Basically the title, finding decent wrestling as an adult Is basically impossible, I do train with an Olympic wrestler twice a week but for how bad my standup grappling is in comparison to my ground grappling it doesn't feel like enough. How applicable is judo to MMA, what are the main throws I should focus on other than something like a whizzer kick/uchi mata

Hey everyone 👋🤜🤛,

First off let me say I read this thread every week and love what I learn on here you all are awesome. I'm 31 turning 32 in March and plan on starting my judo journey around my birthday. I grew up training boxing. I started around 10/11 years old. I''ve trained muay thai and have experience in jiu jitsu. Jiu jitsu is actually how I hurt my shoulder about 3 years ago. I was training no gi at a new gym and on the 2nd day someone cranked my arm while in a kimura (leading to a partial tear in the rotator cuff). I'm very active and did the work required to get my shoulder feeling good again. I hit the gym do cardio, stretch(I do shoulder stretches titled "Bulletproof your shoulders for optimal performance" from FitnessFaqs on youtube incase anyone needs it also! I do pushups & pullups about 3 times a week (not every day). Lat pull downs, low rows, cable rope bicep curls, bench press, hammer curls, wrist strengthening with dumbells, chest press shoulder press, leg extensions, leg curls, ankle strengthening and I already walk alot. The only thing I'm concerned about with judo is my shoulder getting banged up. I don't wanna train extra hard. I'm not even interested in competition or anything. I'm just in it for the love of the art. Not saying I won't enter some for experience but I'm really just in love with the sport and wanna take my time learning the art. I'm in no rush. I don't care if I was doing breakfalls 6 months straight I just wanna appreciate the art. I understand injuries happen nomatter what but whats the best way to avoid major injuries? I have an anaconda shoulder bracelet I ordered to train with. Also got kneepads & a elbow pad. I also plan on gettin this dainey belt to go around my back which helps keep things aligned and I'm guessing can help absorb falls better? I'm planning for the longrun.

Hi all. I have a quick question about belts. I don't want to ask at my Dojo because I don't want them to think I'm chasing. I'm new and very aware that I have a long way to go.

What belt comes after White?

My kids went to red and it seems like red according to British Judo, but I've never seen an adult red belt at my club (in fairness I wasn't looking).

Appreciate the help

I have money burning a hole in my pocket, been training consistently, have my first comp coming up and want to treat myself to a nicer gi. I thought double weave would directly correlate to a high GSM but it seems that’s not how that works so i’m a bit confused.

what gives those high end gis that stiff, rough, hard to grab feeling? is it the gsm or the weave? what should i prioritize ?

I’m just starting back at this from taking off years after getting injured in a similar situation.

We had someone new come in without any prior experience they didn’t know break falls or anything

We were doing some drills and he was cranking my arm it seemed like a possible arm lock in kasa ge tame excuse the spelling during a drill.

I was paired up the guy the last session of randori asked him “hey lets go light”

As soon as we began he was yanking and throwing his hands everywhere. Mind you he nails so I was avoiding his hands and asked him to relax.

He then tried to grab me and stand up. I figured ok this isn’t good. I don’t know what this guy is thinking.

I might get downvoted for this but I fear I didn’t have a choice:

As he was trying to stand up and pull me up. I grabbed him by the belt and left lapel. Elevated him off the ground and slammed him on his back knocking the wind out so he would settle down and pinned him. Till we switched. The coach only had seen the last portion and jumped in.

I do not want to get hurt, eye poked or injured again as it took me years to get the confidence to get back on the mat and do not want to train with someone like this after just now getting back to it. I’m starting back in my mid to late 30s.

How should I handle it and talk to the coach or should I refuse to work with him? I don’t want to come off rude but I will because I’m the only one paying for the hospital bill if anything happens.

Hi everyone.

I am a white belt in karate, having trained since October. Last November, my dojo participated in a tournament where they hosted a judo clinic, and I've been fascinated ever since.

I am fortunate that my dojo has a relationship with a local judo dojo (our style of karate incorporates a lot of judo elements, we even have a pic of Jigoro Kano hanging at shomen) and hosts a judo class once a week with one of the Sensei of that judo dojo. Only kids attend the class, so I always assumed it was only for the kids. However, my Sensei let me know I could join in on the class as he has been trying to encourage more adults to join.

