About our Certificates

Wording: This is to certify that (space for name) having met all requirements and demonstrating high proficiency in prescribed techniques as the result of an examination completed in accordance with the rules and regulations as set forth by this dojo is hereby awarded the rank of (space for rank/title) We expect this student to continue a diligent study of the art. Good for both Kyu and Dan ranks.

PDF fillable certificates enables you to easily fill your students name, rank, date and your school name, your name, rank, and title and print them out on your computer with the free version of Adobe Reader.

Please note: All rights reserved: Not for Sale or Comercial Distribution. Unauthorized use prohibited

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The Unique Artistic Value of the Martial Arts Certificates

A certificate of achievement in the United States is seldom ornate. Centered in the certificate will be the primary information, like the awarding organization, the name of the recipient and the achievement for which he is being presented a certificate. It is something to be proud of, but certainly not a work of art.

In the case of martial arts certificates, however, you will find something very different. Each time a student of the Asian martial arts passes a rank, he or she is presented with certificate. Rank certificates are custom created in Asian calligraphy. Great pride is taken in the unique artistic nature of each certificate, and no two are alike.

In fact, these martial arts certificates can be considered works of art. Each certificate is an originally created document, with relevant information written in calligraphy, often with Asian style artwork as a border or accent. This may be a dragon, or a temple, or some other depiction common in Asian art.

While rank certificates are all unique from one another certain pertinent information will be included on each one. These include a statement that it is, in fact, a certificate; the school seal, which will be unique to that student's martial arts school; the student's name and the rank achieved; a statement certifying that the student has passed the test necessary to advance; the date; the issuing authority, which is often the school; and the seal of the one or more instructors involved.

Writing on rank certificates is vertical and starts in the upper right hand corner. The artwork used as a border or as a corner accent is used at the discretion of the creator. There are agencies available who specialize in creating these martial arts certificates. It is their one-of-a-kind nature that makes them valued by aficionados and collectors.

Judo

judo or Judo (柔道, judo, meaning "gentle way") is a modern Japanese martial art and combat sport created in Japan in 1882 by Dr Kano Jigoro. Its most prominent feature is its competitive element, where the object is to either throw one's opponent to the ground, immobilize or otherwise subdue one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an opponent to submit by joint locking or by executing a choke. Strikes and thrusts by hands and feet as well as weapons defences are a part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms (kata) and are not allowed in judo competition or free practice (randori).

The philosophy and subsequent pedagogy developed for judo became the model for other modern Japanese martial arts that developed from traditional schools (koryu). The worldwide spread of judo has led to the development of a number of offshoots such as Sambo, Bartitsu, and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which was developed after Mitsuyo Maeda brought judo to Brazil in 1914. Practitioners of judo are called judoka.

Early life of the founder

The early history of judo is inseparable from its founder, Japanese polymath and educator Jigoro Kano (嘉納 治五郎 Kano Jigoro, 1860–1938). Kano was born into a well-to-do Japanese family. His grandfather was a self-made man, a sake brewer from Shiga prefecture in central Japan. However, Kano's father was not the eldest son and therefore did not inherit the business. Instead, he became a Shinto priest and government official, with enough influence for his son to enter the second incoming class of Tokyo Imperial University.

Founder pursues jujutsu

Kano was a small, frail boy, who, even in his twenties, did not weigh more than a hundred pounds (45 kg), and was often picked on by bullies. He first started pursuing jujutsu, at that time a dying art, at the age of 17, but met with little success. This was in part due to difficulties finding a teacher who would take him on as a student. When he went to university to study literature at the age of 18, he continued his martial arts studies, eventually gaining a referral to Fukuda Hachinosuke (c.1828–c.1880), a master of the Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu and grandfather of Keiko Fukuda (born 1913), who is Kano's only surviving student, and the highest-ranking female judoka in the world. Fukuda Hachinosuke is said to have emphasized technique over formal exercise, sowing the seeds of Kano's emphasis on free practice (randori) in judo.

A little more than a year after Kano joined Fukuda's school, Fukuda became ill and died. Kano then became a student in another Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu school, that of Iso Masatomo (c.1820–c.1881), who put more emphasis on the practice of pre-arranged forms (kata) than Fukuda had. Through dedication, Kano quickly earned the title of master instructor (shihan) and became assistant instructor to Iso at the age of 21. Unfortunately, Iso soon took ill, and Kano, feeling that he still had much to learn, took up another style, becoming a student of Iikubo Tsunetoshi (1835–1889) of Kito-ryu. Like Fukuda, Iikubo placed much emphasis on free practice. On the other hand, Kito-ryu emphasized throwing techniques to a much greater degree than Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu.

Founding

By this time, Kano was devising new techniques, such as the "shoulder wheel" (kata-guruma, known as a fireman's carry to Western wrestlers who use a slightly different form of this technique) and the "floating hip" (uki goshi) throw. However, he was already thinking about doing far more than just expanding the canons of Kito-ryu and Tenjin Shin'yo-ryu. Full of new ideas, Kano had in mind a major reformation of jujutsu, with techniques based on sound scientific principles, and with focus on development of the body, mind and character of young men in addition to development of martial prowess. In May 1882, at the age of 22, when he was just about to finish his degree at the University, Kano took nine students from Iikubo's school to study jujutsu under him at the Eisho-ji, a Buddhist temple in Kamakura, and Iikubo came to the temple three days a week to help teach. Although two years would pass before the temple would be called by the name "Kodokan", or "place for teaching the way", and Kano had not yet been accorded the title of "master" in the Kito-ryu, this is now regarded as the Kodokan's founding.

Judo was originally known as Kano Jiu-Jitsu or Kano Jiu-Do, and later as Kodokan Jiu-Do or simply Jiu-Do or Judo. In the early days, it was also still referred to generically simply as Jiu-Jitsu.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia