the United States. The United States Judo Federation (USJF) started in 1952. The concentration of the USJF is on the east and west coasts, but also in Chicago and Hawaii. The United States Judo Association (USJA) was founded in 1968 as an extension of the Armed Forces Judo Association (AFJA) when it broke off from the USJF to focus on a more Americanized structure. The USJA is mostly concentrated in California and Florida, but also popular in the Midwest and Southeast. The United States Judo, Inc. (USJI), doing business as USA Judo, was founded in 1978 and has its headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It may be slightly larger than the USJA and USJF, as they have crossover members from both of these organizations, since they are the designated national governing body of the USOC for the Olympics.
Judo in the United States | |
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Country | United States |
Governing body | USA Judo |
National team(s) | United States Olympics team |
International competitions | |
The sport was first introduced to the United States in about 1902 when then US President Theodore Roosevelt, practiced in the White House.[1] Judo began to develop in the 1950s when it became required for the US Air Force. After these advances, it was officially recognized as an AAU sport, and there have been national competitions and tournaments ever since. The United States formed an Olympic team and competed in the 1964 Summer Olympics, which it continues to do to this day. Judo is now practiced by an estimated 100,000 American men, women, and children (25,000 registered in either the USJA, USJF and USA Judo).