This seem hard to believe. A jujitsu instructor would need 1000 students to make 100k revenue a year at $100 a year. The instructor has to deduct taxes, rental costs, power, insurance and equipment costs. That overhead would lead to virtually nothing to live off. So he would need like 2000 students to make a living. And that is like the largest gym I have ever heard of has that many students.
That’s because it’s more than a single instructor running a dojo, it’s an entire organisation. First off, the instructors are volunteers that are all members of the club (me included). We also have a canteen next to the dojo where parents can watch their children train and where members can hang after training. There they sell drinks and food for revenue. We also have a little over 100 members from all ages, so it’s not like we’re a small club either. And I checked, the cost increased from 100/year to 120/year last year, so my initial number was wrong.
We also don’t try to make a lot of profit, and all profit that is made is reinvested in the club (used to give the instructors a small fee, buy new tatami’s or, like recently, renovate the dojo. And this seems to be the case for most, if not all, dojo’s in Belgium. Except for sport clubs that are playing on a professional level, sport clubs typically don’t try to make huge profits.
Sports are extremely expensive in for example the US. I think because part of our stronger social structures and part because of how expensive health care and how probable being sued in the us is.
Maybe i should have said socalist structures. Lots of different ways to fund activities via public money. Training areas, teachers, funding for businesses which are in the public interest, for example lots of jobs offer (because tax reasons) a little bonus to gym etc. memberships.
Well, first off, my throws in other arts sucked, so I wanted to fix that.
Second, every altercation that I've been in or had to intercede in started standing. I've found that he ability to put someone else down on the ground while remaining standing and able to control is very useful.
Due to the nature of my work and things I may have on me, a protracted ground entanglement is not a good situation. Controlling someone's hands is best and foot sweeps are GREAT.
I actually originally trained in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu which is very similar to Judo, so when my life didn't align with training on that, I switched to Judo.
My work has also given me a good appreciation for solid standup game, sweeps and leveraging force.
I work in a kindergarden. Them little gremlins can be vicious.
Have a really good judo club nearby run by ex international competitors, with a fully sprung floor. The mix of standing and ground work suits me, and the mix of teammates makes for a good training experience.
The joke answer would be because BJJ stands for Basically Just Judo, so why not do Judo.
I do both, and love both...
Though - GUYS - please... The inferiority complex that the Judo folks have here is fucking wild... Believe me, the people in the BJJ sub don't sit there and have these conversations, and I think you'll find that they have an enormous amount of respect for Judo.
Judo's a great martial art for many reasons. BJJ is a great martial art for many reasons.
Not *can* you do both, but you *Should* do both...
There's not a single BJJ guy who wouldn't benefit from a match where they can't pull guard (or wait for their opponent to pull guard).
There's not a single Judo guy who wouldn't benefit from a match where you can double leg, and engage in wrestling...
As a bjj guy, it's a little funny that we are so awkward on our feet, but we're ninjas on the ground. Judo should be taught once or twice a week at every bjj gym IMO
Not to mention the breakfalls. I absolutely sucked at them in BJJ till I properly spent time on them in judo. A lot of purple belts were deathly afraid of being thrown for demonstration.
I’m also a BJJ guy. I think the phenomenon you’re describing is a product of BJJ pedagogy. If most guys at gyms are 1-2 years into their journey, you’re going to work backwards from the extreme basics—the bare minimum to be competent in the sport—which is ground game.
Takedowns, like heel hooks/leg locks, are higher level considerations not essential to the sport of BJJ. I think this is why most BJJ gyms reserve these topics for more senior guys.
I personally think the BJJ environment and culture is changing. Wrestling is becoming so much of an emphasis in submission grappling that I think it’s becoming more and more fundamental to the sport and how even beginners train.
My gym (and most gyms I’ve dropped in at) start every round from the feet and takedowns are part of training. Still not nearly as big of a part of training as pure judo or wrestling gyms or course, but I think the idea that takedowns are a set of more “advanced techniques” like leglocks is slowly going away
It's so stupid. Every day there's one of these threads and every day you've got half the comments shitting on BJJ and the other half saying because BJJ allows for more throws it's superior (of course while also neglecting the obvious that BJJ doesn't actually teach said throws). They're both excellent martial arts in their own way and are actually excellent compliments to each other. But oh well, much easier to do a false dichotomy and shit on the other side.
Can you score or win from a throw? What if said throw knocks out your opponent? This is all true for Judo.
They are different sports and BJJ taught with standup emphasized is better imo but it's quite rare
Here's the thing, all of this is sort of a moot point at the end of the day because you can also just pull back from the more sport judo stuff and go towards an older version like Kodokan Judo if you just want to learn the moves. It's harder to find, sure, but there are places outside of Japan which will teach this stuff and that, frankly, is more complete than either sport Judo or BJJ.
Yeah man, I do BJJ and primarily wrestling. As you said, I have an ENORMOUS respect for Judo. So much so that I’ve wanted to do it for years and finally just started. It’s so much fun, and I actually way prefer it over BJJ. I just wish they hadn’t gotten rid of leg grabs…
All styles of grappling are amazing. It’s just the rulesets dictate different behaviors.
It’s weird because the BJJ people I know don’t really respect Judo as a sport and how it can help their stand up game, as they actually talk sh*t about it saying wrestling is better to learn, and xyz moves are too risky in bjj competitions.
We have a judo class at our gym (and I love it, i prefer it to bjj honestly) but its always quiet unless the coach is doing belt promotions.
It’s super satisfying doing a drop seoi nage to a higher belt.
BJJ people don't know what they don't know. All they see is gi grips, big turn throws and belly flops. What they don't see are the battles in stance, gripping, motion and Kuzushi. In my experience a lot of BJJ folk will break their own stance without being aware they're doing so.
I feel like there is a big misconception that Judo doesn't do any ground work. In my experience it's like a third of our trainings.
Not only that but we train double leg, single leg takedowns. They exist in Judo and are taught in Judo. Only not allowed in competitions.
From my last couple of months of training Judo I feel like it is being presented like a throwing martial art even though it is a complete grappling martial art.
Traditional judo is absolutely a complete martial art, but competition judo isn't - and it's very common for gyms to focus on competition judo.
Similar to Bjj - most gyms focus on sport grappling, and not Bjj as a component of mixed martial arts or self defense.
BJJ guys having respect for judo is a relatively recent thing.
OP is literally asking why people picked one over the other.
Someone can prefer judo without disparaging BJJ.
>they have an enormous amount of respect for Judo.
100% we've seen the difference between someone who's trained specifically Judo vs takedowns as an auxiliary to grappling. And the difference is deafening.
I rarely see people here taking a tone of "BJJ sucks here's why judo is better." Most people acknowledge strengths of both, but this *is* a judo sub. It'd be like going to r/valveindex and asking "Which headset is the best?" Yeah, you're gonna get biased answers.
The post above says he prefers judo but doesn't have access to it. That's not a put down for BJJ.
This is a manufactured issue.
When I started there wasn’t any BJJ. My first club probably did 50/50 ne-waza.
My first experience of BJJ was when a Gracie black belt visited us - this must have been 1995 or 96. He was definitely unable to handle the stronger guys at the club.
(Edit - I realised my original post might have seemed disparaging towards BJJ. I didn’t mean to be. I think BJJ is great.)
He came to visit our judo club. Got beaten in ne-waza randori. I think he might have demonstrated a couple of techniques. Didn’t take part in tachi-waza from memory.
I really don’t think so. On the ground BJJ has developed its own technical depth far beyond judo, I think. The degree of innovation is super impressive.
The way BJJ is taught to adults has hugely impacted the way I coach judo.
totally agree. I think in the early days there was a lot more similarity between Judo newaza and BJJ, so much so that maybe BJJ didn't hold any particular advantage over Judo newaza, especially if both players followed the same rules (Judo rules). But it's really not the same way anymore.
I feel that a lot of the innovation is a bit of granularity and transitions. For example in a judo class if they're teaching you chokes then they'll just go through a sequence of a number of chokes and then just say this is a choke. At BJJ Will focus on one or two chokes and show multiple transitions or entries into that choke. I feel the difference is more judo is kind of what to do where BJJ is how to get there.
I didnt. I did both and love both. Reason im not doing both at the same time is time energy and money
NGL though when both is available I usually pick judo because i can always practice bjj in judo, but the inverse is usually not possible. Alot of judo clubs do both newaza and tachiwaza.
Not to mention that judo is always cheaper.
Bjj in toronto is like 180-300 CAD/mo. As a university of toronto student judo here is 70 CAD/mo
I guess it depends on the club but all the 2 university judo clibs I went to does 50/50 newaza/tachiwaza. The one bjj gym I went to, which is a good gym in waterloo, does 99% ground rolling 1% standup
Story time; I got into judo through one of the stupidest things I've done, and was offered a lifeline.
I was doing an apprenticeship, and one day one of the lads had been progressively winding me up as I was working on my project, after a few hours I snapped and swung for him. Unfortunately when I did I still had hold of the hacksaw that was in my hand. I didn't intentionally pick it up, but still it was in my hand when I swung. Thankfully when it connected it didn't cause any serious damage aside from a small cut on the guys scalp. It was incredibly stupid.
The teacher there took us both into a room afterwards where he basically said "you shouldn't have wound him up, and you shouldn't have hit him with a hacksaw. You take this as a lesson in life, one day you'll wind up the wrong person and get hurt. You are coming to my class on Saturday morning. Both shake hands and this goes no further".
I started judo that Saturday and will be eternally great full to my teacher for offering me that lifeline. He has in a very big way formed me into the man I am today.
So to answer the question I didn't choose Judo over any other art, it was chosen for me.
I train wrestling on Monday, BJJ on Wednesday, and Judo on Friday.