I am so excited, but a bit hesitant for a few reasons. I'm looking for the guidance of some of you experienced judoka as to how I should approach this. I'll start by saying while I would love to join the adult classes at the judo dojo, they unfortunately overlap with my karate classes (I attend 4x week), so this is really the only way I can practice some judo.

Judo would only be 1x/week for an hour, so I don't expect to advance very quickly or get particularly good. But I do think supplementing my karate training with judo will provide some good overlap in some areas, plus, judo is just so damn cool.

My question for you all is this - considering there are only kids in the class, and some quite young and small at that, how should I approach this training? I will of course ask the Sensei for his guidance, but I'd like to formulate a plan and idea of what I can actually get out of training judo with such small kids. I imagine randori might be a bit difficult, I'm a 5'5" relatively small woman in my 30's, but still. There are some older teenagers that attend, so I imagine I would be paired more often with them, but they're not always there. Should I focus on footwork? How would you approach this? What will I be able to get out training judo with predominantly young children?

Thank you in advance!

Can anyone recommend a good instructor in the Manatee/Sarasota FL area? Searches are coming up short except for mixed art classes.

Recently, my sensei invited some new students to register with the national judo federation. That means two things:

1. He wants us to start competing in state and national tournaments.
2. We’ll have to start doing more structured competition training.

The problem is, I started judo as a hobby at 28 and never really thought about competing. In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever competed in anything—sports or even school competitions. I’ve always seen training as something fun, and randori as a chance to learn rather than a fight to win. I don’t mind getting thrown at all.

From what I see, my mindset is completely different from those who have been competing since they were kids. My dojo mates who compete seem to approach everything differently, from training routines to diet and overall mentality.

But my biggest question is: what does a competitive mindset actually look like? How do you handle anxiety before a match? How do you learn from a loss?

I’m not sure if I explained it well, but I just need some direction to understand how to deal with these new challenges.

hey judokas

What are the best judo techniques against someone in a wrestler stance , in a no-gi match ?

Thank you very much

This is my second read through of this book and I'm reading it again after having an additional year of training. The more I do judo, the more I love it. The thing I appreciate most about Kano is that he emphasizes jita kyoei (mutual welfare and benefit) judo is really about community. Rising together, helping one another, and training with care and respect. I am fortunate to train at a dojo the embraces and embodies this concept. I have yonkyu testing this week for judo and sankyu for Japanese jujutsu. Feeling grateful for this journey. 🥋

Anyone know of some fun matches between two wildly different Judo styles? Wouldn't mind watching some for fun.

My only goal is to improve my self-defense skills (no belts, no competition). I really like Judo, but I'm skeptical because of the heavy reliance on the Gi, which doesn't seem to translate well in a self-defense situation. So, I'm debating whether instead to look for something else like wrestling or BJJ.

Any thoughts on how applicable Judo is in real world self-defense despite the Gi issue?

So I recently bought the Kusakura JOV model (jacket custom-made) and while it of course looks amazing, it does feel incredibly large to me to the point where I have been trying to shrink it all week.

The sleeves are almost at an acceptable level (in hindsight I should have asked a centimeter shorter), but there is so much extra fabric around the armpits and on the back, it looks like I'm wearing someone else's gi.

I'm obviously a little bummed as this cost me a fair bit of money. I am still trying to shrink it (did a 50 degrees celsius cycle which was its third wash, doubt it'll shrink more), but I kind of expected it to fit better so I'd almost say I am disappointed, though still keeping hope.

Is this really just the models, or did I screw up the measurements that badly? I have no issue with the pants, but I can't say I am 100% satisfied with the jacket as of this point.

Admittedly I did have to take a month of training (as in, lifting. I did do judo) due to exams and a gnarly flu, but surely that shouldn't be impacting my measurements significantly.

Does anyone know of any good Judo breakdown channels on YouTube? Channels where they study and breakdown top Judoka, great matches or techniques?

There are lots of these for other sports. BJJ has channels like BJJ Scout, BJJ Heavy or Combat Arcade. MMA has channels like Sonny Brown, Jack Slack, Brendan Dorman and Modern Martial Artist. Wrestling has DPS Breakdowns and Wrestling Rabbit Hole. Striking arts have Lawrence Kenshin... But I've never seen any good ones for Judo.

Interested in the gripping and the edge rule changes.

