Will Start Training Judo as a 30 year old. Any Advice? UPDATE: I'm back at it!

[EL CORINTHIAN]

Buy stock in Advil lol. You’re in your prime, don’t worry so much. I’m 36, for what it’s worth.

Haha you're right, it's just psychological issues from previous injuries that have put me right out. Just being overly cautious here. So far no issues.

Update: everything is going wonderfully and we have learned 3 throws. O-goshi, ippon seonagi, and Koshi guruma. We did some newaza drills at the end of the class where we basically had to try and pin our opponents on their backs while we were on our knees.

Question: If I wanted to do something on my own time by myself to get better? Some banded uchi komis?

 

[RJ Green]

Question: If I wanted to do something on my own time by myself to get better? Some banded uchi komis?

only if youre doing them right, otherwise you're just teaching yourself the wrong way.

as mundane as this answer is, just prioritize recovery. stretch after, eat well, get good sleep. watch some technique videos. once youre a good faller, go to more classes. cross train bjj as much as possible.

 

[TheMaster]

as mundane as this answer is, just prioritize recovery. stretch after, eat well, get good sleep. watch some technique videos. once youre a good faller, go to more classes. cross train bjj as much as possible.

Although cross training BJJ will help undoubtedly with many subs, remember you are Judoka foremost. Strive for top position and be more aggressive and explosive with the subs. The ethos and tactics are different.

I remember a quote when Couture said initially doing BJJ the mentality harmed him of being more comfortable on the bottom whereas the wrestler mindset will strive to get out and regain top position to work from there much more with more success. I would say it is similar. You also can consider catch style submission wrestling as an alternative to BJJ if you want to work subs more to complement the Judo.

Do not consider you need to necessarily do BJJ but as most schools demphasize newaza you will probably need to spend some time with submission speciality art if you want to improve this aspect, it depends what your aims are.

Also dont just follow the curiculum. There are a large compendium of throws you will learn but probably only a few will become your bread and butter so drill them as much as possible and find the positional limits and your capeabilities of executing these core techniques. Eventually you will be able to be more flexible applying the principles but you want to have reliable methods that work for you in most conditions including when very fatigued so see what still works effectively after hard randori.

 

[dmwalking]

After a long time of talking about it im finally joining a Judo club (at my school). Im not necessarily a stranger to it as i have done some formal training in my early 20s but it didn't last long due to an unrelated injury (back). I have heard that Judo is hard on literally everything in your body but is a tad more back friendly than BJJ, which i have heard can be rather hard on the discs.

Either way i love the sport, i have a lot of respect for it and im looking to be as good as i possibly can be in this life time. Any advice so i don't kill myself?

Wait, what? Judo is more back friendly than BJJ? I'm skeptical.

Anyhow, the only advice I can give is to get good at break falls. That's going to save your body in the long run. If you don't master break falls, you're going to smash your balls constantly, sprain your knees, elbows, neck, etc. I barely trained judo and I got busted up quickly. Sprained knee had me out for a month. And I smashed my balls a dozen times doing side falls.

I respect Judo, but at this age ('m 36), I wouldn't jump back into it. BJJ is way gentler on my body. It's easy to go light in BJJ. Not so easy to go light in Judo.

 

[RJ Green]

judo is rougher impact-wise, but since there's less focus on guard and virtually no inversion you spend less time getting stacked, which i maintain wholly based on anecdotal conjecture is the reason for BJJ's back problems

 

[Ryo]

In no way is Judo easier on the back then JJ. If you allow yourself to get stacked all to hell like an idiot all the time, then you may have some real back problems, but other than that, not really. JJ is harder on the knees than the back IMO. Every decent JJ guy I've ever trained with has had knee surgery or knee injuries. Judo is harder on both.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

My top advice is: not all training partners are equal in randori.

Some dudes are really nice dudes but just have this thing about the way they fight that simply has a higher probability of hurting their partners.

You will learn how to recognise these dudes. They have this vibe. Try to observe people before fighting them and avoid the dangerous ones. And it has nothing to do with rank. All else equal, the higher the rank, the less they will injure you.

My second advice is : not all situations are equally dangerous. A harai goshi or uchi mata can be painful but is less likely to fuck you up like a tai otoshi (knee) or a drop morote (shoulder). If your feets are planted and the torque is wrong, a tani otoshi can fuck up your knee, too. Be aware of dangerous situations and recognise them.

Last advice : often, you will hurt yourself. I know I messed up my shoulder pretty bad a couple of years ago by messing up a soto makikomi where I crashed stomach first with my arm under me and the weight of my partner on my back.

Ok, really last advice: size matters. All else equal, a big guy can fuck you up more than a small guy. Be aware of that. Joints and ligaments break and tear when force is applied the wrong way. Every pound that you add to that force will make the breaking point smaller.

 

[Your Noodly Master]

I have heard that Judo is hard on literally everything in your body but is a tad more back friendly than BJJ...

Sort of like how falling out of a 3rd floor window is easier on your body than getting hit by a car. Repetitively being thrown in a Judo class sounds like a recipe for back pain, even with proper break falling. I only allow myself to be thrown to the crash mat in my BJJ classes.

 

[EL CORINTHIAN]

I think I should probably clear up my comment about judo being a bit easier on the back.

Judo is more linear, you are pretty much always standing so the compressive and rotational forces are being experienced less often than in JJ where you are essentially being compressed to hell on the floor continuously in a bout.

There is a ton of flexion of the spine in judo but imo there is more of it in JJ and it's the worst kind where pressure is constantly being applied. Impact isn't really the issue when it comes to back issues, more often than not it's constant spinal flexion under pressure and you just find more of it in JJ.

 

[thewhiterooster]

my advice is do jiu jitsu. definitely learn some judo throws tho

 

[IReallyDoTrainUFC]

judo is good for man on man action, but jiu jitsu gets you closer to a man

 

[RJ Green]

closer? no cups allowed in judo bub. bout two or three layers of fabric between my triangle choke and date night.

 

[fighthug]

Age today does not mean anything. Good advice and care for feeding and supplementation will feed you how to take BCAA to avoid injury, pre workout to get better pre-training, and if it is possible to do strength training to fight with the younger ones and rush less than 3 times a week to maintain good physical condition.
By following this advice you will be able to fight the same with the younger ones.

 

[fighthug]

MASTERS JUDO – USE IT OR LOSE IT


https://judotrainingdevelopment.com/2013/08/12/masters-and-veterans-judo-part-1/

 

[EL CORINTHIAN]

closer? no cups allowed in judo bub. bout two or three layers of fabric between my triangle choke and date night.

Which reminds me....the one thing i absolutley do not like about judo is accidentally getting kneed in the balls. It's happened like 3 times so far and one time i nearly passed out.

 

[nefti]

Hope you have good insurance... btw, there is a reason why older judokas turn to bjj. Judo is a young mans game. Impact is impact no matter how good your breakfall is. It all takes a toll.

 

[EL CORINTHIAN]

Hope you have good insurance... btw, there is a reason why older judokas turn to bjj. Judo is a young mans game. Impact is impact no matter how good your breakfall is. It all takes a toll.

Im just hoping that what RJ said is true about being an older noob rather than a veteran.

I have been a lifter since i was 14 and am exceptional when it comes to self care and training longevity. Im adaptive to my goals and im hoping this will be enough to carry on as a hobbyist. So far the only real issue im running to is my left knee which is being slightly aggravated with the increased amount of flexion its going through but that just means im going to have to drop something at the gym and perhaps adapt a leg day to be more of a pre/rehab day.

Either way i think if i play my cards right and make good decisions i may be able to stay relatively injury free, at least where i am able to control the outcome.

But i do understand what you are all saying. I have been let down by my body before and it is always sad when it happens, perhaps this time will be different but even if it isn't, im just glad i tried and wont have to live with regret thinking "I could have been so far had i just stuck with it"

 

[asian-glow]

"I could have been so far had i just stuck with it"

It's a terrible regret. You are arguably in your athletic prime, make the most of it.

I tried judo a few weeks ago for a few sessions. It was just too scary for me. I wrestle instead. I live through you corinthian.

 

[zeli_papa]

Wait, what? Judo is more back friendly than BJJ? I'm skeptical.

Anyhow, the only advice I can give is to get good at break falls. That's going to save your body in the long run. If you don't master break falls, you're going to smash your balls constantly, sprain your knees, elbows, neck, etc. I barely trained judo and I got busted up quickly. Sprained knee had me out for a month. And I smashed my balls a dozen times doing side falls.

I respect Judo, but at this age ('m 36), I wouldn't jump back into it. BJJ is way gentler on my body. It's easy to go light in BJJ. Not so easy to go light in Judo.

Some good advice here but man, you must have some serious balls lol, I'm not a proficient judoka but we do quite a bit of throws in my bjj club(our teacher has been a judo bb for over 25 years and used to train extensively with Japanese Olympians) and I don't recall ever smashing my balls when falling on my side. Then again I'm just an average European in that department so it might be different for you

 

[EL CORINTHIAN]

UPDATE

Alright guys so as the title says it's been sometime since i have joined Judo and here are my thoughts after an academic year and after receiving my yellow belt:

1) Judo is rough on the body. I knew i was in for some pain but good lord everything hurts. My frigging hands hurt, shoulder got messed up the other day and i already broke a rib! The rib issue is actually from Newaza so i won't fault it as some Judo specific issue but STILL! Coming from a history of low back issues i was very cautious not to sign up for anything that would compromise or reinvigorate past issues and overall i did say that Judo was more or less back friendly but i have since reconsidered that sentiment. I changed my mind not because of the impact from throws but due to the CONSTANT flexion of practicing throws. The back is essentially a piece of steel and as such it has a finite amount of bends before it snaps and th constant repetition of loaded spinal flexion just doesn't seem feasible In the long run.

2) I love practicing Newaza more than Tachiwaza. Truth is I just love doing newaza way more than tachiwaza and I'm not so sure that's a great attitude to have going in to class but I just can't help it.

3) sinking in a throw = one of the greatest feeling in the world. Yes I did just finish saying I prefer Newaza to tachiwaza but there are very few things in this world that feel better than a nicely connected throw.

4) I'm not giving it up just yet. I'm not going to give it up just yet but I don't think I will be continuing for years to come. I think this is a solid base for grappling and judo is a beautiful martial art but I just don't think my body will be able to handle it in the long run.


Not saying you guys care but I wanted to update you anyways. I really think Judo is amazing but I feel that between this and my true love (lifting) I won't be in the game long and I want something I can fully dedicated myself to. BJJ may be a better fit for me in the long run but I'm not done my Judo journey just yet and I may very well change my mind about it but as it stands, this is how I feel.