How is Judo for self-defense?

[fedorrulz]

I am thinking about taking Judo, but I am wondering if it transfers well to self defense situations. I could see it working well in the winter time when everyone is wearing jackets, but what about if my opponent is wearing shorts and a tank top?

I have taken BJJ in the past but I can't afford it these days ($140/month here). I have also taking JJJ, which was pretty cool, but a lot of unpractical stuff was taught ,and we couldnt spar.
And one have experience with Judo, it seems to be a great bang for the buck?

 

[Foolkiller]

Adjust grips. Rather than grab their sleeve, grab their bicep or wrist. Instead of grabbing the back of their jacket or belt, get an underhook or grab tight around their waist. It's not rocket science, Maybe you should get a few months training behind you and invest in Karo's no gi Judo for MMA DVD.

 

[ThaiBoxer80]

When I was in the police academy a few years back I met some Judo guys who really turned me on to it. I did straight Thai boxing but I knew some escapes on the ground so I didnt really care about grappling untill I met these guys. We did a lot of grappling with each other during the whole thing and these judo guys owned everybody on the ground. Of course this was all no-gi but it didnt matter to them at all, jacket or no. I asked them if they had a hard time transitioning from doing 100% gi and they said after a while it doesnt matter to them. I think they could have been even better if they trained no-gi but against guys who didnt know anything it didnt matter. Im thinking about taking it up here pretty soon too.

 

[ArTofF16hT1ng]

*Edit*

 

[Stoic1]

Yup. He was camping and someone came at him with a hatchet. Hit him in the head with it. And the guy (who was an old man) choked the dude to death. Judo produces some tough fuckers.

And very recently a guy was attacked by a bear and a Judoka actually THREW the bear. No shit. I will find a link to the article after lunch.

So like.....if you can defend yourself against hatchet weilding attackers and bears with Judo I would say you are going to be golden.

 

[Gsoares**]

i did judo and with enough practice it is viable for self defense.

Nothing makes you invunerable though. Judo is great for take downs and a little basics in ground work. The ground work will never compare to that of bjj though.... ive done both.

However Kimura did beat Helio in their match.

 

[NEwrestler]

I heard a story where a guy got hit in the head with a hatchet in France I believe. The guy then put the other guy in a RNC and killed him.

Kool.

if thats not a good testimonial,i dont know what is

 

[CobraKai4Life]

I am a 3rd degree black belt in Mexican Judo.


Judo know if I got a knife, Judo know if I got a gun.

 

[Kamehameha]

i actually think Judo is better for self defense than BJJ for the simple fact it has standup throws rather than ground work which will get in trouble alot of times out there. A good osoto gari on concrete will destroy anyone, plus u dont' have to worry about breaking your hands and such.

 

[jjmuaythaiguy]

I am really getting into throws to help my bjj game and can't believe some judo moves. I'm really glad to practice both.

Judo is super cheap in Hawaii too. So far its been free but I am told that places usually charge $30 - $50 a month for unlimited training.

Fights start on the feet and I train muay thai also but in a clinch I got more options for a throw with judo. Judo is better than nothing and there are a lot of competitions to get really good judge of where you stand or are lacking in.

After a while you start knowing the japanese names too! To each his own and so long as YOU are enjoying yourself, making friends and learning new techniques go for it.

Happy training.

 

[muerteverde]

I would say that judo is definitly good for self defense. There is more than just gi chokes and throws using the lapel. As someone above mentioned, you can adjust your grips on most throws to make them work. Other throws don't really need the gi that much. A kataguruma or osotogari can be devesating, slamming someone into the ground very very hard. The foot sweeps and tripping sort os techinques can be invaluable, especially against larger strong guys. Some judo throws really give a big advatnage to shorter smaller guys (ippon soe nage) and there is a guy on my team who is short and compact but extremely good at the back throws. He can toss guys twice his size and way taller than him, and they can't do much to stop him unless they are really good (most of our big guys aren't that good). If some guy, possibly huge, tries to attack this judoka on the street, and the attacker does not know the proper defense to this series of throws, he will be flying over this guy's back and landing on his head from about 5 feet in the air, and fast. If the attacker had a knife, I would still favor my teammate in that matchup.