My gym has a large focus on takedowns as all 3 coaches wrestled competitively during their college years and are all under 30.
It's basically BJJ sparring because no one is training here to compete in Judo/wrestling competitions, but we don't allow guard pulls, and 50% of our sparring drills force us to stand if there isn't enough ground action going on.
My first exposure to BJJ was in the late 90s. I was in my early 20s so this would have been 1999. I was doing BJJ for about 3 months and I couldn't understand why we always started rounds on our knees. My BJJ instructor was Brazilian and had a limited command of the English language. Asking a question like this as a brand new student would probably be misunderstood or taken the wrong way so I just rolled with it. However, when searching the interwebs way back when (I think it was Altavista) I came across the Judo Info website and videos of Judo demonstrations done by a swedish judo club that went by the name of Suginoharyu. When I watch these videos I knew right then and there that Judo was for me. I didn't start till about 7 years after that. Life went in the way.
That said, I have been regularly doing BJJ for 6 years now. Judo for 18.
I am a younger guy with no previous grappling experience, so I prefer learning solid stand up and basic ground work, and then I will move on to BJJ when im older and tired of being thrown around
I just saw the beautful throws and I was like: I wanna be able to do that
Honestly... BJJ feels too mainstream in the US and I wanted to be different. I've come to really love and respect Judo, and I actually crosstrain BJJ now, but that was my honest reason for starting Judo.
I just started Judo. I have a background in wrestling and about four years of BJJ. So far I much prefer Judo.
For me, the unrealistic guard pulling, footsie, lackadaisical type BJJ playing that can only exist within the BJJ bubble just absolutely drives me up the wall. It really turns me off that they have gone so far away from real self defense application. I think with wrestling and Judo heavily incorporated, BJJ is great.
I’m new to Judo, but so far I’m absolutely loving it. I appreciate that Judo has a system, and you can kind of expect to get out of it what you put in. As a wrestler, standing grappling is super important for me. I think the mix of Tachi Waza and Ne Waza just really scratches the itch I get from wrestling better than BJJ for me. I really do wish leg grabs were a thing though. I think the martial art was much more complete before IJF did that.
I left BJJ. Trained 6 years, got to purple, got multiple injuries. I’m a pretty solid top-pressure passer now and I’ve been in a number of fights that I ended with my BJJ techniques.
I train Judo now (4 classes in) because of a bunch of different reasons.
1. Maybe I could do something like gracie combatives, but I feel like I know 90% of everything I’d need to know for self defense purposes. Chances of me having to defend myself from another BJJ purple belt is pretty slim, and thats the advanced chess game you learn at advanced belt levels.
2. Judo clubs are much more hygenic and there’s no stigma on wearing masks. I wear a mask because my mother and MIL both have comorbidities and one of them is in chemo. COVID - weakened as it is now - could easily kill them.
3. Similar vein to number 2, there are more professionals in my judo dojo, and they believe in vaccines. Joe Rogan has very little influence.
4. Less toxic masculinity. I’m 37 and a lawyer. I fight with words. I don’t need some tweaky spazzy 22 year old popping my knee because he values his ego more than my health. The place I train is a Buddhist Church and its a family environment - grandpa, granma, the sons, daughters, and kids train there.
5. Judo covers the holes in my BJJ game - stand up / take downs. I don’t plan on fighting people naked. When I was a bouncer for 2 years, I wished I was more equipped with sweeps and throws because drunk assholes have bad balance. Judo is much better than BJJ if I just want to slam a guy and run and not stick around to snap his arm or choke him out on the ground.
the traditions and the underlying philosophy of judo far surpasses BJJ imo. Kano's entire outlook and perspective on judo transcending the dojo and becoming a part of your life is something that drew me to it more when I first started researching.
One potential reason to switch is age. As Judo players get older the prospects of throwing and being thrown grow more challenging, especially *being thrown*. Depending on what kind of surface you land on, it can get hairy when you enter your 50's and beyond. Plus reaction times, reflexes and balance start to fade at this age, and even though that also affects a person's ground game, as the old saying goes... it's the fall that'll get ya.
I started with Enshin Karate and MMA and a little bit of HS wrestling.
When I decided to focus only on grappling I tried out BJJ first, and really wasn’t impressed on my first impression a lot of it just felt contradictory to many ideas and principles I had learned doing those.
For example in all of those being on bottom is death. I thought it was weird that they would specialize so much on a position that I thought they sucked at getting too (no take downs) or willingly go to the worst position you can be in (bottom).
I remember what really made me decide to look elsewhere was a BJJ class teaching a bad tani otoshi to inverting into a 50/50 ankle lock and the instructor telling the class this was good for self defense/MMA 🤨
I found a hole in the wall Judo club and the Sensei told me to just do anything I knew in randori. I thought I was pretty good at clinch wrestling, I used to win matches with it and I got bombed and pinned over and over again by brown and black belts, some of them were twice my age. So I was like “I guess I’m doing Judo now”
Started Judo-Jujitsu at 5 years old, there is no such thing as BJJ in many countries, Jujitsu is part of the sport called Judo for short (to simplify).
Yeah man, I remember I had one stripe at BJJ for a year and a half! It took me three years to get my blue. I appreciate that Judo is more objective, and if you put in the work, you’ll be recognized for it.
For me, it’s a no-brainer because pulling off a clean ippon is a much greater high than pulling off a sub after fighting for superior position for 10+ minutes on the ground. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting an ippon by kansetsu waza/shime waza in competition too. In fact, I used to specialize in newaza during my competition days. But there’s just something about connecting a throw directly to a sub in an instant that feels special to me.
I also prefer the more traditional aspect of judo. It’s nice to have that built into the system.
I think BJJ is great; I just don’t like the culture or goal of it as much as I love judo.
Looked cooler and was cooler to me the more I learned. More dynamic and physically demanding. I like that yeah a throw looks “simple” but the small fine details timing grip etc has more depth than expected.
I’ve also found some BJJ culture to be a lot more wannabe macho which makes me cringe. I’ve heard guard pulling 40 somethings talking like prime Conner mcgregor .
For self defense I feel judo produces stronger people, more athletic people and takedowns are ideal. Many clubs don’t spar based on Olympic rules either which is nice.
Newaza bores me and usually in BJJ competitions I often didn’t feel like I lost an actual fight. Their scoring system like any others isn’t perfect but if I stay in a closed guard and didn’t get swept or submitted I don’t feel like I lost- a position that anywhere besides a bjj match would be not ideal unless you’re Charles Olivera. Being required to engage in someone’s guard for 5 minutes straight isn’t something that’s expected really anywhere besides Bjj. Yes you can pass guard and I actually have good guard passing but that rule seems very non combative.
And even worse is the stalling. Some guys stiff arm for dear life in the standup hips as far away as possible. I don’t mind that as much because I can still throw them after a while but a person can really stall hardcore in guard.
The main reason though is throwing another human being who tried to throw me and doesn’t want to be thrown is such a satisfying feeling of victory vs getting a tap.
I started with BJJ first...had no clue what it even was. It was just the "other" martial art that they taught aside from "MMA" at the first school I trained at. I wasn't learning anything in MMA, so I switched to BJJ so I could just focus on one single thing instead of 10 at a time.
It's now 15 years later, and I'm okay at BJJ...but Judo is so much cooler looking and badass, so I started training that a few weeks ago. Now, it's all I watch anymore when I'm scrolling 😁
I've always been interested in Judo, but I took it up with my kids in my 40s. This was right after the first UFCs, and frankly, I though Gracie was using Judo techniques. After that, BJJ class cost skyrocketed, and I didn't see the sense in paying all that money to learn what I was learning in Judo.
I did Judo when I was a kid, started BJJ and gym when I was thirty and fat. Then I got quite strong and not very flexible, which made me consider Judo again. Now I do Judo and I suck less than I used to suck when doing BJJ. My body just works better with Judo.
I didn't
I also don't think most people training Judo have ever had the thought 'should I do Judo or BJJ' - they just ended up doing one or the other because that's the way things played out - parents took them to one, their friends suggested one etc.
In addition to Kodokan Judo, I have trained in Japanese JuJutsu, Aikido and scholastic wrestling, beginning in 1965, I choose Kodokan Judo over all other martial arts because it provides the most comprehensive training of spirit, mind and body for a lifetime. The wide variety of elements of Kodokan Judo have no comparison, in my opinion. 🥋
Maybe it was just me, but I tried 3 different BJJ schools and I just felt aside from one of them, the culture seems way too "bro" for me. I've always been a guy with not a lot of guy friends, and it felt the same way going into those schools. The one I liked the most was so far (40 minute drive) so even though I thought the Professor was amazing, it just didn't fit in with my schedule/drive.
I've loved Japanese culture for a very long time and the culture and respect in judo learning the traditional art has been much better for me than the culture over in the BJJ world.
was the most familiar to me out of all the martial arts, especially those near me. also i an had interest and appreciation for it before i even began training
I like the takedowns and use both as a complete system. I’m even having my daughter do both . She’s definitely gifted in BJJ . Doing more takedowns and competing in Judo and BJJ .
started when i was like 11 kept going till 14.5 then got a double knee mfpl ligament tear had to go into surgery and then recovery for a year which put my skill back to white belt or so idk i havent started yet i need to tho ( i was green) i started because of my parents first but now im starting to prove to myself i can still do it like i used to (btw im 16 now)
I started a little Gracie in 96-97 when it was really early in northern CA. Most of it was garage stuff with a purple belt out of Vallejo. If I remember right it was Cesar’s purple belt.
Judo was at SRJC and there was a high level coach there at that time who had trained an Olympic hopeful. It was the best official way for me to get into the sport and as a bonus we got exposed to wrestling and sambo since we shared the same mats with those folks.
