Training Judo and BJJ at the same time

mogway

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I'm a BJJ player. but I've sporadically trained some judo in the past ( two months here two months there...) I would say that my standup game is quite messy. But I'm considering taking one class a week of judo in the beginning for the benefit of working on my throwing and even improving my pins on the ground. When I'm not injured, i usually train 4-6 trainings a week of BJJ.

So I want to know if some people here do both Judo and BJJ, how many times a week and what the benefits which they got as a result of this crosstraining? After how long? Which were the postives and negatives?

Thanks.
 
I do both. I'm doing judo 3.5 years and bjj for 2. I train 4-7 times per week depending on work/college. I usually train 50% judo and 50% bjj, i also occasionally do some MMA classes. If I got a competition i'll usually train more in the respective discipline. For instance i'm doing a judo competition in 2 weeks, so i'll be training judo 4 times per week and bjj (in the gi)twice per week.

One of the biggest benefits i get from training in both is confidence. In judo i'm not afraid of going to the ground like a lot of people. The same guys for bjj and standup. My opponents also tend to know i train in both so they tend to be nervous when fighting me. Having an edge like this in the mental battle can go a long way towards helping you win. Another benefit, is I feel i have a far wider knowledge of grappling than i would have had if i had stuck to just one art.

One of the negatives is that competition dates have a "tendency" to be on the same day e.g. Both the national judo and bjj opens just so happen to be on the same day this year. Another problem is burnout. You can't expect to keep up in terms hours on the mat, with guys in both arts. You also have to watch your diet and make sure you get enough rest. I also find it hard to regularly strength train. Firstly, I find it boring and secondly I know i could be doing bjj or judo somewhere else.

I honestly think you'd need to judo more than once a week to see improvement. Judo has a steeper learning curve than bjj. Judo is more intuition and timing based compared to bjj which is more technique based. Developing decent timing and intution for gripfighting can take a long time. Getting good at gripping is imo the most important element in being able to throw people. So after 3 months of training judo once a week, you might feel you've made no progress. Don't be disheartened, stick with it. Just don't expect miracles.
 
One of my classmates trains both , for the same reasons you stated . I've watched as his skill level at throws get better and better . His Judo instuctor is a real cool guy , everytime Carlson comes to a seminar his Judo teacher is their with a white belt on ready to learn some new ground techs . Our BJJ instuctor is great at Judo throws (he studied Judo also ) but time doesn't allow to focus only on those techniques . After we warm up , we do throws or takedowns ( stand up techs for about 20 mins or so ) . Then to the ground stuff .
 
I train both, I needed work on my standup grappling because the jujitsu school I go to focuses soley and ground work, I usually train Judo 3-4 times a week and jujitsu 3 times a week.
 
Mon Judo 6-715 BJJ 730-900
Tuesday Running
Wednesday Judo 6-715 BJJ 730-900
Thursday NO-GI BJJ 12-2 730-900 Weights
Friday BJJ Open MAt 11am-3 Clas 6-8
Sat Running
Sun Weights
 
Cojofl said:
I do both. I'm doing judo 3.5 years and bjj for 2. I train 4-7 times per week depending on work/college. I usually train 50% judo and 50% bjj, i also occasionally do some MMA classes. If I got a competition i'll usually train more in the respective discipline. For instance i'm doing a judo competition in 2 weeks, so i'll be training judo 4 times per week and bjj (in the gi)twice per week.

One of the biggest benefits i get from training in both is confidence. In judo i'm not afraid of going to the ground like a lot of people. The same guys for bjj and standup. My opponents also tend to know i train in both so they tend to be nervous when fighting me. Having an edge like this in the mental battle can go a long way towards helping you win. Another benefit, is I feel i have a far wider knowledge of grappling than i would have had if i had stuck to just one art.

One of the negatives is that competition dates have a "tendency" to be on the same day e.g. Both the national judo and bjj opens just so happen to be on the same day this year. Another problem is burnout. You can't expect to keep up in terms hours on the mat, with guys in both arts. You also have to watch your diet and make sure you get enough rest. I also find it hard to regularly strength train. Firstly, I find it boring and secondly I know i could be doing bjj or judo somewhere else.

I honestly think you'd need to judo more than once a week to see improvement. Judo has a steeper learning curve than bjj. Judo is more intuition and timing based compared to bjj which is more technique based. Developing decent timing and intution for gripfighting can take a long time. Getting good at gripping is imo the most important element in being able to throw people. So after 3 months of training judo once a week, you might feel you've made no progress. Don't be disheartened, stick with it. Just don't expect miracles.
When is the BJJ opens?
 
Just out of curiosity, on average how long does it take to become a black belt in judo? I know this is off topic but I didn't want to start a whole thread to ask this question.
 
triggertap79 said:
Just out of curiosity, on average how long does it take to become a black belt in judo? I know this is off topic but I didn't want to start a whole thread to ask this question.
i've heard of 3-4 years for some pretty intense students.

the average that i've seen is 6-8.



my school, I have to enter in X number of tourneys to also gain belt levels. i've been a yellow for almost a year. :)
 
triggertap79 said:
Just out of curiosity, on average how long does it take to become a black belt in judo? I know this is off topic but I didn't want to start a whole thread to ask this question.

Depends on where you're at, what school, all that. I've heard the average is about 4-5 years, which is why Judoka shouldn't take offense to people saying Purple Belt in BJJ is equivalent... They're talking about average training experience (with the oft innacurate "2 years per belt" BJJ average that's slung about).

I've done both, for a considerable amount of time, and I have to say that the best benefit was the ego boost. Ha ha... In my last Judo school, they called me "the Jiu-Jitsu guy", and I would win the majority of my tourney matches by sub, and often hear "Yeah, his Jiu-Jitsu is REALLY good...". Then, I got to my new school, where they do BJJ and VT classes, and I was asked my opinion about a throw we were going over (O Soto to Uchi Mata, one of my favorites, they were asking because they knew I'd done Judo a long time), and I demonstrated some of the little pointers I'd picked up from some great Judo BBs I've trained with, and everyone was like "Well, you're like a black belt, right?"

BJJ- a low level Blue
Judo- a low level Brown
In my head when I hear stuff like that- 90th Dan Super Ninja of Matwork and Throwy Stuff

My first experience with either art was in a mixed club that did both... No differentiation was ever made (I just made up that word, cause I'm a super ninja), but most of the guys just called everything on the mat JJ, everything standing Judo, and we'd have some techniques from both ranges, some Judo and JJJ katas, and a lot of live rolling. Only problem was, when I got to a strictly competition oriented Judo school, I had a lot of adapting to do to limit my reacitons to Judo-legal moves (my favorite technique from bottom half guard was a sweep to knee bar, I also love foot attacks... etc). Now that I'm doing BJJ two nights a week, my hips are good, and I can own a position when I get to it, but some of my movements aren't as fluid, and I find myself defaulting to kesa gatame a lot, and having the better BJJers escape to my back (why did it always work in Judo!?), and having guys pop out in no gi like nothing. I finally adapted to the BJJ/Sub Grappling kesa, with the underhook instead of the headlock, and I'm just trying to readjust to the fluidity and the other options you've got in BJJ. Conversely, I think I'd smoke the competition at the Judo tourneys I've been in, because my ground game has already improved greatly.

Do both, but only compete in one per "season" or something, or you'll just confuse yourself and hamper your development in both.
 
It depends on what country you're in. I've heard of people getting bb's in under a year in Japan. It depends on what the requirements are for belts in that particular country.

Here, in Ireland, there are a few requirements. You have to demonstrate the kata, demonstate some techniques and know your terminology. You also have to fight for your belt against other brown belts in national gradings (4 per year, 4 fights per grading). You have to win 10 fights by ippon over the course of a year. If you win all 4 fights, you et batsugan and that will suffice for your black belt. Generally though, as long as you win your fights and you're not retarded you'll get your black belt. It generally takes 4-6 years. I'm going to a grading in November and have a decent chance of getting the batsugan, which would be just over three and a half years since i started.

I'd agree with stephensharp, in terms of profiency, at least here, i'd say a judo bb is very close to a bjj purple.
 
I do both I have been doing BJJ for the last 6 years and Judo for the last year. It's helped me alot.
 
Cojofl said:
...Judo has a steeper learning curve than bjj. Judo is more intuition and timing based compared to bjj which is more technique based. Developing decent timing and intution for gripfighting can take a long time. Getting good at gripping is imo the most important element in being able to throw people.

Bingo. Well said. Good gripfighting is what takes an otherwise average judoka to the next level. Very, very difficult to master.
 
I train both and training Judo has certainly given me an edge when it comes to my BJJ.
 
When My knee gets better, I will do one judo class a week. i already train BJJ 5-6 x week so I'll have to insert a judo class in there.
 
stephensharp said:
Depends on where you're at, what school, all that. I've heard the average is about 4-5 years, which is why Judoka shouldn't take offense to people saying Purple Belt in BJJ is equivalent... They're talking about average training experience (with the oft innacurate "2 years per belt" BJJ average that's slung about).