There should be a lot of sparring (randori) in a good judo school. They will teach good balance and positioning so you don't fall down or get taken down in the chaos of a fight, and if you go down, you go down safely and with the advantage. That is helpful no matter what your goal is.

Consider this my hearty endorsement of the value of judo. I have 2 years of wrestling, 3 years of BJJ and this is my first 6 months of judo talking here.

 

[jjmuaythaiguy]

Yup. He was camping and someone came at him with a hatchet. Hit him in the head with it. And the guy (who was an old man) choked the dude to death. Judo produces some tough fuckers.

And very recently a guy was attacked by a bear and a Judoka actually THREW the bear. No shit. I will find a link to the article after lunch.

So like.....if you can defend yourself against hatchet weilding attackers and bears with Judo I would say you are going to be golden.

Just wondering, any luck with the link to the stories? Would love to read them, print them and put them in a scrap book.

 

[Brazilian HKD]

Just wondering, any luck with the link to the stories? Would love to read them, print them and put them in a scrap book.

yup i saw that lnk years ago in bullshido.com

but it was a japanese bear, which is smaller (but still dangerous)

 

[007]

i did Judo for about 8 months, it was great and has help me now with my MMA. Try juso, it is tuff

 

[Dedicado]

Not all Judo clubs were created equal. Make sure the club you go to does tachi-waza (standing) and ne-wazw (ground) randori (free sparring). Also, ask the potential teacher-to-be if he ever teaches strictly self-defense moves, most will. Finally, ask about no-gi randori, a lot of new school clubs offer this cuz it's so cool. Hope this helps.

 

[jjmuaythaiguy]

yup i saw that lnk years ago in bullshido.com

but it was a japanese bear, which is smaller (but still dangerous)

If it was in bullshido does that mean it was fake or just something interesting? A bear is a bear. I saw on Maximium Exposure's Stupid Men episode a semi-pro wrestler tried to wrestle a brown bear, probably not a grizzly, who busted that wrestler up, bit his ass and had to be pulled off by the trainers. The wrestler did get a take down but the bear reversed position and bit his neck. Its a true story, no b.s. I was dying of laughter. Still looking for the link of the judo verses hatchet story.

 

[Brazilian HKD]

If it was in bullshido does that mean it was fake or just something interesting?

usually the second option

but it's obvious that against a smaller bear you could have a little bit more chances to ippon him

 

[TGR74]

I think Judo is great...but like other said check the school out first. Finding a teacher that teaches well and is really interested in your progress will allow you to advance much faster and learn what you reall need to launch some mother fuckers on their head.

 

[JoeU1741]

I was wondering about this too. I've been keen to take judo in a while, but was wondering about the "sport" component. Obviously checking out the schools to see those that do lots of standing and ground sparing will be key.

I went to a Kodokan Judo competition this weekend just gone and noticed a few things that made me wonder if it is too sport oriented to be used for self defence;
1) There didn't seem to be any "finish" from a throw. I expected a throw could then translate nicely to an armlock or similar but that didn't seem to be the case at all, not just in the competition but some of the schools I've seen too. I understand that with an experienced judoka not many guys will get up from a hard throw... but still...
2) On a lot of the ground positions the judoka's seem to give up their back to make "pin" positions. My first thought as a BJJ guy was this is a dangerous proposition, but even in terms of self defense I don't know if it is wise?

 

[Fzubek]

Its not bad, my friend took Judo for several years and me and him sparred in the backyard, and he managed some good throws that knocked the wind outta me. But after a while I lit him up. Judo too me is great as a sub style, its great for learning how to use momentum and weight but it kind of stops there.