British Judo Council

The British Judo Council (BJC) is a membership organisation and a governing body for Judo in the United Kingdom.

History
In 1955 Kenshiro Abbe, then a 7th-dan Japanese judoka and the highest-ranked judoka outside Japan, was invited to Britain on a two-year contract to teach Judo at the London Judo Society, a judo school in South London. Abbe parted ways with the LJS in the following year and started his own school for judo. He then in 1958 formed the British Judo Council, assisted by William (Bill) Wood his senior student, then a 3rd dan. The British Judo Council subsequently amalgamated with the MOSJ, an organisation founded by Masutaro Otani, another high-ranking Japanese judoka.

Membership of the BJC expanded rapidly until the early 1960s. Abbe was president until 1964, when he returned to Japan. He was succeeded by Masutaro Otani, who served as president until his death in 1977. The presidency was then taken over by Masutaro's son, Robin Otani, who continues to serve as president to this day.

The BJC was affiliated to the British Judo Association (BJA) in 1994.

Philosophy
The BJC have a more traditional outlook towards judo than is generally the case in Britain. The traditional white judogi is preferred over the blue judogi that was introduced for international competition. Etiquette is more rigidly adhered to than is often the case in more sport-oriented clubs and organisations. The BJC stress the importance of kata, a view that for some time was not shared by some other large organisational bodies in the UK, but which changed with the introduction of kata tournaments. The BJC also have their own kata standards.