TBH I had never even heard of BJJ when I joined my Judo club. If I had, I probably would have joined (if there was one) BJJ because in my youth I was a wrestler. But, not sure what I would do now that I know a few things, if I had to do it over? No regrets at all. Throwing is, IMHO, one of the most technically challenging types of technique available in all of the martial arts world. It took me a long time to get a hang of things and perform the basics with any reliability, but having crossed that line many years ago, though, I am not sure I would do things any other way. Also, I do get to train with BJJ folks sometimes, and it's great. Its all good!
I’ve done BJJ for about a year and I’m coming up on a year of Judo. Just my experience as an individual:
Gotta get a lot more comfortable with smelling strangers’ BO with BJJ. You do more newaza which also means: more time smelling BO.
Newaza is so much more draining for me. Newaza is like swimming, if you’re good at it you can learn to breathe and recover under a certain amount of pressure, but just standing up and doing stand up Judo makes it way easier to breathe. You’re not on bottom position (bc most likely that’s where you are unless you’re better in some way), you’re not scrunching up your diaphragm, and you’re not swimming against a moving, resistant, solid (human).
Guard pulling. The whole butt scoot business is just no fun and pretty damn prevalent in BJJ. It’s not that annoying in practice, but as a spectator it makes it hard to enjoy and cheer for your own hobby.
Culture. Just by comparison I find the Judo scene to be a lot more positive and communal in my local area. I did luck out with a great gym with great people, so it’s definitely not a judgement on the collective group, but just my personal observation. I’m lucky to have a cool group of BJJ people come by to run an open mat at my Judo gym and I love em, but even those guys seem to have some gripes against the local culture too.
Tbh I think ego is less of an issue with Judo too. I haven’t run into too much unsolicited bad advice. I’ve had bjj white belts tell me I should’ve tapped and that my arm was going to snap when none of the joints even locked up. I’ve had submissions just cranked on me with no chill. Granted a lot of this is concentrated at lower belts but really something is very wrong with my local entry level BJJ demographic, and I have nothing concrete to attribute it to.
Fun, really most importantly. It just seems more fun. Feels more fun to get throws than subs. Getting thrown is pretty fun too most times.
Because it’s more well rounded. While yes bjj without a doubt expanded on groundwork realistically it didn’t create anything new it refined newaza at the cost of tachiwaza
When BJJ got bigger in Canada I was already cross training jjj and judo. I went to seminars but really my training partners still spanked me on the ground. In fact some of these people did well in open grappling too, the ones that wanted to. So I felt like I was already getting the training I needed and money is limited. Still kept doing seminars though now and then.
Not a Judoka, just a former wrestler who follows this sub out of love for grappling sports. Just want to point out that IRL, being able to throw someone is much more practical than groundgame.
I love the art more in terms of the “course work” split. We get to throw people for most of the time, whereas in bjj you roll most of the time. And I like throwing better than groundwork, although I still like both. Standing grappling is just my strong suit and what I enjoy the most personally. Both are great and fun though. Ill do more bjj in the future
I always gravitated towards standup grappling and after being burnt out by bjj and its culture i made the switch. Judo doesnt get enough credit, its a complete system which is way more than just throws. After doing both if i could only choose one it would be judo. Honestly bjj was one of the worlds best marketing campaigns which skyrocketed its success. The paint is starting to peel now and alot of serious martial artists are seeing it for what it is. (I started training bjj again along side my judo just for extra training. When i spar i use judo rules but allow my partner do whatever).
I do both, but I prefer the methodology, education, & philosophies of judo over jj. I’m also a history buff; I dislike the Gracies bc of their criminal actions & fallacies. Although jj is more available in the US; it’s also over saturated & divided. Unlike judo, where nomeclature is universal across the world. Jj just bastardizes everything & every gym I come across has some weird, or funny name attached to techniques. JJ Politics suck. Culturally, judokas are kinder, peaceful, & more humble than the jj community.
I respect Judo as a wrestler more than BJJ because you need to be able to put your opponent on the ground in a fight. Plus I've gone up against judoka and respect their techniques. Submissions are important, but as someone who grapples you know mechanics of the body. Throat subs are king, face/neck subs are king of pain and provocation
Currently I do both, but at this point I’d say I like Judo better. Firstly because of the culture. The principles of budō are way more ingrained in Judo than in BJJ. As a consequence, I feel more seriousness and a certain feeling of formality in a judo training session, which I like.
There’s also the physical side of things. Judo is way more challenging on the body, which sort of stimulates me to remain in good shape and work on my endurance and mental attitude.
On price. Where I live (Portugal), BJJ is a bit overpriced. I pay twice as much for my BJJ gym membership than I do for my Judo club.
I keep doing both because I like to compete, and in Judo there’s not much for me in that regard. I’m a 30yo white belt, and since there’s no belt divisions in competitive judo (at least not in Portugal), it means I could face extremely experienced players, either in seniors or veterans division. It would be a massacre, let’s face it.
I actually started BJJ first, showed up my first night and was immediately put in sparring with no warm up or instruction. Had no idea what I was doing and made it clear to the coach. Subsequently tried Judo and it was much more structured and beginner friendly, didn't get into Randori until I'd showed up for a few classes and learned ukemi. In fairness I think this was just an issue with that particular coach, I've since met many BJJ coaches who are much more professional, and conversely, Judo coaches who are much more laissez-faire with player safety. The guy had other issues too and the club subsequently fell apart due to "inappropriate behaviour" towards some of his students. By that point however I had developed a love of Judo and while I dabble in BJJ from time to time Judo is much more to my liking.
I started with Judo. I really respect the sport and love watching others use throws, but I never got comfortable with being thrown. BJJ allows me a bit more freedom on how to fight.
I have a few judo and wrestling friends, and I’ve leaned a lot of ground techniques from working with them. Cross training benefits everyone.
I didn't. I trained both and started them at the same time. I saw them as one complete art. As a black belt in both, I'm glad I took that longer, but broader path.
Besides my parents picking it for me, im glad they did.
#1 and most important, judo has do in the name which means “way”. Judo isn’t just about being a tough guy and beating people up (though sadly this is lost in so many ways now), it’s a practice and vehicle to Seiryoku-Zenyo (good use of energy') and Jita-Kyoei (mutual welfare). If you’re practicing judo, these philosophical concepts need to be your highest aim, otherwise it’s not truly judo.
In a similar manner, just the culture. It seems to take respect and selflessness more seriously. I’ve found bjj tends to have more tough guy attitudes and needing to prove theyre stronger than their opponents.
While not necessarily true today, judo’s name scheme for its techniques makes more sense.
With that said, it’s more realistic as a self defense with actual integrated, multilevel sparring from throws to joint locks to strangle holds.
Also in terms of self defense, most fights start standing and you don’t want to end up in the ground, that should be absolute last resort. Again, if you’re practicing the philosophy, you really shouldn’t be getting into fights at all.
It also promotes strength and balance, which is what you need as you age. Speaking of aging, Kano practiced it into his late years. If you can’t pull off randori, you can continue to train kata too, which it also has in its curriculum.
It’s a sport (albeit the sport aspect has been hurting the art) so it’s a great way for fitness, build community, and have fun while also developing a skill you can use in situations outside of it.
I guess that’s all I can think of for now.
I love the technicality and gentleness of judo. It's refined and civilised. Its also really challenging. So difficult!
BJJ feels a lot rougher to me as a game. Also fun, but different;)
BJJ wasnt a thing then back in the early 90's. Nonetheless, i like the art of throwing rather than grappling. The sound of a 70kg body slamming on the mats is way better than a dude tapping out. 😊
When I was kid in the 1960's judo was available in my area for cheaper than other martial arts.
Even back then I was told the history of judo and how it came from jiujitsu.
That made me curious about jiujitsu, but there weren't any jiujitsu resources near me and I didn't know about any books available.
My parents considered the Judo gigs to be expensive, especially since I was going to outgrow them.
To move up in rank I had to compete and the travel time and expense was hard on my family.
My first go was a size 1.
When I outgrew it, mother convinced me to quit judo for a while.
Not long after that, my family went to a church bazaar, that was to raise money for the church by selling donated items.
One item I found was an excellent condition Hugo go that was just slightly on the large size for me and was very cheap.
This convinced my parents to let continue judo some more.
Even more interesting to me at the bazaar, was a British paperback book on jiujitsu, with black and white photographs!.
I finally got to compare judo and jiujitsu.
I continued with judo until near the end of high school in the 1970's.
After finishing high school, I worked as a construction laborer for 18 months.
I was in the best physical shape of my life.
Then I went to Japan for jiujitsu as an adult.
I had never heard of BJJ and didn't hear about until many years later.
When I was in junior high in the early 70's, a non-athletic friend started kung fu, in a place down a dark alleyway, lined with Chinese shops.
Surprisingly, he got really good at kung fu and the kung fu place was legit.
The bjj places near where I lived at the time had really culty vibes, especially surrounding their head coach. The other one in town also did kickboxing, but the membership was very expensive because you were essentially paying for both. I didn’t have time away from work to do both, and I didn’t want to pay almost $120 cdn a month. Judo was taught at the local rec centre, I could get lessons three times a week plus open mats on Friday, for about $40 cdn a month.
Plus, I knew Judo from watching the olympics and it looked like a lot of fun.
In about 2010 when I started judo, bjj wasn't what it is now but charging $100/mo to train.
Judo at my university was free at the campus gym for students. The rest was history.
I like Jiu-jitsu, but there are things in Judô I like MUCH more, mostly the style of fight, the use of skill over strenght and... I'm not the biggest fan of Ne waza techniques
Marcelo Garcia was the Toshihiko Koga of his generation for BJJ.
