Kudo
空道A Japanese full-contact sport from 1981 with strikes in a helmet with a plexiglass visor, throws and brief ground fighting. Categories are set by the sum of height and weight.
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Training
Who It Suits
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About Kudo
Kudo is a Japanese full-contact combat sport that combines standing strikes with throws and ground fighting. It was founded by Takashi Azuma (1949–2021), who joined Kyokushin in 1972. His organization Daido Juku began operating on 17 February 1981 in Miyagi Prefecture. Until 2001 the style was called kakuto karate, and Azuma announced the name kudo in 2001. It arose from Azuma’s concerns about serious head injuries in Kyokushin and from the disadvantage of smaller fighters. The rules allow punches, elbows and headbutts, throws, holds, joint locks and chokes. Strikes to the back and groin are forbidden. A bout lasts 3 minutes, the clinch at most 10 seconds and ground fighting twice for 30 seconds. A helmet with a transparent plexiglass visor, gloves approved by the Kudo International Federation (K.I.F.) and a mouthguard are mandatory. Instead of weight categories, an index of the sum of height in centimetres and weight in kilograms is used. Kudo abolished the kata taken over from Kyokushin without replacement. In Russian practice kudo has kyu and dan grades with coloured belts. The first world championship was held in 2001 in Japan. In Russia, according to Russian sources, kudo is entered in the All-Russian Register of Sports. We have not found an injury study in kudo.
History
Kudo was founded by Azuma Takashi (1949–2021), born in Kesennuma. In 1971 he enrolled in the evening programme at Waseda University, where he founded a Kyokushin club, and in 1972 he joined the kyokushinkaikan headquarters. He placed second at the All Japan Open Kyokushin Tournament in 1974 and won it in 1977. In judo he held 3rd dan. Daido Juku began operating on 17 February 1981 in Miyagi Prefecture. The stated reasons are Azuma's concern about serious head injuries in Kyokushin and the disadvantage of smaller fighters. From 1981 to 2001 the style was called kakuto karate. In 2001 Azuma announced the name kudo so that kakuto karate would not be confused with karate. Outside Japan, the documented beginnings are in Russia: Azuma held the first international seminar in Vladivostok in 1993, Russian sources place the first section there as early as 1991 and the Russian kudo federation in 2002 or 2004 (the sources differ). Azuma died on 3 April 2021 and Kenichi Osada became chairman of Daido Juku.
How it differs
Kudo derives from Kyokushin but departs from it on one fundamental point. Practitioners describe Kyokushin as forbidding punches to the head, whereas kudo allows them. According to Forces News, Azuma Takashi founded kudo out of concern that Kyokushin causes too many serious head injuries, and the protective helmet is meant to allow hand strikes to the head without serious harm. According to K.I.F., the Neo Headgear KU helmet is compulsory in all competition divisions, and punches to the head are forbidden only for juniors up to 16 and up to 14 years. The second source is judo, in which Azuma held 3rd dan. Britannica describes the aim of judo as a clean throw, a hold-down or subduing the opponent by pressure on an arm joint or the neck, and does not mention strikes. Kudo takes over throws and submissions and combines them with full-contact strikes. From MMA kudo differs mainly in bout length and equipment. An open-division kudo bout lasts 3 minutes, with two 30-second ground phases, while MMA rounds under the unified rules of the Association of Boxing Commissions last 5 minutes. Kudo scores hits in grades koka, yuko and waza-ari and awards ippon for a knockdown or an effective submission.
Technique
The rules of kudo combine standing strikes with throws and ground fighting. Permitted are punches, elbows and headbutts, also to the head protected by a helmet with a plexiglass visor, as well as throws, holds, joint locks and chokes. A bout can also be won by submission or by a choke to unconsciousness. Strikes to the back and groin are forbidden. We have not been able to document whether the rules allow knees and kicks to the head. A bout lasts 3 minutes. The clinch may be entered an unlimited number of times, each time for at most 10 seconds. The fighters go to the ground twice, for at most 30 seconds, for youth and juniors 20 seconds and without strikes on the ground. Scoring has the grades koka, yuko, waza-ari and ippon, and the point values differ between sources. We have not found the official K.I.F. rules. Compared with Kyokushin, from which kudo derives, hand strikes to the face, elbows, headbutts, throws and ground fighting were added. Kudo abolished the kata taken over from Kyokushin without replacement.
Training
Daido Juku presents kudo as a lifelong sport, a system of youth education and a method of self-defence, and stresses reigi, that is respect and etiquette. By its principles, training should develop physical and mental strength, relations with others and the practitioner's character so that he or she contributes to society. Kudo International Federation (K.I.F.) offers instructional videos of basic techniques and two series called joho, basic and advanced. A visitor to a dojo in Saitama described the training as warm-up and conditioning, kihon, shadow fighting, partner drills and sparring progressing from light strikes through kicks to gentle throws. He says kata is not practised. Before every examination for a higher grade, the practitioner must complete a prescribed number of training days and a fitness standard. According to K.I.F., protective equipment is compulsory not only in competitions but also in grading examinations.
Ranks and progression
We have not found a full international K.I.F. grade table. The federation states that new students start ungraded with a white belt and, after 1st kyu, sit the examination for 1st dan. In Russian practice kudo has student grades from 10th to 1st kyu with belts purple (10th and 9th kyu), blue (8th and 7th), yellow (6th and 5th), green (4th and 3rd) and brown (2nd and 1st), and master dan grades with a black belt, to which gold stripes are added from 2nd dan according to K.I.F. The highest grade according to K.I.F. is 9th dan. Kata is not part of the examinations, kudo abolished it. Azuma also awarded dan to Russian masters. Roman Anashkin and Zorin received 4th dan in 2002 and 5th dan in 2006, and in 2013 Anashkin obtained 6th dan as the first competitor outside Japan.
