Book for a Judo noob

[thetequilaman]

"Kodokan Judo" by Jigoro Kano should be the first judo book you buy. It is comprehensive, and was written originally by Kano himself. Every judoka should have a copy in their collection.

Books help, videos helps, in-person instruction helps... don't limit yourself. ingest it all.

http://www.hardcoverdeals.com/rel/v2_viewupc.php?storenr=334&upc=4770017995&affnr=-1

 

[PSJJJJ]

do you think starting at 30 is bad?

Not as good as starting young, but much better than not joining at all. :icon_chee

 

[thetequilaman]

Starting at 30 is reasonable, though I will say Judo is rough on the body, so stretch well, do the techniques, focus on the drills, and do limited randori at first.

Don't kill yourself during the first few weeks, or you might get injured until you learn how to fall and avoid injuries.

 

[KenTheWalrus]

i will prob make 5-6 classes per month, maximum.

do you think starting at 30 is bad?

I started when I was 29. As long as you have good ukemi and prefer to use good ukemi over poor defense you'll be fine.

Competition will get you banged up. Play Masters if you can.

As for a film, Mifune's Essence of Judo is awesome. Really concentrate on the lesson about the ball/sphere (about halfway through). Looking at judo this way really helped advance my ukemi and nage waza.

A link for the film. (It's in Japanese, but there is an English version floating around)-ken

 

[MonkeyNuts!]

I have an old Ohara Judo book.

It is a decent basic book.

Might be a bit outdated, not too sure. And it's Ohara...

 

[Nickynoneck]

i will prob make 5-6 classes per month, maximum.

do you think starting at 30 is bad?

no way man !

 

[$uperman]

edit.

 

[pittfrog]

I started Judo last year, at 42.You're not too old, ya whippersnapper! I've even competed twice in Judo, and done pretty decently.

 

[judosensei]

thanks for advice guys, I'll see if i can pick up Judo Unleashed.

Thanks to everyone who recommended my book. I appreciate it.

 

[OhTheHumanity]

I'm going to reread Judo Unleashed because I didn't get a whole lot out of it the first time over

 

[Calibur]

I'm going to reread Judo Unleashed because I didn't get a whole lot out of it the first time over

I think it really depends where you are in your Judo career. I look at more like a basic Judo resource book. As a beginner it is extremely valuable. Intermediate I think it is a good reference and the counter/follow up guide is useful as are the pics for foot placement. It also has a good written over view of theory, philosophy that makes for good reading.

For Judo "experts" I think it would be less useful. Books like "Kodokan Judo; Throwing Techniques" would be more useful because the book mostly centers around variations, grip options and classification of the moves as opposed to actually doing them (IMO) The photos aren't as good either, so beginners may get a little lost since they dont have the background to follow along yet.

It's good to see the author of Judo Unleashed on the boards.