Hello everyone. I am intersted in joining a gym. The problem is that i dont know if i should do jiu jitsu or judo? Could someone explain tto me the common characteristics and diffrences in the 2 sports. P.S.- i am a folkstyle wrestler. Would ethier of the 2 benefit more? thanks for ur time
What are you looking to get out of training? Is it fitness? self defense? looking to step into the cage? judo is generally inexpensive. usually focuses heavily on stand up. jiu jitsu is generally more expensive. usually focuses heavily on ground game. of course I am just generalizing but I think you get the picture.
That is a very broad question. We have no idea if you even are familiar with fundamental Judo positions like the guard and of course the submission game. I will TRY to give you a very basic rundown of what to expect with either and what you might be familiar with. Judo- The wear a heavy duty cotton gi (judo uniform) and they use it to throw an opponent flat on his back, which happens to be the ultimate goal in Judo...a Perfect throw. In Judo you will find the pins and throws very familiar with some modifications due to the Judogi. What MIGHT surprise you is that if you cannot make a percect throw, nor pin your opponent both of you would have a limited time (in competition) to actually apply a submission. As you might find out by following some threads around here, come Judoka(judo players) and judo schools are better at the mat work and subs than others. Your transition would be very swift IMO if you are any good at wrestling. A few guys from my brothers wrestling team (years ago) took up Judo in the summer and they did very well at the summer tourneys in Judo. Jiu Jitsu- In general most BJJ schools also wear a heavy gi but occassionally will train no gi for submission wrestling and MMA purposes. In general you will find much less focus on takedowns and pins and a HEAVY emphasis on reversals and submissions. In Bjj you get most of your points from putting your opponent in bad BJJ positions like side mount, mount, rear mount etc...The fight is over right away if someone locks in a submission hold and they give you all the time in the world to get the submission. Your transition may not be as swift because while a pin would end a wrestling match and even a judo match it is simply a transition point in Jiu Jitsu. You gain the dominant position and then work for your submission hold. You also might be quite surprised to learn that a BJJ player would be very much at home flat on his back. In fact he will have a huge arsenal of subs to throw at you from that position. IMO you would be fine doing either sport but entering Judo 1st you would not be lost and you could still use some of the things you learned in wrestling. All this while getting an intro to the submissions that BJJ will teach you later. Then after you have some idea of things like armbars, turtle, guard, sidemount, chokes you could jump right in and have a strong base to work your BJJ. BTW how are you at wrestling? Varsity? JV? Record? State qualifier? regional qualifier?
Try out a free lesson at both and see which you like more. Just because you're a wrestler doesn't mean you wouldn't do good in either. Judo is to BJJ as greco is to folkstyle. Related systems, but different rules.
I have a deep love for judo, so I'd recommend that. The transition from judo to jiujitsu one is an easy one anyway.
Everyone assumes when you say "jiu-jitsu" you are referring to Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu (BJJ). Jiu-Jitsu, or Jujutsu if you want to be technically correct, is a broad term encompassing unarmed combat styles from Japan and included striking and grappling with a view to defeting an (armed, wearing armour) opponent. As such it developed more immobilisation/takedown/submission techniques than striking. It evolved to "styles" such as Judo (which was initially known as Kano Jiu-Jitsu), Brazillian Jiu-Jitsu and other "schools" or styles. Nowadays, I think you can say there's Judo, BJJ and TJJ "Traditional Jiu-Jitsu) where TJJ still focus on the broader view including striking as well as throws and ground submissions. As to which one is "better" - this depends on your goals, your preferences, your budget and the quality of the schools in your area. Personally, I would choose Judo or BJJ, not TJJ. Between BJJ and Judo it depends on personal preference. If I had to choose, I'd visit and train at the schools in the area and judge the quality of the instruction, students and it's covenience as to location and time-table as well as the cost. There's always the option of doing BOTH. Judo and BJJ are great to cross-train in as many techniques cross-over to the other. In the end, both are great.
Very good advice. If nothing else, you might like the atmosphere, instruction and students at one club more than the other. Not all judo clubs are the same, not all BJJ clubs are the same - you have to try out each one to see if its a good fit.
I would research the schools you have to choose from and go with which ever school has the superior instructors.
if you have done wrestling, do jiu jitsu imho.... judo is great dont get me wrong, but i never liked getting tossed on the mat for an hour (practise, not just training) if you have a solid controlling wrestling base, jiu jitsu will come quite easy, and jiu jitsu has many more submissions than judo. just my 2 cents
I think the better question would be for me to ask what options do you have? In general I would say BJJ because you already have takedowns.. but I would choose a strong judo school over a mediocre jiu jitsu school. I say check the schools out and go to the highest quality program you can find.
I've found that BJJ compliments wrestling very well. Your takedowns will enable you to get good position and you'll already be use to conttrolling your opponent on the mat.
i prefer Judo. especially if you get a good school. you will learn the ground work too, but using the throws is the key to getting the fight to the ground and could end it without you even needing to do anything on the ground
Judo is mainly for takedowns but with a gi, very cool to watch and fun to learn but if you were already a wrestler it'd probably be a good idea to take you out of you're element a little and start working submissions into you're game. I'd choose jiu-jitsu if I were you but it really is you're choice in the end.
