The term refers to the type of judo developed solely to win contests as if it were the end of the training, disregarding the intention and purpose for which judo was originally founded. Some of the methods, therefore, are crude and forcible, if not dangerous. The training is highly specialised and unbalanced, like that of some jujutsu schools in pre-judo days. Judo was founded and developed to be of service to human welfare and a means of mental and physical training, combined with recreation. The study of it involves science, art, ethics, and philosophy.
Contests are a part of the training and a means of testing the standard of skill.
The controversies on the wisdom of including judo in the Olympic games or organising matches amongst rival bodies or of an international character are due to this fact of human weakness. Nevertheless, it is well to remember that a poison is a stimulant if used in a suitable dose. The principle of balance is the saving factor of all things in the universe. To win might be the aim of sport itself, but its value and nobility lie in the quality of self-detached appreciation of human achievement and mutual respect towards the efforts of fellowmen cultivated amongst sportsmen. The employment of unfair or vicious methods just to win or evade defeat not only mars the honoured tradition of ages but brings in its train injuries and fatalities, contrary to the basic principle of judo.