The History of Judo in the UK
Professor Jigoro Kano 1860-1938 was the founder of Judo. He was born in 1860; he graduated with a degree in literature from Tokyo Imperial University in 1881 and took a further degree in philosophy the following year. Apart from being the founder of judo, Kano was a leading educationalist and a prominent figure in the Japanese Olympic movement.
When Kano began his study of ju-jitsu as a young man, the ju-jitsu masters of the martial arts were struggling to earn a living. Although they were willing to teach the skills handed down to them over many generations, there was little interest among people of the succeeding generation, additionally the demise of the samurai (warrior) class had reduced the need for instruction. At the age of 18 Kano studied the ju-jitsu of the Tenshin Shiny Ryu under Fukudo and Iso, both instructors at the prestigious Komu Sho. Following the death of Fukuda, Kano remained briefly with master Iso before finishing his pupilage with master Ilkubo. By 1883, Kano had clarified his analysis of ju-jitsu and related methods to the point at which he felt able to instruct the public through a school of his own. To that end he borrowed a small room at Eishoji temple and opened the first Kodokan for the study of Kano judo.
The British Judo Association
Gunji Koizumi was a pupil of Jigoro Kano and he was the one who brought Judo to the UK. Kano's vision for the growth of judo on an international basis began to materialise in 1948. On 24 July that year the British Judo Association (BJA) was established as the representative national body; four days later a meeting under the chairmanship of Trevor Leggett, the most senior non-Japanese player in the world, approved the constitution of a European Judo Union (EJU) to represent judo in the continent of Europe. Three years later still, the International Judo Federation (IJF) was created as an inter-continental body with overall control of judo.