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60 free Judo trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
This judo trivia quiz starts with a bullied schoolboy in 1870s Tokyo and ends on an Olympic mat. The history questions cover the jujutsu schools Kanō learned from, the temple where the Kodokan began on twelve mats, the police tournaments that made judo's name, the first black belts ever awarded, the demonstration for Ulysses S. Grant, and Kanō's death at sea on his way home from the IOC. Then the rules and the sport: what ippon means and how long a pin must last, waza-ari and shido, the one joint you may lock, the seven weight classes, blue and white judogi, golden score. The competitors range from Anton Geesink silencing Tokyo in 1964 to Teddy Riner's 154-fight streak, Tadahiro Nomura's three golds, Yasuhiro Yamashita, Ronda Rousey and Kayla Harrison, plus the sambo, Brazilian jiu-jitsu and Vladimir Putin connections. Every answer has been checked against the Wikipedia articles on judo, its founder, the Kodokan, the Olympic competition and the individual champions, and each explanation adds one detail worth remembering. BrainPickle has separate quizzes on karate and on martial arts in general.
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Q 01What does the word 'judo' literally mean?
Gentle way
The 'do' suffix marks it as a way of life rather than a mere fighting technique, as in kendo and aikido.
Q 02Who created judo in 1882?
Kanō Jigorō
A small, bullied schoolboy of 41 kilograms, he took up jujutsu to defend himself and ended up reinventing it.
Q 03From which older Japanese fighting art was judo primarily developed?
Jujutsu (jiu-jitsu)
Kanō drew mainly on the Tenjin Shin'yō-ryū and Kitō-ryū schools, dropping their blows and armed techniques and stressing free sparring.
Q 04What is judo's word for free sparring, which Kanō emphasised over pre-arranged forms?
Randori
His first teacher, Fukuda Hachinosuke, ran a nine-mat dojo with five pupils and prized technique over formal exercise, planting the idea.
Q 05Which two things, though present in some kata, are illegal in judo competition?
Strikes and weapons
The goal in a contest is a forceful throw onto the back, a pin, or a submission by joint lock or choke.
Q 06Where did Kanō found his first dojo in February 1882?
A Buddhist temple in Tokyo
The Eisho-ji training area was just twelve tatami mats; the school took its famous name two years later.
Q 07What does the name of judo's headquarters, the Kodokan, mean?
Place for expounding the way
It began on twelve mats in a temple, moved to 40 mats in 1887 and 107 in 1894, and is now an eight-storey building in Tokyo.
Q 08Which competition first made judo's reputation by beating the old jujutsu schools?
Tokyo Metropolitan Police tournaments
The police department adopted judo as its primary martial art after those bouts.
Q 09What are judo's two guiding principles?
Maximum efficiency and mutual welfare
Seiryoku zen'yō and jita kyōei; Kanō illustrated the first with 'softness controls hardness'.
Q 10Which two students received the first shodan grades ever awarded in any martial art, in 1883?
Tomita Tsunejirō and Shiro Saigo
They were the Kodokan's first two resident and non-resident students; the black-belt idea spread from judo to karate and beyond.
Q 11What is the highest score in a judo contest, ending it immediately?
Ippon
It literally means 'one full point'; a throw with force and control onto the back earns it, and so does a 20-second pin.
Q 12Two of which lesser score add up to an ippon?
Waza-ari
In 2017 the IJF scrapped yuko altogether, folding it into waza-ari, so a bout is now scored on just two values.
Q 13How long must a pin be held to score ippon in groundwork?
20 seconds
A submission is signalled by tapping the mat or the opponent at least twice, or by saying 'maitta', 'I surrender'.
What is a shido?
Q 21In which year did women's judo become an official Olympic medal event?
1992
It had appeared as a demonstration sport at Seoul in 1988, where Lynn Roethke's silver did not count in the US medal table.
Q 22Which Games first hosted judo's mixed team event, with three men and three women per side?
Tokyo 2020
Each team fields -73, -90 and +90 kg men against -57, -70 and +70 kg women from the rival nation.
Q 23How many weight divisions per sex did judo use at the Paris 2024 Olympics?
Seven
The Olympics have used between four and eight divisions over the years, and two bronze medals are awarded in every class.
A penalty for a minor infringement
It literally means 'guidance'; it can also be given for prolonged non-aggression, and shidos decide a tie only after golden score.
Q 15Which joint is the only one that may be attacked with locks in competitive judo?
The elbow
Locks on other joints survive only in kata such as the Katame-no-kata and the Kodokan goshin jutsu.
Q 16What are judo's three basic categories of technique?
Throwing, grappling and striking
Nage-waza, katame-waza and atemi-waza; the strikes survive only in kata and are banned in contest.
Q 17How many kata did the Kodokan officially recognise as of 2025?
Ten
They include the Nage-no-kata's fifteen throws and the Kime-no-kata's defences against dagger and sword.
Q 18At which Olympics did judo make its debut as a medal sport?
Tokyo 1964
The IOC had voted it in at a session in Rome in 1960; it was dropped again for 1968 amid protests and has been back ever since.
Q 19Which Dutchman stunned the host nation by winning the open-weight gold at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics?
Anton Geesink
He beat Akio Kaminaga in the final; he had already become the first non-Japanese world champion in 1961.
Q 20How many European Championships did the 1964 Dutch Olympic champion win, a record?
21
He was later promoted to 10th dan; his 1961 world title was the first by a non-Japanese judoka.
Q 24What two colours of judogi are permitted in official international competition?
White and blue
One contestant in each match is designated to wear blue so referees and spectators can tell them apart.
Q 25Which Frenchman is the only judoka to have won twelve World Championship gold medals?
Teddy Riner
He went unbeaten for 154 fights between October 2010 and February 2020 and won Olympic heavyweight gold in 2012, 2016 and 2024.
Q 26How many consecutive wins did the French heavyweight have before Kokoro Kageura ended his streak in 2020?
154
The run had lasted almost a decade; his three individual Olympic golds came in the +100 kg class.
Q 27Which Japanese judoka is the only man to win three consecutive individual Olympic golds, all at -60 kg?
Tadahiro Nomura
He took the extra-lightweight title in 1996, 2000 and 2004.
Q 28Which American won the first US women's Olympic judo medal, bronze in 2008, before conquering MMA?
Ronda Rousey
Her mother AnnMaria De Mars had been the first American to win a World Judo Championship, in 1984.
Q 29Which American won Olympic judo gold at -78 kg in both 2012 and 2016, then a UFC belt?
Kayla Harrison
She remains the only American judoka with Olympic gold and was promoted to sixth dan in 2016.
Q 30Which world leader took up judo at 11, holds an eighth dan and co-wrote a book on judo?
Vladimir Putin
He later switched to sambo and won competitions in both in Leningrad; his actual skill has been disputed for lack of video evidence.