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
Refereeing
Győr Brings Referees and Coaches Together to Talk Judo

07. Nov. 2026 / When does a standing exchange become ne-waza? What ...

World Judo Day 2026
World Judo Day Brings Police Judoka Together in Santo Domingo

06. Nov. 2026 / Seventeen nations, a shared tatami and an occasion ...

News
Pakistan Launches Nationwide Search for Judo’s Next Generation

06. Nov. 2026 / For young judoka across Pakistan, a new opportunity ...

YOG Dakar 2026
Turikumwe: Twenty Years for a Dream

04. Nov. 2026 / In the early 2000s, I began travelling regularly to ...

YOG Dakar 2026
Brazil and Lithuania Strike Gold on Day 3 in Dakar

03. Nov. 2026 / The final day of judo at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic ...

YOG Dakar 2026
Dakar 2026, One Team, One Goal

03. Nov. 2026 / Behind every contest at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic ...

YOG Dakar 2026
Clarisse Agbegnenou: The Strength to Win, the Freedom to Be Human

03. Nov. 2026 / The question came from a young Senegalese athlete; ...

YOG Dakar 2026
Three New Champions and a Presidential Visit Light Up Dakar

02. Nov. 2026 / Three new Youth Olympic champions were crowned on the ...

YOG Dakar 2026
Dakar 2026: Three More Champions, Another Day to Remember!

02. Nov. 2026 / Three more champions have emerged from an exciting ...

YOG Dakar 2026
From Kakuma to Dakar, Arno Finds His Place

02. Nov. 2026 / Botay Arno Yafunga came to Dakar dreaming of gold.

YOG Dakar 2026
A Country on Their Backs, a Continent in Their Hearts

02. Nov. 2026 / There are days when competing at home means something ...

World Judo Day 2026
Belonging in Action: World Judo Day Across the World

02. Nov. 2026 / World Judo Day is more than a date in the calendar. ...

Olympic Solidarity
Building Expertise and Strengthening Judo in Djibouti

02. Nov. 2026 / Developing judo requires more than athletes willing ...

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 ...