Coach told me to get a size that's larger on you so it'll shrink when you wash, cant wait to wear it to my class on tuesday!

I've been thinking about this lately as I am getting too busy to go to group classes as much as I wanted and I am sure a lot of ppl on this sub is in similar situation.

For hobbyists who can only train ,say for 3-5hrs per week on the mat, and how can we use that time more efficient? I've come up with some thought based on my own experience and observation. It might not apply to everyone though.

1. set up a very clear goal

I'd argue the first thing is to set up a very clear goal for a period of time, maybe just a few weeks, or maybe a few month. The goal can be very specific such as : I want to be good at X technique against type A opponent. (tall, short, lefty, righty etc ). Or a bit more general as "I want to be good at technique X. The group class may be rotating throws every week but as hobbyists, we should be mindful of what's our own focus. Grab any opportunity to practice the throw you want to do before and after class if your group class is not teaching the technique you want to drill. Within a few weeks one can accumulate decent amount of reps.

2. be aware of who you ask advice from

pay attention to your club's competitive blackbelts and visiting competitors. Seek advice from good players who actually use the techniques you want to learn in randori regularly. Sometimes your own coach in your club may not be able to give you the best answer because they may have not used those techniques for many years. Learn to identify who are good blackbelts and who are the crappy ones.

3. determine the training volume of randori

Not everyone is conditioned enough to do a lot of randori. For someone who's young and strong, they can probably invest most of their mat hour in randori without feeling too beaten up and they can get good quickly by doing a lot of rounds.

But if you are mid age dad, imo it is better to find the line where your body can recover. How many rounds/week you can do without feeling too beaten up and you are meaningfully attacking throughout those rounds.

Instead of doing 4-5mins standard rounds, maybe do shorter rounds but with more committed attacks, and take a break when you are totally gassed so you can get another meaningful round, instead of holding your partner's gi and waiting for them to throw you. The later often leads to frustration and you are essentially cannon folder for other people (often a younger, stronger and more competitive guy) getting stronger, at the cost of your own body. While doing those, one can work on conditioning off the mat and gradually improve their cardio without getting slammed or build up bad habit of half ass attack. I'd argue Randori itself is not a proper conditioning tool for older hobbyists.

4. cut out unnecessary mat time

this may include acrobatic warm up, push ups and crouchs etc (Depending on individual fitness level, some beginners still need those to build up coordination and baseline strength and cardio). if one's goal is to get good at throws with 3-5hrs/week of practice, newaza is not relevant at this point as it doesn't help that specific goal. It helps judo in general but it distracts people from throws. Newaza also may lead to other injuries, or just make people too exhausted to do tachiwaza drill and randori. a semi-private or a small group class can help with this. Or one can simply come late to the class to do tachiwaza only. Another compromise is to switch all regular newaza randori into situational drill to limit the wear and tear on body, and also preserve some energy for tachiwaza portion.

with the typical North American club practice of mixing conditioning, newaza and tachiwaza together, one can often cut out 20-40mins of the class time that is not relevant to throw,

“If you are in university already and are not on a national team, Judo is only ever going to be a hobby. Focus on university work, which will lead to other academic and or vocational opportunities.”

Read this under a post on this thread, and man I needed to read this… it hurts so much, joined judo at 16 (actually did it as a kid too but at a McDojo), started training seriously at 18, had a lot of regional medals and some national success in some matches from 18 to 20 (my current age) but literally no comparison to the guys in the actual national time who train since they were little kids and toss me around as if I was on my trial class. It was a level of skill gap that, while motivating, was also a big reality check because no positive mindset makes me think I could ever get to compete with them, especially because while I train they do so to. I did incredible physical and mental progress in this two years, but my S&C can’t compare to those of people who’ve been competing nationally and internationally since middle school on neither stamina nor pure strength.

It’s sad because as stupid as it sounds, for those 2 years I felt like a professional athlete, training 5x a week plus morning sessions, traveling around the country to compete, my training session was named “Judo PRO” at a club where I trained… but there’s levels to this, and slowly my self lie faded and the reality that I could never catch up unless I spent another 6-7 years training to then maybe have some small international success before retiring kicked in. The truth is that I was a guy who lost way more matches than I’ve won, is still a brown belt, bought his backnumber (never competed internationally like European Cups, very hard to qualify here in Italy), and won most medals due to a small bracket (-100kg) or in minor competitions.