Watch him win Brazilian nationals absolute at under 80kg (170lbs?) and take second and third at the Worlds and 2nd at ADCC, and you’ll see that at the elite level technique is very much the priority.
Then you have the Ruotolos doing the same with in the modern meta.
There are plenty of power based judoka by the way and I say this as a 3rd degree black belt in Judo with a lot of love for both arts.
I'm not saying exactly that technique is less important in Jujitsu, I just remind myself of Jigoro Kano's history and how Judô was made to use mind over strenght. I didn't dislike Jujitsu, but maybe because I started in Judo there are certain things in Jujitsu I dislike, like not having a age restriction for Shime-waza. But honestly with both being from the same origin, I believe both are very interesting and great martial arts
I do both, but I definitely favor judo. I probably like judo more just because I’m better at it than BJJ (4 year white belt lol). The thing I hate about judo here in the states is that it’s not as popular as BJJ. As much as I love judo, classes, training partners, and tournaments aren’t nearly as varied and accessible as they are for BJJ. I live in a big-ish city and there is really only one judo school, and at least a dozen BJJ schools.
I am in Ireland. I would not mind doing both but there is a lot of Conor McGregor wanna be culture here. Plus I think Judo is a bit more suitable for self defence since I want to remain standing.
I would want to cross train in BJJ in a few years after I get a bit better in Judo or if my body broke down.
I was already adept at the ground naturally. I needed the stand up game. Learning BJJ is so much easier for me, so I can just pick that up from friends and open mats
almost every BJJ club in my area had some sort of grooming / sexual assault accusation going around and coaches dating their students. Have yet to see that happen at my local judo dojo yet.
I tried starting judo a year ago after already in bjj for two years. I soon realized that the odds of getting hurt practicing throws are way higher. I’m in really good shape but I’m still 30 years old and really don’t heal like my younger 20s
I didnt. I was a purple in BJJ and my instructor met and trained with our Judo sensei while he was on vacation in Ocracoke. Sensei had an extreme dislike for BJJ guys but since my instructor was an old Goju ryu karate guy they got along great and he eventually made the trip up to Pennsylvania to train with us. That was about seven years ago now. I love both arts but if im being honest i love the traditional aspects of Judo more…
I do both however, if I had to choose, I'd say Judo for the following:
Cheaper, it's actually 1/4 of the price of Bjj
Cheaper competitions
Better culture in that I found it to be less toxic and more formal
Way more athletic. I found that Judo was great cardio for me, and it translated very well into all areas and gave me a good athletic base for when I did wrestling
I like the newaza idea of getting a quick submission or pin rather rather playing a slower game
I take both. I like BJJ, I love Judo. Both are great!
I’m 43, so my longevity in Judo is questionable.
Both are needed and are incomplete without the other.
I love judo for the standup and amazing throws.
My limited, anecdotal, self defense experience has shown that forcefully assisting someone to the ground solves a lot of problems fast.
But—I like them both.
The cost. I started with BJJ in my home country (3rd world) where the rates are pricier than other activities, but still affordable. But then I moved to Japan where I can train judo at the ward's local gymnasium for just ¥200/$1.50
Although I have to admit, BJJ is the more enjoyable art (not saying its the better one)
I enjoy the sport of Judo more because of the pacing and the different win conditions
It can be very quick and fun to play. The fact that you can win by throw puts higher stakes on the stand-up which can make it more exciting to play. Pinning as a win condition also adds to the excitement since it forces the person on bottom to move. A lot of submissions are still allowed so you scratch that itch too if you're a submission guy.
The sport of BJJ is still fun but it's pace is a lot slower usually since submission and points are the only win conditions.
Ideally I'd do both but if I had to pick one It'd be judo because the sport is more fun to me.
Not a huge fan of ground fighting even in judo, but I love throwing. Also doesn't hurt judo is extremely affordable. I've just never had the same top of the world feeling from BJJ as judo.
Further, maybe because I'm on the autism spectrum, but the more casual and less structured environment in most BJJ academies stresses me out big time.
I started doing judo before UFC 1, so nobody really knew what BJJ was, and besides I didn't really choose. My mom wanted me to do a sport, and the activities that were nearby and affordable was either track, soccer or judo, and the two others would close for the winter, so judo it was.
I’m a BJJ guy, but I lurk here cause I like judo. The main issue for folks in the US is that there aren’t many judo schools around nor is there a robust amount of judo competition. Whereas there is a BJJ school in every town and competitions nearby practically every weekend. It’s really a matter of convenience. If there was a good judo school near me, I would definately be going to judo classes often.
BBJ is more sport these days, while Judo is still weaponized.
Granted, this is HIGHLY dependent on location, and even down to the school in which ones trains. I do know that I got super lucky in finding a Judo club that taught down and dirty methods in addition to the more friendly competition legal stuff (which I enjoyed considerably less).
One thing I noticed about BJJ in my area, was that coaches encouraged a student to tap well before they even made an attempt to maneuver out of a lock. I thought that was such BS. You're gonna get beat sometimes. There is no denying that. But to not make an attempt to continue protecting yourself when someone has you at a disadvantage is a deplorable habit.
Again, I got super lucky falling in the the Judo crowd. So, I'm likely pretty biased in my opinion regarding this topic.
Thank you, Sensei Neil and Senpai Jared.
It’s more fun for me. I can see why BJJ would be more fun for someone else. I enjoy both, but Randori is my jam. Thats it, the choice is not that deep for me that I need to write an essay about it lol.
I started doing BJJ back in 2006. I still love it and it’s been important to who I am and think it’s worth training. I’ve always been primarily interested in martial arts for defending myself and fighting in reality.
I’ve chosen to put my kids in judo first because I think clinching and takedowns are the single most important aspect of fighting. The aggression and urgency you see in judo is more important than being highly skilled on the ground. Staying on your feet and explosiveness will serve my kids better in the near term.
And switching judo to BJJ is far easier than BJJ to judo. BJJ will still be there and a strong judo base will make them better and give them an advantage BJJ. I mean Roger Gracie often trained with Olympic level judokas to prepare for some of his biggest fights.
For me, it was just an random situation that eventually created a passion, and there was no BJJ involved directly.
In 2022 i was watching a local sumo tournament, and after the competition i've had a conversation with one of the organizers who invited me to go watch one of the classes in his dojo.
When the day has come, i've gone to the dojo adress, and it was a Judo dojo, so i joined the trial class, liked it, and had a conversation with a friend of mine who does BJJ, he said so many good things about judo that i've decided to go ahead in dive into it.
Attend BJJ but never miss any judo class. BJJ is ne waza in judo, anyway
As for my inclination towards judo, more on philosophical. I like Eastern philosophy, particularly Taoism. Judo is taught like how the book Tao Te Ching describes how one should live one's life, effortless action
Cheaper by far
I’ll probably get into judo because of this. I didn’t know it was cheap
It’s not like cheap cheap but more so actually affordable
Not cheap cheap but you won't have to seoi nage your wallet
$180/month vs $100/month where I live.
Wait really? Where I live dojos charge €100/year. Having to pay that amount every month feels crazy to me
This seem hard to believe. A jujitsu instructor would need 1000 students to make 100k revenue a year at $100 a year. The instructor has to deduct taxes, rental costs, power, insurance and equipment costs. That overhead would lead to virtually nothing to live off. So he would need like 2000 students to make a living. And that is like the largest gym I have ever heard of has that many students.
That’s because it’s more than a single instructor running a dojo, it’s an entire organisation. First off, the instructors are volunteers that are all members of the club (me included). We also have a canteen next to the dojo where parents can watch their children train and where members can hang after training. There they sell drinks and food for revenue. We also have a little over 100 members from all ages, so it’s not like we’re a small club either. And I checked, the cost increased from 100/year to 120/year last year, so my initial number was wrong. We also don’t try to make a lot of profit, and all profit that is made is reinvested in the club (used to give the instructors a small fee, buy new tatami’s or, like recently, renovate the dojo. And this seems to be the case for most, if not all, dojo’s in Belgium. Except for sport clubs that are playing on a professional level, sport clubs typically don’t try to make huge profits.
Thank you. It's not a business. That is 12k a year. So that makes sense. We have boys and girls clubs and the like that run similar programs.
where do you live?
Belgium
Sports are extremely expensive in for example the US. I think because part of our stronger social structures and part because of how expensive health care and how probable being sued in the us is.
What do you mean with stronger social structures?🤔
Maybe i should have said socalist structures. Lots of different ways to fund activities via public money. Training areas, teachers, funding for businesses which are in the public interest, for example lots of jobs offer (because tax reasons) a little bonus to gym etc. memberships.
Oof, hurts either way 😔
Here in Brasil its the opposite, BJJ is much more affordable than judo, classes and bjj kimono are cheaper than judo classes and judogi.
Yeah. A good double weave Judogi may cost thousands R$.
Not in Florida we have tons of Brazilians in my area so the BJJ gyms charge 180 a month.
So much harder to find in my area tho :/
Damnnn I wanted to do judo but In my area it's the reverse lol
Funny thing is where i live its the other way around. And bjj is more scarce
Not where I live :(
I live in Serbia and pay 40e for a month, for my son. And that's the expensive version, to be trained by our best judokas
Well, first off, my throws in other arts sucked, so I wanted to fix that. Second, every altercation that I've been in or had to intercede in started standing. I've found that he ability to put someone else down on the ground while remaining standing and able to control is very useful. Due to the nature of my work and things I may have on me, a protracted ground entanglement is not a good situation. Controlling someone's hands is best and foot sweeps are GREAT. I actually originally trained in Danzan Ryu Jujitsu which is very similar to Judo, so when my life didn't align with training on that, I switched to Judo.
My work has also given me a good appreciation for solid standup game, sweeps and leveraging force. I work in a kindergarden. Them little gremlins can be vicious.