I've done both, for a considerable amount of time, and I have to say that the best benefit was the ego boost. Ha ha... In my last Judo school, they called me "the Jiu-Jitsu guy", and I would win the majority of my tourney matches by sub, and often hear "Yeah, his Jiu-Jitsu is REALLY good...". Then, I got to my new school, where they do BJJ and VT classes, and I was asked my opinion about a throw we were going over (O Soto to Uchi Mata, one of my favorites, they were asking because they knew I'd done Judo a long time), and I demonstrated some of the little pointers I'd picked up from some great Judo BBs I've trained with, and everyone was like "Well, you're like a black belt, right?"

BJJ- a low level Blue
Judo- a low level Brown
In my head when I hear stuff like that- 90th Dan Super Ninja of Matwork and Throwy Stuff

My first experience with either art was in a mixed club that did both... No differentiation was ever made (I just made up that word, cause I'm a super ninja), but most of the guys just called everything on the mat JJ, everything standing Judo, and we'd have some techniques from both ranges, some Judo and JJJ katas, and a lot of live rolling. Only problem was, when I got to a strictly competition oriented Judo school, I had a lot of adapting to do to limit my reacitons to Judo-legal moves (my favorite technique from bottom half guard was a sweep to knee bar, I also love foot attacks... etc). Now that I'm doing BJJ two nights a week, my hips are good, and I can own a position when I get to it, but some of my movements aren't as fluid, and I find myself defaulting to kesa gatame a lot, and having the better BJJers escape to my back (why did it always work in Judo!?), and having guys pop out in no gi like nothing. I finally adapted to the BJJ/Sub Grappling kesa, with the underhook instead of the headlock, and I'm just trying to readjust to the fluidity and the other options you've got in BJJ. Conversely, I think I'd smoke the competition at the Judo tourneys I've been in, because my ground game has already improved greatly.

Do both, but only compete in one per "season" or something, or you'll just confuse yourself and hamper your development in both.


Man, my judo instructor got mad at me for using the shoulder underhook saying it wasnt kesa gatame when we both know it is... but i respect him for being in judo for over 40 years... but whenever someone in randori tries that shit i reverse it hella quick....
 
fozzit said:
Mon Judo 6-715 BJJ 730-900
Tuesday Running
Wednesday Judo 6-715 BJJ 730-900
Thursday NO-GI BJJ 12-2 730-900 Weights
Friday BJJ Open MAt 11am-3 Clas 6-8
Sat Running
Sun Weights
so u do grappling 3 straight days in a row ???????????that crazy
 
Demogoblin said:
so u do grappling 3 straight days in a row ???????????that crazy


Not if he separates the tech from the physical. Just have to train smart. Olympians in wrestling and judo train 2x per day at times.
 
Q mystic said:
Not if he separates the tech from the physical. Just have to train smart. Olympians in wrestling and judo train 2x per day at times.

You don't have to be an Olympian :wink: , I'm a university wrestler, and nationally ranked in Canada (not near olympic caliber yet though), and we go twice a day 5 days a week. One conditioning practice, and on one the mat practice. We have saturdays off completely, and an early morning sccrimage practice sunday.

Your body adapts, and as long as you pay attention to syptoms of overtraining its easy to avoid burning out or injuries.
 
I do both. I'm doing judo 3.5 years and bjj for 2. I train 4-7 times per week depending on work/college. I usually train 50% judo and 50% bjj, i also occasionally do some MMA classes. If I got a competition i'll usually train more in the respective discipline. For instance i'm doing a judo competition in 2 weeks, so i'll be training judo 4 times per week and bjj (in the gi)twice per week.

One of the biggest benefits i get from training in both is confidence. In judo i'm not afraid of going to the ground like a lot of people. The same guys for bjj and standup. My opponents also tend to know i train in both so they tend to be nervous when fighting me. Having an edge like this in the mental battle can go a long way towards helping you win. Another benefit, is I feel i have a far wider knowledge of grappling than i would have had if i had stuck to just one art.

One of the negatives is that competition dates have a "tendency" to be on the same day e.g. Both the national judo and bjj opens just so happen to be on the same day this year. Another problem is burnout. You can't expect to keep up in terms hours on the mat, with guys in both arts. You also have to watch your diet and make sure you get enough rest. I also find it hard to regularly strength train. Firstly, I find it boring and secondly I know i could be doing bjj or judo somewhere else.

I honestly think you'd need to judo more than once a week to see improvement. Judo has a steeper learning curve than bjj. Judo is more intuition and timing based compared to bjj which is more technique based. Developing decent timing and intution for gripfighting can take a long time. Getting good at gripping is imo the most important element in being able to throw people. So after 3 months of training judo once a week, you might feel you've made no progress. Don't be disheartened, stick with it. Just don't expect miracles.
You trained 4-7 times a week despite working AND going to college. How did you manage to do that?
 
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