About Us
Judo was created in 1882 by Dr. Jigoro Kano as a new form of what was then Japanese Jujutsu. Dr. Kano’s vision for Judo was “Maximum efficiency, minimum effort” and “Mutual welfare and benefit.” To distinguish his art from Jujutsu, he changed the name to Judo, or the “Gentle Way”. Dr. Kano felt that conforming to these ideas was the basis for self-improvement and the betterment of society. At Cumming Martial Arts Center, we also believe these concepts should be applied not only in Judo but in everyday life.
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Judo has been an Olympic sport since 1964. It is considered the second most popular sport in the world behind soccer and is also the foundation from which Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu was developed.
​​Our school incorporates both Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Judo into lessons for a comprehensive approach to grappling. Our students learn both the sports and self-defense aspects of the martial arts.
The self-defense aspect includes learning and applying striking (punches, kicks, palm strikes) effectively, combined with grappling (takedowns, sweeps, and throws) and groundwork (pins, arm bars, chokes, and joint manipulation). This approach provides a highly effective form of mixed martial arts for self-defense.
The sports aspects are martial arts, specific (Judo and BJJ), and include learning the rules of competition, competition strategies, how to avoid penalties, and constant updates to the lesson plans based on current IJF/USA Judo and IBJJF rules. Dr. Gary Berliner has served as head referee for USA Judo and ensures that our competitive Judokas are educated in IJF rules. Similarly, Professor Jeff Donovan is IBJJF (International Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Federation) certified and actively teaches effective point strategies in BJJ for when a submission isn't available.
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We have found that our approach to Judo and BJJ is a highly effective approach for training wrestlers in both folk and free style. We encourage our martial artists to actively cross train, and do not prohibit our students from competition in Judo/BJJ tournaments while they are in wrestling season.
