Judo and MMA

[snowolf17]

I was just wondering to those of you that train and compete in MMA, how well does judo translate to the ring/ cage ( for those that have a judo background ) there are the obvious examples of big name athletes who have done well in MMA but I'd say they are def the minority. Just curious, thanks!

 

[Grapplingwizard**]

I was just wondering to those of you that train and compete in MMA, how well does judo translate to the ring/ cage ( for those that have a judo background ) there are the obvious examples of big name athletes who have done well in MMA but I'd say they are def the minority. Just curious, thanks!

does not translate as well as wrestling or bjj

 

[BiggThump]

Judo is not as helpful as bjj or muay thai is.

 

[iama]

I do Judo, I'm no expert but I'd certainly feel more confident in MMA if I knew Muay Thai or Kickboxing and Wrestling or BJJ a mix of all of those sounds perfect for MMA to me. Judo will of course be helpful for certain areas, but for optimum effectivity I'd go for the oters I mentioned.

 

[iama]

But you know, look at how Ronda is doing, obviously shes trained MMA and everyone is different but her base and background is Judo so it will translate.

 

[QingTian]

Judo makes a fine base for MMA but only IF you have trained it from an early age. The reason is simply because Judo techniques were not designed for MMA and have a huge learning curve, plus a transition to no-gi. Judo was meant as a sport for physical education, and that's really what you get out of it. You'll create some tough athletes with great coordination and reflexes, but they will have spent much of their effort on techniques not application to MMA.

So if you are looking into MMA, the answer really depends on your background. If you are an older striker who is looking for takedown defense and maybe one backup takedown, then wrestling is faster. If you are a grappler who is looking to expand, then Judo can be a great option.

It's also a matter of your opponents. If your division is full of the likes of Fedor, Akiyama, etc. then without a doubt you need to know how to stop their Judo. But so far is it uncommon, for the reasons I listed.

Ultimately the best choice is whatever good school you have available. For that reason you do not see Judo in MMA in the US, because Judo is not very high level in the US (unlike Japan or Russia).

 

[Franklegit]

So many topics on this forum discussing this very subject. One could find valuable information just by using the search function.

Sorry if I came across like a dick there but I will give you some insight as a Judo competitor who is looking to train/fight in MMA.

Good: Throws/trips, submissions, conditioning, strength, balance, co-ordination, it's also very cheap.

Bad: IJF rule changes banning wrestling-style takedowns and grip variations, limited groundwork at some clubs, hard to find a club with all dedicated and competitive athletes, little to no support for athletes transitioning from sport to sport (many purist Judoka often scoff at MMA/BJJ)


Your best bet would be to find something else like Muay Thai or BJJ, or even just start training MMA right off the bat.

 

[MC Paul Barman]

Look man, that judo stuff just isn't gonna cut it anymore.

 

[Bluesbreaker]

As good as any if you can train a style of judo geared towards MMA, but that's incredibly rare.

There's no doubt judo will make you a tough nut though.

 

[DivineComedy]

Just like bjj, you need to learn no-gi judo to have it translate better to MMA.

 

[sourdiesel209]

Just like bjj, you need to learn no-gi judo to have it translate better to MMA.

no gi judo would be awesome, but I doubt theres classes in that format like in bjj... you'll have to join a gi judo class and try out which throw works no gi..

 

[DivineComedy]

no gi judo would be awesome, but I doubt theres classes in that format like in bjj... you'll have to join a gi judo class and try out which throw works no gi..

And therein lies the exact problem with the transition between Judo -> MMA. There are select Judo clubs who look down at the whole BJJ/MMA scene.

 

[Blue Streak]

Judo makes a fine base for MMA but only IF you have trained it from an early age. The reason is simply because Judo techniques were not designed for MMA and have a huge learning curve, plus a transition to no-gi. Judo was meant as a sport for physical education, and that's really what you get out of it. You'll create some tough athletes with great coordination and reflexes, but they will have spent much of their effort on techniques not application to MMA.

So if you are looking into MMA, the answer really depends on your background. If you are an older striker who is looking for takedown defense and maybe one backup takedown, then wrestling is faster. If you are a grappler who is looking to expand, then Judo can be a great option.

It's also a matter of your opponents. If your division is full of the likes of Fedor, Akiyama, etc. then without a doubt you need to know how to stop their Judo. But so far is it uncommon, for the reasons I listed.

Ultimately the best choice is whatever good school you have available. For that reason you do not see Judo in MMA in the US, because Judo is not very high level in the US (unlike Japan or Russia).

This is a very good answer.

 

[Blue Streak]

no gi judo would be awesome, but I doubt theres classes in that format like in bjj... you'll have to join a gi judo class and try out which throw works no gi..

If you want no-gi Judo, train freestyle wrestling and no-gi BJJ with an emphasis on top game and that is basically it. There has been a lot of cross-pollination between Freestyle wrestling and Judo over the years, such that pretty much any technique from one that works in the other has been transferred. Obviously Freestyle wrestling has no submissions, but a bit of no-gi BJJ will give you that.