Came to terms that I was giving more to Judo than it could give me back, and had to dial it down in favor of Uni and Work… I’m trying to find the beauty of more traditional Kata work and chill training, but after feeling the thrill of intense training camps and high level training in general it’s really not the same thing, no matter how much I love the traditional aspect of Judo as well. I introduced some light MMA to keep some entertaining value, plus self defense benefit and integrating judo in a self defense setting etc but again, not the same thing.

It is said that to the uninitiated, any person using technology or techniques that are sufficiently advanced will appear to the observer like they are using magic.

A person who uses magic is called a Wizard, or a Magician.

Therefore we can conclude that a highly skilled Judoka who uses techniques that are advanced enough will appear to onlookers like they are using some form of magic.

Hence i propose that from this moment onwards, highly skilled Judokas should be referred to as "Wazards", or in a pinch "Judicians".

My logic is irrefutable.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

I'm curious what your take is on o-goshi's ranking as a tournament throw?

I'm a very recent yellow belt with a great interest in competing so I want to spend my free time training throws that'll serve this purpose. Osoto gake and o-goshi are the only two throws I've actually successfully pulled of in randori and I've become weirdly attached to o-goshi, even though I hated it initially and it felt awkward. My main beef with it is how difficult it seems to be to setup. One of our senseis suggested that I work on gripping from the armpit as opposed to around the torso but I've neved actually managed this and it feels very awkward.

Does o-goshi have a place in tournaments or is my time best spent refining another throw? Are there any known judokas who have used o-goshi in tournaments that I can go watch?

I want to use this gi for training, but i also want it to be usable in tournaments, i heard having a single is best for training and double weave is best for competition. I plan to buy a fuji gi (only one i can afford)

Today in Abendsberg. The U18 youth team is looking for its champion at the Bavarian Individual Judo Championships.

hi guys i’m 17 and i train from 14 years old at my dojo, and I havent win nothing and also most of my classmates. I really want to become a national champion and i’m training with all my strenght every day but i feel that in this dojo the level is low and apart from sone guys there are all amateurs. there is another dojo a little further away than mine but from us is considered the rival dojo but they win all the competition and i was thinking to go into it. on the one hand I would like to go there because in my opinion it would guarantee me better preparation but on the other hand I don't want to leave my companions and my teacher of whom I am very fond and in my opinion they would not take well to the fact that I want to go to that other dojo. Please help me

Aaron Wolf does not have the iconic status of someone like Shohei Ono or Hifumi Abe but he is actually in the company of a very rare group of Japanese champions who have won the so-called Triple Crown of judo: the Olympics, the World Championships and the All-Japan (Open Weight) division. And he is set to retire this year.

Born to a Japanese mother and an American father, Wolf's judo journey began at the age of six at the world-famous Kodokan. It was there that he met another future champion, Mashu Baker, who was a year older and thus, was his senpai. But Baker was more than that. He was also his role model and, in an indirect way, his rival.

Both attended the famous Tokai University Urayasu Senior High School. According to those who knew them, whenever Baker asked him to do morning training, Wolf would be there, leaving home as early as 5am to make the session. When Baker started working on strength and conditioning, Wolf joined the same gym. Wolf always looked up to Baker, according to Toru Takeuchi, his coach back then.

Wolf was a workhorse. He would often train in the mornings, attend judo club practice in the early evenings, and then go to the gym for more workout afterwards. He was all in. In an essay from the summer of his second year in junior high school, Wolf wrote: “The dream I envision must exist as a result of continuous diligent effort. I believe that my efforts will not betray me. Ten years from now, I want to be a person who achieves each and every small goal.”

A year after Baker won a gold medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics, Wolf won a gold medal at the 2017 World Championships. But he was not content with that. “I have yet to catch up with Baker senpai,” Wolf said. “I can only make up ground on Baker senpai by claiming victory at the Olympics.”

After his victory at the 2017 World’s, Wolf suffered serious injuries to his knees and had to eventually get an operation on each of his knees. This seriously affected his performance in subsequent years. He failed to get a medal at the 2018 World’s. At the 2019 Paris Grand Slam, he lost in the final to Georgia’s Varlam Liparteliani (whom he had beaten at the 2017 World’s final). Wolf then lost to South Korea’s Cho Gu-ham in the quarterfinal of the 2019 World’s.