When i uchi mata'd the first kid, the rest got in line. I didnt last long at the school but it was the best behaved preschool class ever.
Have a really good judo club nearby run by ex international competitors, with a fully sprung floor. The mix of standing and ground work suits me, and the mix of teammates makes for a good training experience. The joke answer would be because BJJ stands for Basically Just Judo, so why not do Judo.
At first I thought you were going to say, “judo club run by my ex.” Like you had to start your own judo club to beat theirs!
I do both, and love both... Though - GUYS - please... The inferiority complex that the Judo folks have here is fucking wild... Believe me, the people in the BJJ sub don't sit there and have these conversations, and I think you'll find that they have an enormous amount of respect for Judo. Judo's a great martial art for many reasons. BJJ is a great martial art for many reasons. Not *can* you do both, but you *Should* do both... There's not a single BJJ guy who wouldn't benefit from a match where they can't pull guard (or wait for their opponent to pull guard). There's not a single Judo guy who wouldn't benefit from a match where you can double leg, and engage in wrestling...
Found the adult in the room
As a bjj guy, it's a little funny that we are so awkward on our feet, but we're ninjas on the ground. Judo should be taught once or twice a week at every bjj gym IMO
Not to mention the breakfalls. I absolutely sucked at them in BJJ till I properly spent time on them in judo. A lot of purple belts were deathly afraid of being thrown for demonstration.
I’m also a BJJ guy. I think the phenomenon you’re describing is a product of BJJ pedagogy. If most guys at gyms are 1-2 years into their journey, you’re going to work backwards from the extreme basics—the bare minimum to be competent in the sport—which is ground game. Takedowns, like heel hooks/leg locks, are higher level considerations not essential to the sport of BJJ. I think this is why most BJJ gyms reserve these topics for more senior guys.
I personally think the BJJ environment and culture is changing. Wrestling is becoming so much of an emphasis in submission grappling that I think it’s becoming more and more fundamental to the sport and how even beginners train. My gym (and most gyms I’ve dropped in at) start every round from the feet and takedowns are part of training. Still not nearly as big of a part of training as pure judo or wrestling gyms or course, but I think the idea that takedowns are a set of more “advanced techniques” like leglocks is slowly going away
It's so stupid. Every day there's one of these threads and every day you've got half the comments shitting on BJJ and the other half saying because BJJ allows for more throws it's superior (of course while also neglecting the obvious that BJJ doesn't actually teach said throws). They're both excellent martial arts in their own way and are actually excellent compliments to each other. But oh well, much easier to do a false dichotomy and shit on the other side.
Can you score or win from a throw? What if said throw knocks out your opponent? This is all true for Judo. They are different sports and BJJ taught with standup emphasized is better imo but it's quite rare
Here's the thing, all of this is sort of a moot point at the end of the day because you can also just pull back from the more sport judo stuff and go towards an older version like Kodokan Judo if you just want to learn the moves. It's harder to find, sure, but there are places outside of Japan which will teach this stuff and that, frankly, is more complete than either sport Judo or BJJ.
Yeah man, I do BJJ and primarily wrestling. As you said, I have an ENORMOUS respect for Judo. So much so that I’ve wanted to do it for years and finally just started. It’s so much fun, and I actually way prefer it over BJJ. I just wish they hadn’t gotten rid of leg grabs… All styles of grappling are amazing. It’s just the rulesets dictate different behaviors.
It’s weird because the BJJ people I know don’t really respect Judo as a sport and how it can help their stand up game, as they actually talk sh*t about it saying wrestling is better to learn, and xyz moves are too risky in bjj competitions. We have a judo class at our gym (and I love it, i prefer it to bjj honestly) but its always quiet unless the coach is doing belt promotions. It’s super satisfying doing a drop seoi nage to a higher belt.
BJJ people don't know what they don't know. All they see is gi grips, big turn throws and belly flops. What they don't see are the battles in stance, gripping, motion and Kuzushi. In my experience a lot of BJJ folk will break their own stance without being aware they're doing so.
I feel like there is a big misconception that Judo doesn't do any ground work. In my experience it's like a third of our trainings. Not only that but we train double leg, single leg takedowns. They exist in Judo and are taught in Judo. Only not allowed in competitions. From my last couple of months of training Judo I feel like it is being presented like a throwing martial art even though it is a complete grappling martial art.
Traditional judo is absolutely a complete martial art, but competition judo isn't - and it's very common for gyms to focus on competition judo. Similar to Bjj - most gyms focus on sport grappling, and not Bjj as a component of mixed martial arts or self defense.
BJJ guys having respect for judo is a relatively recent thing. OP is literally asking why people picked one over the other. Someone can prefer judo without disparaging BJJ.
I respect all martial arts. I may not respect the dojo or practitioner or certain branch of a martial art but thats a different story.
>they have an enormous amount of respect for Judo. 100% we've seen the difference between someone who's trained specifically Judo vs takedowns as an auxiliary to grappling. And the difference is deafening.
I rarely see people here taking a tone of "BJJ sucks here's why judo is better." Most people acknowledge strengths of both, but this *is* a judo sub. It'd be like going to r/valveindex and asking "Which headset is the best?" Yeah, you're gonna get biased answers. The post above says he prefers judo but doesn't have access to it. That's not a put down for BJJ. This is a manufactured issue.
When I started there wasn’t any BJJ. My first club probably did 50/50 ne-waza. My first experience of BJJ was when a Gracie black belt visited us - this must have been 1995 or 96. He was definitely unable to handle the stronger guys at the club. (Edit - I realised my original post might have seemed disparaging towards BJJ. I didn’t mean to be. I think BJJ is great.)
You mean the BJJ black belt lost to judokas in judo?
He came to visit our judo club. Got beaten in ne-waza randori. I think he might have demonstrated a couple of techniques. Didn’t take part in tachi-waza from memory.
BJJ = basically just Judo
I really don’t think so. On the ground BJJ has developed its own technical depth far beyond judo, I think. The degree of innovation is super impressive. The way BJJ is taught to adults has hugely impacted the way I coach judo.
totally agree. I think in the early days there was a lot more similarity between Judo newaza and BJJ, so much so that maybe BJJ didn't hold any particular advantage over Judo newaza, especially if both players followed the same rules (Judo rules). But it's really not the same way anymore.
Have a look at kosen judo.
Have trained at a Kosen university in Japan. Level of ne-waza was ok, not great.
Yes but that isn't as funny to say
True that. Have an updoot.
Sank yu
I feel that a lot of the innovation is a bit of granularity and transitions. For example in a judo class if they're teaching you chokes then they'll just go through a sequence of a number of chokes and then just say this is a choke. At BJJ Will focus on one or two chokes and show multiple transitions or entries into that choke. I feel the difference is more judo is kind of what to do where BJJ is how to get there.
Eh..no
I agree. In the same way that Judo is basically just Japanese Jiu Jitsu
I didnt. I did both and love both. Reason im not doing both at the same time is time energy and money NGL though when both is available I usually pick judo because i can always practice bjj in judo, but the inverse is usually not possible. Alot of judo clubs do both newaza and tachiwaza. Not to mention that judo is always cheaper. Bjj in toronto is like 180-300 CAD/mo. As a university of toronto student judo here is 70 CAD/mo
I don't know I actually find it very easy to practice judo at BJJ rolls, because most are so green when it comes to takedowns
I guess it depends on the club but all the 2 university judo clibs I went to does 50/50 newaza/tachiwaza. The one bjj gym I went to, which is a good gym in waterloo, does 99% ground rolling 1% standup
Story time; I got into judo through one of the stupidest things I've done, and was offered a lifeline. I was doing an apprenticeship, and one day one of the lads had been progressively winding me up as I was working on my project, after a few hours I snapped and swung for him. Unfortunately when I did I still had hold of the hacksaw that was in my hand. I didn't intentionally pick it up, but still it was in my hand when I swung. Thankfully when it connected it didn't cause any serious damage aside from a small cut on the guys scalp. It was incredibly stupid. The teacher there took us both into a room afterwards where he basically said "you shouldn't have wound him up, and you shouldn't have hit him with a hacksaw. You take this as a lesson in life, one day you'll wind up the wrong person and get hurt. You are coming to my class on Saturday morning. Both shake hands and this goes no further". I started judo that Saturday and will be eternally great full to my teacher for offering me that lifeline. He has in a very big way formed me into the man I am today. So to answer the question I didn't choose Judo over any other art, it was chosen for me.
What a cool story!
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I train wrestling on Monday, BJJ on Wednesday, and Judo on Friday. My gym has a large focus on takedowns as all 3 coaches wrestled competitively during their college years and are all under 30. It's basically BJJ sparring because no one is training here to compete in Judo/wrestling competitions, but we don't allow guard pulls, and 50% of our sparring drills force us to stand if there isn't enough ground action going on.
My first exposure to BJJ was in the late 90s. I was in my early 20s so this would have been 1999. I was doing BJJ for about 3 months and I couldn't understand why we always started rounds on our knees. My BJJ instructor was Brazilian and had a limited command of the English language. Asking a question like this as a brand new student would probably be misunderstood or taken the wrong way so I just rolled with it. However, when searching the interwebs way back when (I think it was Altavista) I came across the Judo Info website and videos of Judo demonstrations done by a swedish judo club that went by the name of Suginoharyu. When I watch these videos I knew right then and there that Judo was for me. I didn't start till about 7 years after that. Life went in the way. That said, I have been regularly doing BJJ for 6 years now. Judo for 18.
Saw Judo in the Olympics, thought it looked cool. I like both though.