 

[Blue Streak]

But you know, look at how Ronda is doing, obviously shes trained MMA and everyone is different but her base and background is Judo so it will translate.

A couple of points with Ronda:

-She is a much better athlete than all of her peers (perhaps with the exception of Sara McMann). Female Judo has one of, if not the, deepest talent pools of any combat sport in which women compete. To obtain an Olympic medal against that level of competition means one must be not only extremely technically skilled, but also an amazing athlete. Part of the reason Ronda has done so well is the same reason why a lot of the early elite level wrestlers (Olympic team, D1 All-American) did so well in MMA. They have a skill set which is fairly applicable to MMA, but are also extremely athletically talented, proven by the fact that they have risen to the top of a very competitive system.

-Ronda learned a fairly unusual style of Judo from her mother, one that is far more focused on groundwork and submissions compared to the typical Judo focus on stand up fighting. This makes her Judo more transferable to MMA than if she had a more traditional (orthodox?) style.

 

[jujijimmy]

It's not unusual to have newaza experts in judo. I know a few high level ones. I goto a newaza only class once a week. High level judokas mainly live for judo and Olympic medals. But granted no gi makes judo less effective.

 

[Uchi Mata]

Judo makes a fine base for MMA but only IF you have trained it from an early age. The reason is simply because Judo techniques were not designed for MMA and have a huge learning curve, plus a transition to no-gi. Judo was meant as a sport for physical education, and that's really what you get out of it. You'll create some tough athletes with great coordination and reflexes, but they will have spent much of their effort on techniques not application to MMA.

So if you are looking into MMA, the answer really depends on your background. If you are an older striker who is looking for takedown defense and maybe one backup takedown, then wrestling is faster. If you are a grappler who is looking to expand, then Judo can be a great option.

It's also a matter of your opponents. If your division is full of the likes of Fedor, Akiyama, etc. then without a doubt you need to know how to stop their Judo. But so far is it uncommon, for the reasons I listed.

Ultimately the best choice is whatever good school you have available. For that reason you do not see Judo in MMA in the US, because Judo is not very high level in the US (unlike Japan or Russia).

Wrestling techniques aren't designed for MMA either, though being a gi-less sport definitely helps.

I think Judo is a perfectly good grappling style for MMA, though of course you'll have to adapt portions like you do with BJJ or wrestling. MMA grappling is much more related to clinch work and upright posture, because striking has to be taken into consideration. That lends itself very well to Judo, which is essentially a stand up clinch throwing art. Other than double and single legs, most of the TDs I see in MMA are very Judo-like, especially when pressed up against the cage. Inside and outside trips, footsweeps, you see these used all the time. Hip throws are rarer but far from non-existent. I think Judo's emphasis on top control and allergy to being on your back (in contrast to BJJ) helps make it effective as well.

Judo is hard to assess honestly, because unlike wrestling and BJJ we haven't really seen any young, elite Judoka at the top of their game make the transition to MMA. How many wrestling Olympic medalists have fought in the UFC, many shortly after winning their medals? How many BJJ world champs/medalists have made the transition when they were still in their prime? I bet you can name a few. Now ask the same question about Judoka: Ronda is the only one, and she's a bad gauge as female MMA is so underdeveloped relative to the men. The other Judo guys like Karo, Akiyama, and Hawn were never top level guys on the international scene (though they all were still able to put pretty much anyone on their back at will), but have still managed to have some success. I think this argument will be hard to settle until you start seeing people like Teddy Riner, Ilias Iliadis, and Ole Bischof switch to MMA when they still have a lot left to give athletically. Unfortunately, the countries that are really good at Judo are not generally big MMA countries (with the exception of Japan, but for some reason their elite Judoka rarely make the transition, and when they do it's when they're already too old to really climb the ladder), so it will probably be a while.

All that said, for someone just learning grappling for MMA I wouldn't make Judo my first choice only because so many techniques are gi specific. But I would definitely look at some Judo throws like ouchi gari, kosoto gari, footsweeps, uchi mata, osoto gari, and maybe kouchi gari because those are all great for throwing people from the clinch in an MMA context.

 

[Guerilla_Radio]

But you know, look at how Ronda is doing, obviously shes trained MMA and everyone is different but her base and background is Judo so it will translate.

Ronda had a really strong ground game in judo...I believe this has allowed her to have the success she is currently having.

 

[richmFTW]

no-gi will always be more useful than gi whether it be bjj or judo

 

[sourdiesel209]

All that said, for someone just learning grappling for MMA I wouldn't make Judo my first choice only because so many techniques are gi specific. But I would definitely look at some Judo throws like ouchi gari, kosoto gari, footsweeps, uchi mata, osoto gari, and maybe kouchi gari because those are all great for throwing people from the clinch in an MMA context.

Im gonna check those out in youtube.. I have a portion (like 10 minutes) of my nogi bjj class that is wrestling only, so its a good place to try them out... and im also getting too predictable shooting only doubles (its the only wrestling move that I know lol).. anything else that works no gi??