Who it suits
Instead of weight categories, fighters are divided by an index, the sum of height in centimetres and weight in kilograms. Men from 18 years compete in categories from 230 to over 270. Russian sources give categories for youth aged 12–15, juniors aged 16–17, girls aged 12–15, junior women and women, veterans from 35 years and children aged 7–11. According to them, children's competitions have not been held since 2014. K.I.F. lists a Masters division from 45 years and a separate Businessman class for beginners from 30 years. Ground strikes are forbidden for youth and juniors, and their ground fighting lasts 20 seconds. Children, juniors and women wear a vest, shin guards are compulsory for youth and juniors and recommended for children. According to K.I.F., adult women must wear a body protector and leg guards in addition to the helmet and gloves, and men a groin guard. We have not found a study or a statement by physicians on children's kudo. In 2018 Forces News described a British army doctor who competed in the men's category up to 260 at the World Championships in Japan.
Competition
The bout takes place on a tatami of 13 × 13 m with a fighting area of 9 × 9 m, four judges stand in the corners and one inside the area. A draw is resolved by the judges’ decision or another bout. The main Daido Juku tournament is called Hokutoki, and the first national edition was held on 6 September 1981 with categories by build. The open category was won in 1984 and 1985 by Yoshinori Nishi, and in 1996 and 1997 by Semmy Schilt. The first world championship was held on 17 November 2001 in Japan, the second in 2005. The first Kudo World Cup took place in 2011 in Moscow. We have not found a link of kudo to the Olympic programme.
Gear
Fighters wear a dogi, white or blue, and a belt. A helmet with a transparent plexiglass visor approved by the K.I.F. is mandatory, and Russian sources give first the SuperSafe model and later the Neo Head Gear. Gloves approved by the K.I.F. protect the knuckles and leave the fingers free, and the equipment includes bandages and a mouthguard. Minors also wear a vest and shin protectors, and the requirements differ by tournament. We have not found a study showing the effect of the kudo helmet on the number or severity of injuries.
Philosophy
We have not found a coherent philosophy of kudo. The Hong Kong site HK01 states that the name Daido Juku comes from a verse of the Zen collection Mumonkan and the name of the Hokutoki tournament from the Big Dipper, which points to the North Star as a symbol of the highest truth. Azuma Takashi was a philosopher by education. According to HK01, after long training in Kyokushin he considered its bouts with punches, kicks, knees and elbows distant from free fighting. In 2001 the organization adopted the name kudo so that kakuto karate would not be confused with karate. We have not been able to document the meaning of the word kudo itself.
Today
Kudo is governed worldwide by the Kudo International Federation (K.I.F.). Its predecessor, the Kakuto Karate International Federation Daidojuku (KKIF), adopted that name in 1995. Daido Juku has been led since 2021, after the death of Azuma Takashi, by Kenichi Osada as chairman. In Russia the Moscow Federation of Daido Juku was registered on 7 July 1994, and the Russian kudo federation arose in 2002 or 2004 (sources differ). According to Russian sources, bouts under kudo rules are in the All-Russian Register of Sports on the basis of an order of Rossport of 17 July 2003 No. 560, and in 2006 kudo was included in the All-Russian Classifier. The first Asian Cup was held on 14 June 2014 in Vladivostok. The world championship has been held since 2001, and the 2018 edition began on 1 December in Japan. Among the world champions are named Kolyan Edgar (2005 and 2009) and Irina Bykova (2005).
Did you know
The character ku (空) in the name refers, according to K.I.F., to three ideas: impermanence, interdependence and openness without prejudice, which Azuma called Open-Mindism. In 1972, at the age of 22, Azuma joined the kyokushinkaikan headquarters and finished sixth at the first world full-contact karate tournament and fourth at the second. In 2013 he received 9th dan in kudo, the highest grade of the style. A kudo exhibition bout was held in July 2013 at The World Games in Cali, Colombia. The Kudo All Japan Federation asked the Cabinet Office of Japan for recognition in March 2009 and in May 2012 became a member of the Japan World Games Association. The World Championships are held once every four years, and by 2023 six had been held. The second Kudo World Cup was hosted by Mumbai in February 2017, the third by Burgas in Bulgaria in July 2025. Daido Juku states that kudo has spread to over 60 countries, K.I.F. writes of over 50.
Frequently asked questions
What is kudo?
According to the Daido Juku organization, kudo is a mixed budo sport that combines full-contact punches and kicks with throws and submission techniques on the ground. Daido Juku was founded by Azuma Takashi in 1981, and the style has carried the name kudo since 2001. Fighters compete in a mandatory helmet.
Who founded kudo?
Azuma Takashi, born in 1949 in Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture. He was a kyokushin competitor and held a 3rd dan in judo. In 1981 he founded the Daido Juku organization in Sendai, and in 2001 he introduced the name kudo. He died in April 2021, and Kenichi Osada, whom he had chosen himself, became chairman of Daido Juku.
What is the difference between kudo and kyokushin?
Kudo derives from kyokushin, but it allows punches to the head, which kyokushin, according to practitioners' descriptions, forbids, and that is why a helmet is mandatory in it. Throws and ground fighting were also added, and kata is not practiced. According to Forces News, Azuma founded kudo out of concern about serious head injuries in kyokushin.
Similar styles
Selected by overlap in the style profile, not by historical lineage.