Kudo competition and federation management

Kūdō (空道) (formerly known as Daido Juku) is a Japanese hybrid martial art. It is a full-contact combat sport that aims to achieve safety, aggression and practicality, a style of mixed martial arts practised with headgear and gloves. It features stand-up striking, with throwing and grappling techniques being also allowed in the competition, including restraint, locks and chokeholds.

Kūdō is a form of budō (modern martial arts) that originated in the Daido Juku school, an organization founded by Azuma Takashi in 1981. The relationship between the Daido Juku school and kudo is similar to that between the kodokan school and judo.

Kūdō is found in more than 100 locations in Japan and is practised in more than 50 countries around the world. Although it is a martial art created by the Japanese, Russia currently has the largest number of Kūdō athletes, eclipsing the number of Japanese practitioners.

Takashi Azuma (東孝, Azuma Takashi) (born 1949 in Kesennuma, Japan - 3 April 2021) was the founder of Kūdō and the President of the Kudo International Federation. He held a 9th degree black belt in Kyokushin Budokai (awarded by Jon Bluming), a 3rd degree black belt in judo, and a 9th degree black belt in Kūdō.

Azuma came in contact with budo for the first time when he entered the judo club of his school in Kesennuma at the age of 16 in 1965. In 1972 after his service in the Japanese armed forces, he joined Kyokushin Karate. That same year he founded a Kyokushin branch at Waseda University.

In 1981, Azuma founded his own martial art because he was unhappy with some characteristics of Kyokushin. Azuma was bothered that in Kyokushin serious head injuries are common. Azuma was also of the opinion that physically smaller fighters are at a disadvantage compared to bigger fighters. Especially he had his own experiences of receiving so many nasty blows that his nose got bent out of its place. In his book, he quotes that he was "good at grabbing the collar and head-butting in a fight" and felt full-contact rules of Kyokushin very limiting.

One of the fundamental precepts in Daidojuku was the creation of a realistic and versatile fighting style that encompassed effective offensive and defensive techniques including head punches, elbows, headbutts, throws and joint-locks from Judo combined with other ground fighting techniques. Azuma's early development of a martial art was first a hybrid of Kyokushin Karate and Judo. Kyokushin was the basis, however, the regulations changed dramatically. The style would not have been limited by the boundaries of a single style but would have used techniques from different martial arts, not just the initial judo and karate mix. Later in the 1980s and 1990s, this style began to include several martial arts techniques such as boxing, muay thai, jujitsu, wrestling, and others all merged in the style of Daidojuku. Protective clothing was introduced, which allowed hand techniques to the head, and provides sufficient protection to the head during kicking techniques.

The Daido Juku organization became operational on February 17, 1981. The first dojo was opened in Miyagi prefecture under the name "Karate-do Daidojuku." The in-house martial arts style was also known as Kakutō karate (格闘空手, eng. Fighting Karate) and/or Combat Karate Daidojuku.

In the same year, Daidojuku's alumni made its competition debut at the "1981 Hokutoki Karate Championships".

Daidojuku played a part in the late '80s and early '90s martial arts boom in Japan, being one of the few mixed martial arts organizations in the martial arts industry at the time. It is credited in helping K-1 and the "U-series" promotions to reach the Japanese mainstream. Minoki Ichihara was a Kakuto Karate practitioner from Daidojuku who fought in UFC 2, being the first Japanese fighter to participate in the UFC in a time when Japanese martial arts organizations were reluctant to take on the challenge of the UFC. However, Ichihara would lose to Royce Gracie.

In the 1990s, Daidojuku held kickboxing events known as THE WARS, which was centred on "gloved" ruleset of full contact karate, and showcased Daido juku's top talents.

In the media, there were many voices waiting for the dream confrontation between Kenichi Osada, who was the ace of Daido Juku, and Masaaki Satake of Seidokaikan. Athletes belonging to Daido Juku were displayed on the covers of various martial arts magazines, and in the martial arts world at that time, the Daidojuku along with Seidokaikan served as the forefront of Japanese martial arts.

In 1995 the name of the "Karate Do Daidojuku" association officially changed to "Kakuto Karate International Federation Daidojuku" (KKIF).

From the mid-1990s, Daidojuku would move away from media-centric promotion and return to the original course of developing the "safe yet practical" style that Daido Juku had been aiming for since its establishment.

In 2001, Takashi Azuma, founder and president of daidojuku, held an official press conference where he announced that the style promoted by daidojuku will be now referred to as Kudo, becoming its own budō martial art. The relationship between the Daido Juku school and kudo is similar to that between the kodokan school and judo. In the same year, Daidojuku launched the first world championship competition to great success, launching Kudo to the international stage.

Managed under the principles of budō, Kudo is governed globally by the Kudo International Federation (K.I.F.), which oversees the certification and registration of its instructors. The organization is recognized by the Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology as a social and physical education entity.

On April 3, 2021, Azuma died due to stomach cancer, leaving the position of president of Daido Juku to Kenichi Osada.

In the 1990s, Daidojuku would exchange talent with numerous martial arts organizations, until ceasing the activity after conception of Kudo. In the 1990s Daidojuku had agre