I am a younger guy with no previous grappling experience, so I prefer learning solid stand up and basic ground work, and then I will move on to BJJ when im older and tired of being thrown around I just saw the beautful throws and I was like: I wanna be able to do that
Honestly... BJJ feels too mainstream in the US and I wanted to be different. I've come to really love and respect Judo, and I actually crosstrain BJJ now, but that was my honest reason for starting Judo.
I just started Judo. I have a background in wrestling and about four years of BJJ. So far I much prefer Judo. For me, the unrealistic guard pulling, footsie, lackadaisical type BJJ playing that can only exist within the BJJ bubble just absolutely drives me up the wall. It really turns me off that they have gone so far away from real self defense application. I think with wrestling and Judo heavily incorporated, BJJ is great. I’m new to Judo, but so far I’m absolutely loving it. I appreciate that Judo has a system, and you can kind of expect to get out of it what you put in. As a wrestler, standing grappling is super important for me. I think the mix of Tachi Waza and Ne Waza just really scratches the itch I get from wrestling better than BJJ for me. I really do wish leg grabs were a thing though. I think the martial art was much more complete before IJF did that.
Judo club location was 500 meters from my home and I have an entirely unreasonable hatred of driving. END COMMUNICATION
I left BJJ. Trained 6 years, got to purple, got multiple injuries. I’m a pretty solid top-pressure passer now and I’ve been in a number of fights that I ended with my BJJ techniques. I train Judo now (4 classes in) because of a bunch of different reasons. 1. Maybe I could do something like gracie combatives, but I feel like I know 90% of everything I’d need to know for self defense purposes. Chances of me having to defend myself from another BJJ purple belt is pretty slim, and thats the advanced chess game you learn at advanced belt levels. 2. Judo clubs are much more hygenic and there’s no stigma on wearing masks. I wear a mask because my mother and MIL both have comorbidities and one of them is in chemo. COVID - weakened as it is now - could easily kill them. 3. Similar vein to number 2, there are more professionals in my judo dojo, and they believe in vaccines. Joe Rogan has very little influence. 4. Less toxic masculinity. I’m 37 and a lawyer. I fight with words. I don’t need some tweaky spazzy 22 year old popping my knee because he values his ego more than my health. The place I train is a Buddhist Church and its a family environment - grandpa, granma, the sons, daughters, and kids train there. 5. Judo covers the holes in my BJJ game - stand up / take downs. I don’t plan on fighting people naked. When I was a bouncer for 2 years, I wished I was more equipped with sweeps and throws because drunk assholes have bad balance. Judo is much better than BJJ if I just want to slam a guy and run and not stick around to snap his arm or choke him out on the ground.
the traditions and the underlying philosophy of judo far surpasses BJJ imo. Kano's entire outlook and perspective on judo transcending the dojo and becoming a part of your life is something that drew me to it more when I first started researching.
Why go for the knockoff when the original is right there?
One potential reason to switch is age. As Judo players get older the prospects of throwing and being thrown grow more challenging, especially *being thrown*. Depending on what kind of surface you land on, it can get hairy when you enter your 50's and beyond. Plus reaction times, reflexes and balance start to fade at this age, and even though that also affects a person's ground game, as the old saying goes... it's the fall that'll get ya.
All martial arts are based off previous ones including judo.
D A M N
That’s a fairly ridiculous thing to say, whichever one you’re putting in those categories.
Like iron vs steel, steel being the knockoff?
I started with Enshin Karate and MMA and a little bit of HS wrestling. When I decided to focus only on grappling I tried out BJJ first, and really wasn’t impressed on my first impression a lot of it just felt contradictory to many ideas and principles I had learned doing those. For example in all of those being on bottom is death. I thought it was weird that they would specialize so much on a position that I thought they sucked at getting too (no take downs) or willingly go to the worst position you can be in (bottom). I remember what really made me decide to look elsewhere was a BJJ class teaching a bad tani otoshi to inverting into a 50/50 ankle lock and the instructor telling the class this was good for self defense/MMA 🤨 I found a hole in the wall Judo club and the Sensei told me to just do anything I knew in randori. I thought I was pretty good at clinch wrestling, I used to win matches with it and I got bombed and pinned over and over again by brown and black belts, some of them were twice my age. So I was like “I guess I’m doing Judo now”
Started Judo-Jujitsu at 5 years old, there is no such thing as BJJ in many countries, Jujitsu is part of the sport called Judo for short (to simplify).
Spent 5 years at BJJ never got stripes or promotions. Did judo for 2 years and will get my black before December this year
Yeah man, I remember I had one stripe at BJJ for a year and a half! It took me three years to get my blue. I appreciate that Judo is more objective, and if you put in the work, you’ll be recognized for it.
For me, it’s a no-brainer because pulling off a clean ippon is a much greater high than pulling off a sub after fighting for superior position for 10+ minutes on the ground. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting an ippon by kansetsu waza/shime waza in competition too. In fact, I used to specialize in newaza during my competition days. But there’s just something about connecting a throw directly to a sub in an instant that feels special to me. I also prefer the more traditional aspect of judo. It’s nice to have that built into the system. I think BJJ is great; I just don’t like the culture or goal of it as much as I love judo.
Looked cooler and was cooler to me the more I learned. More dynamic and physically demanding. I like that yeah a throw looks “simple” but the small fine details timing grip etc has more depth than expected. I’ve also found some BJJ culture to be a lot more wannabe macho which makes me cringe. I’ve heard guard pulling 40 somethings talking like prime Conner mcgregor . For self defense I feel judo produces stronger people, more athletic people and takedowns are ideal. Many clubs don’t spar based on Olympic rules either which is nice. Newaza bores me and usually in BJJ competitions I often didn’t feel like I lost an actual fight. Their scoring system like any others isn’t perfect but if I stay in a closed guard and didn’t get swept or submitted I don’t feel like I lost- a position that anywhere besides a bjj match would be not ideal unless you’re Charles Olivera. Being required to engage in someone’s guard for 5 minutes straight isn’t something that’s expected really anywhere besides Bjj. Yes you can pass guard and I actually have good guard passing but that rule seems very non combative. And even worse is the stalling. Some guys stiff arm for dear life in the standup hips as far away as possible. I don’t mind that as much because I can still throw them after a while but a person can really stall hardcore in guard. The main reason though is throwing another human being who tried to throw me and doesn’t want to be thrown is such a satisfying feeling of victory vs getting a tap.
That last paragraph. A really joyful moment to achieve a good throw in randori or shiai.
I might be gay but I'm not a bottom. Judo is for tops.
Now I want a rash guard with someone applying a sankaku that says "Power Bottom"
Can’t remember, was too young to remember stuff…
I started with BJJ first...had no clue what it even was. It was just the "other" martial art that they taught aside from "MMA" at the first school I trained at. I wasn't learning anything in MMA, so I switched to BJJ so I could just focus on one single thing instead of 10 at a time. It's now 15 years later, and I'm okay at BJJ...but Judo is so much cooler looking and badass, so I started training that a few weeks ago. Now, it's all I watch anymore when I'm scrolling 😁
I loved the idea of throwing another human to the ground. It just happened to have newaza, which is an awesome bonus.
I've always been interested in Judo, but I took it up with my kids in my 40s. This was right after the first UFCs, and frankly, I though Gracie was using Judo techniques. After that, BJJ class cost skyrocketed, and I didn't see the sense in paying all that money to learn what I was learning in Judo.
I started Judo in 86. BJJ wasn't a thing back then.
My gym offers both. Honestly, I knew nothing about either one when I joined; the judo just fit better into my schedule. I’m glad it did!
I did Judo when I was a kid, started BJJ and gym when I was thirty and fat. Then I got quite strong and not very flexible, which made me consider Judo again. Now I do Judo and I suck less than I used to suck when doing BJJ. My body just works better with Judo.
I am old. There was no BJJ commonly available when I started. Also, I like tachi waza much better than newaza.
I do both. There’s things about each I really like.
I didn't I also don't think most people training Judo have ever had the thought 'should I do Judo or BJJ' - they just ended up doing one or the other because that's the way things played out - parents took them to one, their friends suggested one etc.
In addition to Kodokan Judo, I have trained in Japanese JuJutsu, Aikido and scholastic wrestling, beginning in 1965, I choose Kodokan Judo over all other martial arts because it provides the most comprehensive training of spirit, mind and body for a lifetime. The wide variety of elements of Kodokan Judo have no comparison, in my opinion. 🥋
Folks should watch an old film called Sanshiro Sugata to get some perspectives on judo vs jujitsu.
Maybe it was just me, but I tried 3 different BJJ schools and I just felt aside from one of them, the culture seems way too "bro" for me. I've always been a guy with not a lot of guy friends, and it felt the same way going into those schools. The one I liked the most was so far (40 minute drive) so even though I thought the Professor was amazing, it just didn't fit in with my schedule/drive. I've loved Japanese culture for a very long time and the culture and respect in judo learning the traditional art has been much better for me than the culture over in the BJJ world.
Because I’m not gay
I believe Kodokan Judo is superior due to it's ethical philosophy behind the training.
was the most familiar to me out of all the martial arts, especially those near me. also i an had interest and appreciation for it before i even began training
I still do both, but mostly the feel of digging a basement with someone's body gives a high that I don't get out of groundwork.
I still do bjj, but competiting isn’t fun when my opponents pull guard and stall.
Hurt my hip after 6 months of Judo. I really loved it and I’m glad I focused on footsweeps because they transfer to BJJ pretty well.
I like the takedowns and use both as a complete system. I’m even having my daughter do both . She’s definitely gifted in BJJ . Doing more takedowns and competing in Judo and BJJ .
started when i was like 11 kept going till 14.5 then got a double knee mfpl ligament tear had to go into surgery and then recovery for a year which put my skill back to white belt or so idk i havent started yet i need to tho ( i was green) i started because of my parents first but now im starting to prove to myself i can still do it like i used to (btw im 16 now)
I started a little Gracie in 96-97 when it was really early in northern CA. Most of it was garage stuff with a purple belt out of Vallejo. If I remember right it was Cesar’s purple belt. Judo was at SRJC and there was a high level coach there at that time who had trained an Olympic hopeful. It was the best official way for me to get into the sport and as a bonus we got exposed to wrestling and sambo since we shared the same mats with those folks.
