Wisconsin Science Festival

Madison Judo at the 2019 Wisconsin Science Festival

Presenting for the first time on the Saturday of the Wisconsin Science Festival, Madison Judo had their own ‘dojo’ room in the Institute for Discovery to deliver a series of presentations on the ‘Physics of Judo’.

Drs. Ian and Jim explained to audiences of kids and adults how simple Newtonian mechanics are at the heart of every successful judo technique. Madison Judo Club performed different tachi waza and ne waza, illustrating ‘pulleys’ and ‘levers’ and how the relationships between the applied forces and subsequent motions makes the individual techniques work. The audience was intrigued to find out why breakfalls protect judoka from the force of the throw, even if you are more than 80 years old!! Beesly, the honeybee mascot of the Wisconsin Science Festival learned, first hand, how to deal with those pesky humans.

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