White to Black:
This section is designed to give you an oversight of the grading structure within Zen Judo. The syllabus was designed to teach students the fundamentals at the beginning and build on them in subsequent sections. If you click on each belt (or Sub-heading) below, you will see the list of throws for that grade, however we don’t provide a detailed description, as we believe that you cannot learn judo from a web site or a book. If there is something you don’t understand, then we encourage you to come along to a club night and one of the instructors will explain it to you.

Zen Syllabus White – Yellow: This is a basic syllabus of only four throws. However, this is probably the most important group of throws to understand as the techniques used here are the grounding for every other technique in the whole syllabus. It will teach students Kuzushi or “Breaking of Balance” and “Turning In”. When adjusting judogi, judoka will always sink onto one knee.

Zen Judo Syllabus Yellow – Orange: Now that a student understands the basic principles of both throwing and being thrown, the student can now progress through some other techniques. This will give the student more choice in randori. The student should also start to become comfortable being lifted onto their toes during a throw and the principles of moving from a throw into a ground hold. During Randori, movement should be relaxed, and techniques applied without strength.

Zen Judo Syllabus Orange – Green: At this stage of the learning process, the syllabus contains techniques that involve both feet leaving the floor when being thrown. The student also learns the principles of performing all known throws as a half sacrifice. A student should be able to show control of his/her own balance, and that of their partner’s during a throw.

Zen Judo Syllabus Green – Blue: While this syllabus builds on the throws from previous sections, it also has one major addition. Sutemi or “Sacrifice” throws are designed so that the student sacrifice’s his/her own balance in order to throw their partner. They are often fast and can look very impressive to an outside observer. In order for a student to learn them, they must be able to demonstrate that they are confident with forward rolls over a distance both to left and right hand.

Zen Judo Syllabus Blue – Brown: This syllabus is the first section to introduce some of the more powerful throws. A student at this level must be able to show control before attempting any of the techniques. There are further sacrifice moves and a student at this level should be able to demonstrate all of the ground holds. In terms of grading, a student is expected to be able to demonstrate all lower belt techniques to a very high standard.

Zen Judo Syllabus Brown – Black: The techniques listed here are regarded as the basic fighting techniques used in competition judo, however we keep them in a “Zen” fashion. A good judoka should still be able to perform these techniques without relying on strength. A major part of the syllabus for this grade, that many overlook, is the ability to teach lower grades. A brown belt could be asked to teach any group of students, run a club night, or even run their own club!