Although his international record was a bit patchy, he was still the top player in Japan for the -100kg division and was chosen for the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. He viewed it as a golden opportunity, literally, and trained very hard for it. “When the federation chose me to fight at the Tokyo Olympic Games, I was thinking about it every day and sometimes that cost me sleep but on fight day I was not nervous,” he recalled. He met his old foe Liparteliani in the semifinal and defeated him. This brought him up against yet another old rival, Cho, in the final. Wolf felt he could win. “I had the confidence that no one had put in as much practice as I had,” he said. “The closer a match becomes for me, the more my trademark abilities emerge.” And what a close match it was. Deep into Golden Score and with two penalties each, Wolf unleashed an ouchi-gari that planted the Korean flat on his back.

“I have reaped the rewards of everything I have done up till this point,” a clearly emotional Wolf said after the match. “It is deeply moving.” There were cheers throughout the hall from the home crowd who were thrilled to see Japan win the -100kg title for the first time since the 2000 Sydney Olympics where the legendary Kosei Inoue won the honors for Japan.

Wolf's triumph in Tokyo earned him a place in Japan’s judo history as a winner of the Triple Crown (Olympics, World’s and All-Japan’s). So far, there are only seven other judokas who have done this, including great champions Yasuhiro Yamashita and Kosei Inoue. With the Triple Crown under his belt, Wolf had surpassed his childhood idol, Baker. But it would not have happened if Baker were not his rival and role model. The ouchi-gari that earned Wolf the Olympic gold medal? “I learned from watching Baker senpai,” he said.

Wolf is not media shy. After the Olympics, he reportedly made over 100 appearances on Japanese television. He also has a YouTube channel where he shares clips of his judo activities.

He had announced his retirement last year, saying he would be quitting competitive judo after the national corporate team championships in June, 2025. What he will do next is anybody’s guess, including Wolf, who has said he has not decided. But he did say “I won't become a coach soon.

Note:

JudoInside - Aaron Wolf Judoka

Source:

JudoInside - News - Aaron Wolf, triple crown winner, set to retire

This may be stupid and you can laugh at me because I have been laughing at myself.

Storytime: A week ago, I was in the middle of my yellow belt exam and my uke was first to do their exam. They started with osoto gari and I was prepared to fall but midway switched their technique to a shoulder throw. My neck was angled in a way that I would have definitely broken it if I landed on my head so I somehow managed to manuver myself mid air and landed on my outstretched left arm and broke something (also learnt the importance of landing correctly). I couldn't finish my exam and also have to sit out for 8 weeks or even longer.

I have worked hard for the past 6 months of rigorous training to build my technique and I would hate to lose my endurance and all that I learnt by sitting out for so long. I can always try again for the yellow belt once I'm okay to play again but in the meantime, does anyone have suggestions on what I can do to keep up with training?

Thank you!

Yesterday was the last trainig session of the week and my body felt really drained.

We were doing some kind kuzushi with Uchi-Mata at the third pull. It was more like drilling the fighting simulation to pull 2 times and finish with uchi-mata on a third one, using the momentum.

I was struggling so much. Could not land the Uchi-Mata. Started to get frustrated but kept trying until I got so gassed out that I just set down and waited for the next drill (My partner landed it a few times in a row, so we took a minute to catch our breath).

We did a few more different drills and than did the randori with the instructions to try and get one of those techinuques in a full strenght randori.

This club has a tradition called theatre, where, from time to time the session ends with randiri, but only one pair fights and the rest are watching until the fight is over. It goes on once everybody had a chance fight.

Me and my partner were last. Started the randori and from the begginig I tried attacking as much as possible since he was a bigger belt than me and I find it disrespectfull to just play defencevly against a stronger opponent while training. I tried sasae, de-ashi, ko-uchi, o-uchi... like all the setup techniques and in one moment he tried to counter me with something like Tani-Otoshi where I just took the oportunity, I dig my leg in and up. Got him flying with the most perfect Uch-Mata in my life. It was the one where both of us are in the air for a moment and I landed on him.

It was such a great feeling.

It is unbeliveble how your confidence gets boosted when you land a perfect Ipon. It felt so good that I had a feeling I could do one more full training session right then and there.