Bennefits of studying Judo?

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What are some bennefits of studying Judo? Looking for responses from current judokas or anyone who have studied Judo. Also any advice for a beginner would be great.
 

Kung Fu Wang

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What are some bennefits of studying Judo?
To learn a throwing art will change your attitude toward how you may train your striking art.

You will understand that

- using your opponent's body weight to develop MA skill is faster than kick/punch into the thin air.
- each and every dependable MA skill will require at least 6 months of development time.
- it's not how much that you know in your head that's important. It's how well you can do on your body that's important.
- every technique has counters. Every counter also has counters.
- all MA skill require entering strategy and finish strategy.
- attack both legs if you can, otherwise attack one leg after another.
- if you want to push/pull, you need to pull/push first.
- ...
 
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PiedmontChun

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Judo will teach you how to fall and be thrown without getting hurt, like no other art will. Seriously. I know lots of systems have breakfalling as part of curriculum, but the mechanics of many Judo throws puts you on the ground so quickly and efficiently, so its unavoidable to not learn to deal with it. At a high competitive level, you even see judokas contort or twist their bodies out of a throw and land all kinds of ways to avoid their back slapping the mat and therefore losing the match (not safer, just impressive you can learn that kind of control). I went into Judo having some striking experience (Wing Chun) but no grappling experience, and not super athletic. For me, learning to fall and somewhat still be in control of my body when I could not control the fact I was being thrown, was just huge honestly. Once you can fall, 1) you don't fear it so much, 2) you can also feel it coming, and 3) you can react and regain good position after falling.

Grips. Judo will teach you how to grip someone's clothing and really use it against them in self-defense, and vice versa how to deal with others gripping you. This is also pretty huge, and other arts are pretty hit and miss on how much they focus on this. In Judo, dealing with grips becomes second nature.
 

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Well you learn grappling in stand up and on the ground, the latter not as much as BJJ but still useful. The benefits depend on what you want to learn.
 

Anarax

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What are some bennefits of studying Judo? Looking for responses from current judokas or anyone who have studied Judo. Also any advice for a beginner would be great.

I studied Japanese Jujitsu which is very similar to Judo. You will learn a lot of important concepts in Judo that include but aren't limited to weight distribution, balance, leverage and positioning. From my experience break falls are crucial to learn, practice them on your own but with caution. Being able to take a fall without tensing up will help you avoid injuries.
 

Kung Fu Wang

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The "sport" Judo has 2 weakness.

1. No jacket wrestling.
2. Apply throwing skill in kick/punch environment.

If your opponent only has T-shirt on, when he tries to knock your head off, how will you be able to create a chance to apply your Judo throw? IMO, this is a very important issue.
 
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Monkey Turned Wolf

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The "sport" Judo has 2 weakness.

1. No jacket wrestling.
2. Apply throwing skill in kick/punch environment.

If your opponent only has T-shirt on, when he tries to knock your head off, how will you be able to create a chance to apply your Judo throw? IMO, this is a very important issue.
There as plenty of throws in judo that don't need the gi, or are very easy to adapt.
 

Gerry Seymour

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The "sport" Judo has 2 weakness.

1. No jacket wrestling.
2. Apply throwing skill in kick/punch environment.

If your opponent only has T-shirt on, when he tries to knock your head off, how will you be able to create a chance to apply your Judo throw? IMO, this is a very important issue.
Most Judo throws can be easily delivered without the use of the clothing grab, with minimal practice. And many kinds of clothing will suffice for some of the uses Judoka train.
 

lklawson

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The "sport" Judo has 2 weakness.

1. No jacket wrestling.
2. Apply throwing skill in kick/punch environment.

If your opponent only has T-shirt on, when he tries to knock your head off, how will you be able to create a chance to apply your Judo throw? IMO, this is a very important issue.
Ummm... No.

Sorry, but this just isn't right. I've seen lots of evidence that neither of these objections are particularly true.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk
 

Kung Fu Wang

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There as plenty of throws in judo that don't need the gi, or are very easy to adapt.
Most Judo throws can be easily delivered without the use of the clothing grab, with minimal practice. And many kinds of clothing will suffice for some of the uses Judoka train.
Sorry, but this just isn't right. I've seen lots of evidence that neither of these objections are particularly true.
Besides the issue of dealing with punch/kick, Judo jacket throw depends on:

1. sleeve hold - can be replaced by arm wrap.
2. front lapel hold - has no replacement.
3. upper collar hold - can be replaced by single neck tie, but has less pulling ability.
4. back belt hold - can be replaced by waist surround, but not effective when your opponent has fat waist line.

Different contact points training such as under hook, over hook, head lock, .... can be added in. But it all requires extra training.

When you switch from jacket to no jacket, you will suddenly realize that there are 2 things that you no longer be able to do.