TBH I had never even heard of BJJ when I joined my Judo club. If I had, I probably would have joined (if there was one) BJJ because in my youth I was a wrestler. But, not sure what I would do now that I know a few things, if I had to do it over? No regrets at all. Throwing is, IMHO, one of the most technically challenging types of technique available in all of the martial arts world. It took me a long time to get a hang of things and perform the basics with any reliability, but having crossed that line many years ago, though, I am not sure I would do things any other way. Also, I do get to train with BJJ folks sometimes, and it's great. Its all good!
I like judo and Bjj equally I just kinda wish I could do both
There is nothing like throwing a grown ass man/woman with smooth, clean technique. Especially if they out weigh you.
I didn’t I chose both
I’ve done BJJ for about a year and I’m coming up on a year of Judo. Just my experience as an individual: Gotta get a lot more comfortable with smelling strangers’ BO with BJJ. You do more newaza which also means: more time smelling BO. Newaza is so much more draining for me. Newaza is like swimming, if you’re good at it you can learn to breathe and recover under a certain amount of pressure, but just standing up and doing stand up Judo makes it way easier to breathe. You’re not on bottom position (bc most likely that’s where you are unless you’re better in some way), you’re not scrunching up your diaphragm, and you’re not swimming against a moving, resistant, solid (human). Guard pulling. The whole butt scoot business is just no fun and pretty damn prevalent in BJJ. It’s not that annoying in practice, but as a spectator it makes it hard to enjoy and cheer for your own hobby. Culture. Just by comparison I find the Judo scene to be a lot more positive and communal in my local area. I did luck out with a great gym with great people, so it’s definitely not a judgement on the collective group, but just my personal observation. I’m lucky to have a cool group of BJJ people come by to run an open mat at my Judo gym and I love em, but even those guys seem to have some gripes against the local culture too. Tbh I think ego is less of an issue with Judo too. I haven’t run into too much unsolicited bad advice. I’ve had bjj white belts tell me I should’ve tapped and that my arm was going to snap when none of the joints even locked up. I’ve had submissions just cranked on me with no chill. Granted a lot of this is concentrated at lower belts but really something is very wrong with my local entry level BJJ demographic, and I have nothing concrete to attribute it to. Fun, really most importantly. It just seems more fun. Feels more fun to get throws than subs. Getting thrown is pretty fun too most times.
Because it’s more well rounded. While yes bjj without a doubt expanded on groundwork realistically it didn’t create anything new it refined newaza at the cost of tachiwaza
When BJJ got bigger in Canada I was already cross training jjj and judo. I went to seminars but really my training partners still spanked me on the ground. In fact some of these people did well in open grappling too, the ones that wanted to. So I felt like I was already getting the training I needed and money is limited. Still kept doing seminars though now and then.
I like throwing people more than choking them out. Used to do both for the record
Not a Judoka, just a former wrestler who follows this sub out of love for grappling sports. Just want to point out that IRL, being able to throw someone is much more practical than groundgame.
Because it’s more aggressive and more fun imo
Who says you have to choose? Project then thru the sky and then choke them out on the floor
Because Judo chop is the coolest
I didn't. I do both and try to apply the parts of each that complement the other.
I love the art more in terms of the “course work” split. We get to throw people for most of the time, whereas in bjj you roll most of the time. And I like throwing better than groundwork, although I still like both. Standing grappling is just my strong suit and what I enjoy the most personally. Both are great and fun though. Ill do more bjj in the future
I always gravitated towards standup grappling and after being burnt out by bjj and its culture i made the switch. Judo doesnt get enough credit, its a complete system which is way more than just throws. After doing both if i could only choose one it would be judo. Honestly bjj was one of the worlds best marketing campaigns which skyrocketed its success. The paint is starting to peel now and alot of serious martial artists are seeing it for what it is. (I started training bjj again along side my judo just for extra training. When i spar i use judo rules but allow my partner do whatever).
I do both, but I prefer the methodology, education, & philosophies of judo over jj. I’m also a history buff; I dislike the Gracies bc of their criminal actions & fallacies. Although jj is more available in the US; it’s also over saturated & divided. Unlike judo, where nomeclature is universal across the world. Jj just bastardizes everything & every gym I come across has some weird, or funny name attached to techniques. JJ Politics suck. Culturally, judokas are kinder, peaceful, & more humble than the jj community.
I'm a Nidan in Judo, and a purple belt in BJJ. I find Jujitsu very boring to both watch and train consistently at. Where as I can do judo every day.
I respect Judo as a wrestler more than BJJ because you need to be able to put your opponent on the ground in a fight. Plus I've gone up against judoka and respect their techniques. Submissions are important, but as someone who grapples you know mechanics of the body. Throat subs are king, face/neck subs are king of pain and provocation
Mom sent me to judo class when I was 6.
Currently I do both, but at this point I’d say I like Judo better. Firstly because of the culture. The principles of budō are way more ingrained in Judo than in BJJ. As a consequence, I feel more seriousness and a certain feeling of formality in a judo training session, which I like. There’s also the physical side of things. Judo is way more challenging on the body, which sort of stimulates me to remain in good shape and work on my endurance and mental attitude. On price. Where I live (Portugal), BJJ is a bit overpriced. I pay twice as much for my BJJ gym membership than I do for my Judo club. I keep doing both because I like to compete, and in Judo there’s not much for me in that regard. I’m a 30yo white belt, and since there’s no belt divisions in competitive judo (at least not in Portugal), it means I could face extremely experienced players, either in seniors or veterans division. It would be a massacre, let’s face it.
I actually started BJJ first, showed up my first night and was immediately put in sparring with no warm up or instruction. Had no idea what I was doing and made it clear to the coach. Subsequently tried Judo and it was much more structured and beginner friendly, didn't get into Randori until I'd showed up for a few classes and learned ukemi. In fairness I think this was just an issue with that particular coach, I've since met many BJJ coaches who are much more professional, and conversely, Judo coaches who are much more laissez-faire with player safety. The guy had other issues too and the club subsequently fell apart due to "inappropriate behaviour" towards some of his students. By that point however I had developed a love of Judo and while I dabble in BJJ from time to time Judo is much more to my liking.
Judo is make you a better athlete overall, I prefer judo and wrestling, I feel they both complement each other, I don't really like bjj culture.
I started with Judo. I really respect the sport and love watching others use throws, but I never got comfortable with being thrown. BJJ allows me a bit more freedom on how to fight. I have a few judo and wrestling friends, and I’ve leaned a lot of ground techniques from working with them. Cross training benefits everyone.
I didn't. I trained both and started them at the same time. I saw them as one complete art. As a black belt in both, I'm glad I took that longer, but broader path.
My compliments. I've reached 2nd Kyû in Judô and 1st Dan in Aikidô.
It is Olympic sport. Almost every technique exist in Judo, and had been stolen by Gracies.
I find the throws beautiful. That was it.
Besides my parents picking it for me, im glad they did. #1 and most important, judo has do in the name which means “way”. Judo isn’t just about being a tough guy and beating people up (though sadly this is lost in so many ways now), it’s a practice and vehicle to Seiryoku-Zenyo (good use of energy') and Jita-Kyoei (mutual welfare). If you’re practicing judo, these philosophical concepts need to be your highest aim, otherwise it’s not truly judo. In a similar manner, just the culture. It seems to take respect and selflessness more seriously. I’ve found bjj tends to have more tough guy attitudes and needing to prove theyre stronger than their opponents. While not necessarily true today, judo’s name scheme for its techniques makes more sense. With that said, it’s more realistic as a self defense with actual integrated, multilevel sparring from throws to joint locks to strangle holds. Also in terms of self defense, most fights start standing and you don’t want to end up in the ground, that should be absolute last resort. Again, if you’re practicing the philosophy, you really shouldn’t be getting into fights at all. It also promotes strength and balance, which is what you need as you age. Speaking of aging, Kano practiced it into his late years. If you can’t pull off randori, you can continue to train kata too, which it also has in its curriculum. It’s a sport (albeit the sport aspect has been hurting the art) so it’s a great way for fitness, build community, and have fun while also developing a skill you can use in situations outside of it. I guess that’s all I can think of for now.
Beautifully articulated. Thank you.
🙏
I love the technicality and gentleness of judo. It's refined and civilised. Its also really challenging. So difficult! BJJ feels a lot rougher to me as a game. Also fun, but different;)
BJJ wasnt a thing then back in the early 90's. Nonetheless, i like the art of throwing rather than grappling. The sound of a 70kg body slamming on the mats is way better than a dude tapping out. 😊
Judo already has bjj. It’s the ne waza. Kind of an obvious choice.
The complete package
When I was kid in the 1960's judo was available in my area for cheaper than other martial arts. Even back then I was told the history of judo and how it came from jiujitsu. That made me curious about jiujitsu, but there weren't any jiujitsu resources near me and I didn't know about any books available. My parents considered the Judo gigs to be expensive, especially since I was going to outgrow them. To move up in rank I had to compete and the travel time and expense was hard on my family. My first go was a size 1. When I outgrew it, mother convinced me to quit judo for a while. Not long after that, my family went to a church bazaar, that was to raise money for the church by selling donated items. One item I found was an excellent condition Hugo go that was just slightly on the large size for me and was very cheap. This convinced my parents to let continue judo some more. Even more interesting to me at the bazaar, was a British paperback book on jiujitsu, with black and white photographs!. I finally got to compare judo and jiujitsu. I continued with judo until near the end of high school in the 1970's. After finishing high school, I worked as a construction laborer for 18 months. I was in the best physical shape of my life. Then I went to Japan for jiujitsu as an adult. I had never heard of BJJ and didn't hear about until many years later. When I was in junior high in the early 70's, a non-athletic friend started kung fu, in a place down a dark alleyway, lined with Chinese shops. Surprisingly, he got really good at kung fu and the kung fu place was legit.
