Welcome to Napier Judo Club

Building confidence, strength and respect — one throw at a time.

Napier Judo Club has been part of the Hawke’s Bay community for decades, providing a friendly and supportive place for people to learn and enjoy the sport of Judo.

Based at our dedicated dojo in Bledisloe Park, 13 Peddie Street, Taradale, we welcome beginners and experienced judoka alike. Whether you’re looking for a new sport, greater fitness and confidence, competition opportunities, or simply something challenging and rewarding to do, there’s a place for you on our mat.

Judo is about much more than learning how to throw someone. It develops balance, coordination, discipline, resilience and respect — skills that carry well beyond the dojo.

We are proudly affiliated with Judo New Zealand, with qualified coaches providing structured training for juniors, intermediate and senior judoka.

At Napier Judo Club, we’re a club, a team and a community.

Come along, meet the crew and give Judo a go.

Creating Judo

Kano studied several schools of ju-jutsu and began examining which techniques were effective, which could be practised safely and what lessons martial arts could teach beyond combat.

In 1882, at just 21 years old, he established the Kodokan in Tokyo.

From this small beginning came Kodokan Judo.

Kano retained effective throwing and grappling techniques while developing a system in which students could practise techniques against genuine resistance without relying on the most dangerous methods of traditional combat.

This ability to practise realistically became one of Judo's great strengths.

Students could throw, grapple, attack, defend, succeed, fail and try again.

Teacher Before Fighter

Kano was first and foremost an educator.

He believed physical education should develop character as well as the body, and that the lessons learned through Judo could be applied to everyday life.

Two ideas became fundamental to his teaching.

Seiryoku Zenyo

Maximum efficient use of energy.

Kano taught that strength alone was not enough. A person should learn to use their physical and mental energy in the most effective way possible.

In Judo, that might mean using balance, movement and timing rather than trying to overpower someone.

Outside the dojo, it becomes a philosophy for approaching challenges intelligently and purposefully.

Jita Kyoei

Mutual welfare and benefit.

Judo cannot be learned alone.

Every throw requires someone to be thrown. Every hold requires a training partner. Every opportunity to improve is made possible by another person stepping onto the mat with you.

Kano believed progress should benefit not only the individual, but society as a whole.

That is why respect for your training partner remains such an important part of Judo.

Kano the Educational Reformer

Kano's influence extended far beyond the dojo.

He became an important figure in Japanese education, serving in senior educational positions and promoting physical education throughout Japan.

He also helped introduce Japanese sport to the international community.

In 1909, Kano became the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee.

He spent decades travelling, teaching and representing Japan internationally while continuing to promote Judo as a method of education and personal development.

A Worldwide Legacy

Jigoro Kano died in 1938, aged 77, while returning to Japan aboard the Hikawa Maru after attending an International Olympic Committee meeting in Cairo.

He did not live to see Judo become an Olympic sport.

That happened in Tokyo in 1964.

But Kano's influence can still be found in virtually every Judo dojo in the world.

It is there when judoka bow before stepping onto the mat.

It is there when an experienced student helps a beginner.

It is there when someone gets thrown, gets back up and tries again.

And it is there in the understanding that your opponent is also your training partner.

His Philosophy Lives On

Jigoro Kano created something greater than a collection of martial arts techniques.

He created a way of learning.

Use your energy wisely.
Respect those who help you learn.
Improve yourself.
Help others improve.
And keep getting back up.

That is the legacy of Jigoro Kano — and more than 140 years later, it remains the foundation of Judo.

From Ju-Jutsu to the Gentle Way

Judo was founded in Japan in 1882 by Jigoro Kano, an educator and martial artist who believed martial arts could offer much more than fighting skills.

Kano had studied several traditional schools of ju-jutsu, the unarmed combat systems practised in Japan for centuries. As Japan modernised during the late 1800s, many of these traditional martial arts were beginning to disappear.

Kano saw something worth preserving — but also something that could be improved.

He selected and adapted techniques from the ju-jutsu systems he had studied, removing or restricting many of the most dangerous techniques so that students could practise against one another more safely and realistically.

From this he developed Kodokan Judo.

The word Judo (柔道) is commonly translated as “the Gentle Way.”

Ju (柔) — gentleness, yielding or flexibility
Do (道) — the way or path

Rather than simply meeting strength with greater strength, Judo teaches the intelligent use of movement, timing, balance and leverage.

Jigoro Kano

Jigoro Kano was only 21 when he established his first dojo, the Kodokan, in Tokyo in 1882.

His vision extended well beyond physical combat. Kano believed Judo could be used to develop the whole person — physically, mentally and morally.

Two principles became central to his philosophy:

Seiryoku Zenyo
Maximum efficient use of energy.

Use your physical and mental abilities intelligently rather than wasting strength or effort.

Jita Kyoei
Mutual welfare and benefit.

We improve through working with others. Training partners are not simply opponents — they help one another learn.

That principle can still be seen every time two judoka bow to each other before and after training.

Judo Spreads Around the World

Judo grew rapidly throughout Japan and eventually spread internationally.

Kano became an important figure in Japanese education and, in 1909, became the first Asian member of the International Olympic Committee.

After Kano's death in 1938, Judo continued its international growth.

The first World Judo Championships were held in Tokyo in 1956, and men's Judo made its Olympic debut when Tokyo hosted the Olympic Games in 1964.

Women's Judo later became an Olympic medal sport at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games.

Today, Judo is practised by millions of people around the world — from children learning their first breakfall to elite athletes competing internationally.

More Than a Sport

Modern Judo is a martial art, an Olympic sport and a system of education.

Judoka learn how to throw, grapple, hold and control an opponent, but they also learn something harder to measure:

Respect. Discipline. Courage. Control. Resilience.

More than 140 years after Jigoro Kano opened his first small dojo, his idea remains at the heart of Judo:

Improve yourself — and help others improve with you.