It's a Japanese word that can mean many things. For what we are dealing with, it means beginning, the beginning of a fight that goes far beyond what many people think.

READ our article about the relaunch of the judo season.

Hajime is the beginning of everything in a sport that is not a sport and, for us the profane, it is time to discover that behind this sport, inside and all around there is something else that breathes, moves, feeds, in a word, there is life.

Judo is a whole, more balanced than a philosophical current, more complete than an ideology. Judo is the fight between good and evil, it is the perfect balance between theory and reality. Everything begins and ends on the mat, this tatami that serves as a school of life to everyone who agrees to live according to a code.

Judo is the sum of all the qualities required to triumph in life, not from a material point of view, nor from a Western or bourgeois sensibility. No, this is a human journey where the person who complies with the rules grows morally at the same speed as his body. A healthy mind in a strong body.

Yes but now, for the body to be strong, it must be trained, hardened, accustomed to pain. This is in the image of life. Of course, the body is nothing, in any case nothing interesting, just a living matter without interest if it is not accompanied by a strong spirit.

Respect for oneself and the others. Have the courage to face the problems, to find the appropriate solutions. Showcase absolute courtesy without hypocrisy as a way of life. Keep your calmness in all circumstances. Make a vow of honesty and never compromise in the face of lies.

It is being humble and never believing yourself to be superior, it is showing the way by the example and never complaining but correcting and learning from your mistakes. It is a code of honor that is practiced at any age, which adapts to all. It is a state of mental rest in the midst of chaos, a weapon of mass destruction against absolute evil. It is s the lifeline against boredom and loneliness.

After comes the challenge, the fight against your equal. It is difficult, it is physical but also mental because all the senses are sharpened. It is spectacular and pretty, it is a poem of purity.

Judo is all of that and even more. The more we discover it, the more we become hooked. It is a creator of smiles, it is the definition of the respect of the difference, the integration and the quiet force, the individual strength in the service of a group.

It is the discipline that expresses the free will without disturbing. It is the supreme freedom, this stage where all are equal without amalgams, without grudges, without borders.This is Judo !

See also
Cadet WC 2025
The Future of World Judo Takes Shape in Sofia

27. Aug. 2025 / The OTP Group Cadet World Championships 2025 opened ...

Cadet WC 2025
Day Two Preview: Spotlight on Sofia!

27. Aug. 2025 / After an intense opening day, the competition will ...

Cadet WC 2025
-55 kg: Burkhonov Storms to -55kg World Title

27. Aug. 2025 / The -55 kg category, like the three others contested ...

Cadet WC 2025
-44 kg: Mishenkina Claims the World Title

27. Aug. 2025 / Türkiye showcased strong potential in the -44 kg category ...

Cadet WC 2025
-50 kg: Sultanov, From Outsider to Champion

27. Aug. 2025 / Algeria, and more broadly Africa, had placed high hopes ...

Cadet WC 2025
-40 kg: Boltaboeva Tops Yuksel in Thrilling Cadet World Final

27. Aug. 2025 / Sema Nur Yuksel (TUR), the number one seed of the category, ...

Interview
Julien Brulard, the ‘Judo Nomad,’ From Sofia to the Rest of the World

27. Aug. 2025 / For the past four years, Julien Brulard has been living ...

Cadet WC 2025
Rising Stars Ready to Shine: Sofia Hosts the OTP Group Cadet World Championships 2025

26. Aug. 2025 / The stage is set in Sofia.

Cadet WC 2025
Day One Preview: Lightweights Set to Open the 2025 OTP Group Cadet Worlds

26. Aug. 2025 / The wait is over. On Wednesday 27th August, the OTP ...

Cadet WC 2025
The Gateway to the Elite Level

22. Aug. 2025 / The OTP Group Sofia World Championships Cadets 2025 ...

Forever Everest
From the Arabian Sea to the Slopes of K2: A Human and Sporting Adventure

22. Aug. 2025 / Three months in Pakistan; three months of emotions, ...

Judo for Children
Sewing Values-Based Seeds for a Peaceful Future

21. Aug. 2025 / In Colombia, judo is much more than a sport, it is ...

News
The IBSA Grand Prix Concludes in the Spirit of Collaboration

19. Aug. 2025 / The IBSA Grand Prix Giza 2025 has come to a close with ...

INTERVIEW EXPRESS
Shishime Ai (JPN)

08. Jun. 2018 / The next reigning world champion to be invited to answer ...

News
5 Key Takeaways from judo’s first Tokyo 2020 qualifier

06. Jun. 2018 / Highlights from Hohhot Grand Prix 2018

VIDEO
Judo for the World in Iran

07. Jun. 2018 / In April 2018, the International Judo Federation and ...

Meeting
JUDO: A Beneficial Cause

07. Jun. 2018 / 'Society should believe in sport as a beneficial cause ...