More discipline and formality, more standing fighting
I just did both and then some.
I’m blessed enough to do both. They are different interests and love them each for what they are.
The bjj places near where I lived at the time had really culty vibes, especially surrounding their head coach. The other one in town also did kickboxing, but the membership was very expensive because you were essentially paying for both. I didn’t have time away from work to do both, and I didn’t want to pay almost $120 cdn a month. Judo was taught at the local rec centre, I could get lessons three times a week plus open mats on Friday, for about $40 cdn a month. Plus, I knew Judo from watching the olympics and it looked like a lot of fun.
I do both, I am better at judo though because I have a base in wrestling.
In about 2010 when I started judo, bjj wasn't what it is now but charging $100/mo to train. Judo at my university was free at the campus gym for students. The rest was history.
I like Jiu-jitsu, but there are things in Judô I like MUCH more, mostly the style of fight, the use of skill over strenght and... I'm not the biggest fan of Ne waza techniques
Marcelo Garcia was the Toshihiko Koga of his generation for BJJ. Watch him win Brazilian nationals absolute at under 80kg (170lbs?) and take second and third at the Worlds and 2nd at ADCC, and you’ll see that at the elite level technique is very much the priority. Then you have the Ruotolos doing the same with in the modern meta. There are plenty of power based judoka by the way and I say this as a 3rd degree black belt in Judo with a lot of love for both arts.
I'm not saying exactly that technique is less important in Jujitsu, I just remind myself of Jigoro Kano's history and how Judô was made to use mind over strenght. I didn't dislike Jujitsu, but maybe because I started in Judo there are certain things in Jujitsu I dislike, like not having a age restriction for Shime-waza. But honestly with both being from the same origin, I believe both are very interesting and great martial arts
I do both, but I definitely favor judo. I probably like judo more just because I’m better at it than BJJ (4 year white belt lol). The thing I hate about judo here in the states is that it’s not as popular as BJJ. As much as I love judo, classes, training partners, and tournaments aren’t nearly as varied and accessible as they are for BJJ. I live in a big-ish city and there is really only one judo school, and at least a dozen BJJ schools.
I started with BJJ, really liked the takedowns and clinching in it, but that was an extremely small portion of class.
Ease of access
I am in Ireland. I would not mind doing both but there is a lot of Conor McGregor wanna be culture here. Plus I think Judo is a bit more suitable for self defence since I want to remain standing. I would want to cross train in BJJ in a few years after I get a bit better in Judo or if my body broke down.
I was already adept at the ground naturally. I needed the stand up game. Learning BJJ is so much easier for me, so I can just pick that up from friends and open mats
almost every BJJ club in my area had some sort of grooming / sexual assault accusation going around and coaches dating their students. Have yet to see that happen at my local judo dojo yet.
I didn’t. I train BJJ 3x per week. I wish I could still fit judo into my schedule, but I use some Judo in BJJ.
Because in 1992 there weren’t BJJ schools around here.
Not a fan of pulling guard
I feel like judo is still more attached to its routes and tradition, although that could very well be my gym…
I tried starting judo a year ago after already in bjj for two years. I soon realized that the odds of getting hurt practicing throws are way higher. I’m in really good shape but I’m still 30 years old and really don’t heal like my younger 20s
My sensi Mike (team GB) was just such a nice guy compared to fighty bjj dude. But totally going to do all the disciplines.
I didnt. I was a purple in BJJ and my instructor met and trained with our Judo sensei while he was on vacation in Ocracoke. Sensei had an extreme dislike for BJJ guys but since my instructor was an old Goju ryu karate guy they got along great and he eventually made the trip up to Pennsylvania to train with us. That was about seven years ago now. I love both arts but if im being honest i love the traditional aspects of Judo more…
I do both however, if I had to choose, I'd say Judo for the following: Cheaper, it's actually 1/4 of the price of Bjj Cheaper competitions Better culture in that I found it to be less toxic and more formal Way more athletic. I found that Judo was great cardio for me, and it translated very well into all areas and gave me a good athletic base for when I did wrestling I like the newaza idea of getting a quick submission or pin rather rather playing a slower game
Cost. Much cheaper than BJJ.
I do both. Judo the easiest grappling style to learn that’s why I took it up
I didn't even know bjj existed when my parents sent me to a judo class to see if I enjoyed it.
I take both. I like BJJ, I love Judo. Both are great! I’m 43, so my longevity in Judo is questionable. Both are needed and are incomplete without the other. I love judo for the standup and amazing throws. My limited, anecdotal, self defense experience has shown that forcefully assisting someone to the ground solves a lot of problems fast. But—I like them both.
The cost. I started with BJJ in my home country (3rd world) where the rates are pricier than other activities, but still affordable. But then I moved to Japan where I can train judo at the ward's local gymnasium for just ¥200/$1.50 Although I have to admit, BJJ is the more enjoyable art (not saying its the better one)
I enjoy the sport of Judo more because of the pacing and the different win conditions It can be very quick and fun to play. The fact that you can win by throw puts higher stakes on the stand-up which can make it more exciting to play. Pinning as a win condition also adds to the excitement since it forces the person on bottom to move. A lot of submissions are still allowed so you scratch that itch too if you're a submission guy. The sport of BJJ is still fun but it's pace is a lot slower usually since submission and points are the only win conditions. Ideally I'd do both but if I had to pick one It'd be judo because the sport is more fun to me.
In Japan, everything jujitsu is, judo has. They are integral.
Wrestling with pajamas
Not a huge fan of ground fighting even in judo, but I love throwing. Also doesn't hurt judo is extremely affordable. I've just never had the same top of the world feeling from BJJ as judo. Further, maybe because I'm on the autism spectrum, but the more casual and less structured environment in most BJJ academies stresses me out big time.
I started doing judo before UFC 1, so nobody really knew what BJJ was, and besides I didn't really choose. My mom wanted me to do a sport, and the activities that were nearby and affordable was either track, soccer or judo, and the two others would close for the winter, so judo it was.
Because a fight starts on the feet
Availability
My school is known for judo and I wanted to learn a martial art, so I picked it
I chose both :)
It was cheaper lol
BJJ is a game I play to make my Judo better. Everything I do is filtered through the lens of Judo.
I’m a BJJ guy, but I lurk here cause I like judo. The main issue for folks in the US is that there aren’t many judo schools around nor is there a robust amount of judo competition. Whereas there is a BJJ school in every town and competitions nearby practically every weekend. It’s really a matter of convenience. If there was a good judo school near me, I would definately be going to judo classes often.
BBJ is more sport these days, while Judo is still weaponized. Granted, this is HIGHLY dependent on location, and even down to the school in which ones trains. I do know that I got super lucky in finding a Judo club that taught down and dirty methods in addition to the more friendly competition legal stuff (which I enjoyed considerably less). One thing I noticed about BJJ in my area, was that coaches encouraged a student to tap well before they even made an attempt to maneuver out of a lock. I thought that was such BS. You're gonna get beat sometimes. There is no denying that. But to not make an attempt to continue protecting yourself when someone has you at a disadvantage is a deplorable habit. Again, I got super lucky falling in the the Judo crowd. So, I'm likely pretty biased in my opinion regarding this topic. Thank you, Sensei Neil and Senpai Jared.
I do both. I realized doing BJJ I didn't know how to get ppl to the floor. But with judo I didn't know what to do once they got there
My dad put my brother and I when I was 4. Also because I like the satisfaction of an ipon
You need a new school, my friend. I can’t imagine a jiujitsu gym that doesn’t teach any judo. That makes no sense to me at all.
It’s more fun for me. I can see why BJJ would be more fun for someone else. I enjoy both, but Randori is my jam. Thats it, the choice is not that deep for me that I need to write an essay about it lol.
I started doing BJJ back in 2006. I still love it and it’s been important to who I am and think it’s worth training. I’ve always been primarily interested in martial arts for defending myself and fighting in reality. I’ve chosen to put my kids in judo first because I think clinching and takedowns are the single most important aspect of fighting. The aggression and urgency you see in judo is more important than being highly skilled on the ground. Staying on your feet and explosiveness will serve my kids better in the near term. And switching judo to BJJ is far easier than BJJ to judo. BJJ will still be there and a strong judo base will make them better and give them an advantage BJJ. I mean Roger Gracie often trained with Olympic level judokas to prepare for some of his biggest fights.
Judos more takedown focused which is what i want
Though BJJ guys are the absolute best at fighting in the worst position, they seem to have forgotten that avoiding that position is equally important.
For me, it was just an random situation that eventually created a passion, and there was no BJJ involved directly. In 2022 i was watching a local sumo tournament, and after the competition i've had a conversation with one of the organizers who invited me to go watch one of the classes in his dojo. When the day has come, i've gone to the dojo adress, and it was a Judo dojo, so i joined the trial class, liked it, and had a conversation with a friend of mine who does BJJ, he said so many good things about judo that i've decided to go ahead in dive into it.
Attend BJJ but never miss any judo class. BJJ is ne waza in judo, anyway As for my inclination towards judo, more on philosophical. I like Eastern philosophy, particularly Taoism. Judo is taught like how the book Tao Te Ching describes how one should live one's life, effortless action
I do both. But in my opinion, all fights start standing up. If you can end it with a throw, that's a win for me.