The British Judo Council (BJC) is a membership organisation and governing body for Judo

Judo

is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

 in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

.

History

In 1955 Kenshiro Abbe

Kenshiro Abbe

was a prominent Japanese master of judo, aikido, and kendo. He introduced aikido to the United Kingdom in 1955, and founded the Kyushindo system. Abbe was a graduate of the famous Budo Senmon Gakko, having studied judo and kendo there. Following an illustrious early career in the martial arts, he...

, then a 7th dan Japanese judoka and the highest ranked judoka outside of Japan, was invited to Britain on a two year contract to teach Judo

Judo

is a modern martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw or takedown one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an...

 at the London Judo Society, a Judo School in South London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

. Abbe parted ways with the LJS in the following year and started his own school for Judo. He formed the British Judo Council in 1958, soon being joined by another high-ranked Japanese judoka living in Britain, Masutaro Otani.

Membership of the BJC grew rapidly through to the early 1960s. Abbe served as president until 1964 when he returned to Japan. Masutaro Otani, in turn, served as BJC president until his death in 1977. The presidency was then filled by Otani's son, Robin Otani, who serves as president to the present day.

The BJC was affiliated to the British Judo Association (BJA) in 1994.

Philosophy

The BJC have a more traditional outlook towards Judo than is generally the case in Britain. The traditional white judogi is preferred over the more recent blue judogi that was introduced for international competition. Etiquette is more rigidly adhered to than is often the case in more sport oriented clubs and organisations. The BJC stress the importance of kata, a view that is not shared by some other large organisational bodies in the UK.