Judo is a modern Japanese martial art and combat sport, that originated in Japan in the late nineteenth century. 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 the elbow or by executing a choke. Strikes and thrusts are a part of judo, but only in pre-arranged forms and are not allowed in judo competition or free practice (randori). Read more…

Joseph Difiglia is the Master Instructor at Mountain Tae Kwon Do Academy.  He holds a 6th degree Black Belt and has studied martial arts since 1968.  He began his training in Totokon Karate under Toyotoro Myasaki in Queens, NY, and continued under Master Y.K. Park in 1971. In his continuing effort to provide the very best training at Mountain Tae Kwon Do, Master Difiglia has spent significant time in South Korea where he trained with Buddhist Monks and their students.  Today,  30 years later, Master Difiglia continues to strive towards helping his students achieve their goals in the martial arts.   He is dedicated to helping all those practitioners at Mountain Tae Kwon Do be the very best that they can be not only in the martial arts, but in their personal lives as well.