1. Use stiff arm to hold your opponent back.
2. Pull your opponent's jack to throw him.

In the following picture, in no jacket Judo, the blue guy's right hand hold will no longer be available.

Judo_grip.jpg
 
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JP3

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Grappling arts such as BJJ and Judo classes are some of the toughest conditioning, as in your aerobic conditioning, you can do. It's a great workout, so judo, which was "created" as a means of physical education (but, drawn out of jujutsu so the techniques can be devastatingly effective) is very good for your body as long as you train your way into it. Good for conditioning, strength development, coordination, etc. From the finesse side, to get "good" at judo, you have to learn, almost internalize, concepts of balance and posture, and comparative body relationships. It's a trip, learning judo. Some of the most fun I've ever had on the mat.
 

Kung Fu Wang

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If you look at this Judo throw, You will find out that the technique starts from both your hands have the correct grips on your opponent's Judo jacket. How to get your grips in a

1. jacket wrestling environment,
2. no-jacket wrestling environment,
3. kick/punch environment,

are not explained.

Judo_throw_1.jpg


IMO, a detail Judo throw should start from outside of the kicking range. What will happen when you try to get your grips, your opponent tries to punch/kick you?

In other words, you will need "entering strategy - how to move in and obtain your contact points" before you can apply "finishing strategy - throw your opponent".

boxing_stance_2.jpg
 
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Gerry Seymour

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If you look at this Judo throw, You will find out that the technique starts from both your hands have the correct grips on your opponent's Judo jacket. How to get your grips in a

1. jacket wrestling environment,
2. no-jacket wrestling environment,
3. kick/punch environment,

are not explained.

Judo_throw_1.jpg


IMO, a detail Judo throw should start from outside of the kicking range. What will happen when you try to get your grips, your opponent tries to punch/kick you?

In other words, you will need "entering strategy - how to move in and obtain your contact points" before you can apply "finishing strategy - throw your opponent".

boxing_stance_2.jpg
Just because it's not explained in that bit, doesn't mean it's not understood. My Judo instructor taught for competition, so taught only approaches for competition. Even with my pretty sparse training, I had no trouble using my Judo techniques when playing around with friends who were wrestlers, with neither of us wearing a gi.
 

Kung Fu Wang

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Just because it's not explained in that bit, doesn't mean it's not understood.
Your logic "Just because ..., doesn't mean ..." can also be applied as:

- Just because I'm poor, doesn't mean I'm not rich.
- Just because I'm ugly, doesn't mean I'm not good looking.
- Just because I'm stupid, doesn't mean I'm not smart.
- ...

Let's not discuss so abstract. Let's discuss with some concrete examples.

Without Judo jacket, what will be your "pulling contact points"?
 

Gerry Seymour

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Your logic "Just because ..., doesn't mean ..." can also be applied as:

- Just because I'm poor, doesn't mean I'm not rich.
- Just because I'm ugly, doesn't mean I'm not good looking.
- Just because I'm stupid, doesn't mean I'm not smart.
- ...

Let's not discuss so abstract. Let's discuss with some concrete examples.

Without Judo jacket, what will be your "pulling contact points"?
Arms. I teach osoto gari very similarly to how I learned it in Judo, just replacing jacket holds with am leverage. Hip throws move from sleeve and scarf grips to arm and under hook.
 

PiedmontChun

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Just because it's not explained in that bit, doesn't mean it's not understood. My Judo instructor taught for competition, so taught only approaches for competition. Even with my pretty sparse training, I had no trouble using my Judo techniques when playing around with friends who were wrestlers, with neither of us wearing a gi.
I agree with this. I have done a little bit of no-gi BJJ recently, and broke people's grips (to their amazement) while standing, gave them a hell of time of time staying out of my underhook grip as well. Many Judo throws like O Goshi develop getting and using an underhook, and others can be adapted easily to use an underhook when there is no lapel to grip. I also had a good base without having to crouch pretty low like a wrestler, which I credit Judo for developing, even in the short time I did it.
 

JR 137

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From a non-judoka perspective...

Judo throws seem very similar to wrestling throws in theory/principle. It’s about push-pull, momentum, leverage, center of gravity, etc. The main difference I’ve seen is Judo throws often involve the thrower using a leg to add to the effectiveness of the throw at times.

If a judoka absolutely has to use the opponent’s gi to make the throw, it seems he/she’s relying a bit too much on muscling the throw vs purely technique. Grabbing the gi definitely makes the throw more effective and harder to counter, but it seems a proficient judoka doesn’t absolutely need it and could easily adapt to not having that option available.

IMO a judoka could easily practice without relying on the gi whenever he/she wants. He/she would only have to consciously tell themself not to rely on the gi during practice and randori. It doesn’t have to literally be no-gi to effectively be “no-gi.”

Again, non-judoka speaking.
 

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